Meat Rooster Meets Laying Hens

[OnnieMae]

Easter Egger roos come in different varieties of colors and i find them very calm and well-mannered. I had an EE (Easter egger) Roo who was amazing! whenever he'd find a treat he'd call his hens over and give it to them, He once pinned down a hawk (Along with another rooster) Unfortunately he passed away but a couple weeks after hatched out Duck, One of his many children who carried all of his features. He even has his beautiful large tail feathers!
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I find him very hansom and very calm, He also loves to be petted

Here are some other EE roo colorings.
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We found a Legbar rooster and an EE rooster. What do you think would be better with my flock of ISA and Brown Leghorns? My ISA girls are sweet and social. My Leghorns are skittish and not as social with me. My girls are 14 weeks old. The roosters are younger - does that matter?

 

[MillersFarm]

Hello - You mentioned that it does not matter about the breed of the rooster. Will the chicks take on the characteristics of the rooster, the hen, or both?

Oldhens is right about that, mostly it doesnt matter about the breed, Its how you raise them. Now my younge EE roo whose only a couple months old seems to have his mother's personality, Very sweet, Loves to be petted, and loves to jump onto your head. He also carries some of his father's personality as well, Hes very calm, Never picks on anyone,

We found a Legbar rooster and an EE rooster. What do you think would be better with my flock of ISA and Brown Leghorns? My ISA girls are sweet and social. My Leghorns are skittish and not as social with me.

Legbars are like leghorns and tend to be a tad skittish, They also have very large combs which can be a problem if you have cold winter. The bigger the comb, The more vulnerable he is to frostbite. For EEs (Easter eggers) You dont have to worry about that, They aren't As skittish as legbars/leghorns so in my opinion i'd get the EE roo

 

[OnnieMae]

Oldhens is right about that, mostly it doesnt matter about the breed, Its how you raise them. Now my younge EE roo whose only a couple months old seems to have his mother's personality, Very sweet, Loves to be petted, and loves to jump onto your head. He also carries some of his father's personality as well, Hes very calm, Never picks on anyone,




Legbars are like leghorns and tend to be a tad skittish, They also have very large combs which can be a problem if you have cold winter. The bigger the comb, The more vulnerable he is to frostbite. For EEs (Easter eggers) You dont have to worry about that, They aren't As skittish as legbars/leghorns so in my opinion i'd get the EE roo

Thank you very much for the advice!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Chickens take on traits from both parents through genetics. That includes color/pattern, size, growth rate, egg size and rate of lay, some behaviors, just about everything. Which traits they pick up form each parent depends on which genes are dominant or recessive and how they go together.

I don't know what your goals are or why you want a rooster. Are you planning on hatching eggs form the rooster and your hens? Are you just looking for eye candy? What do you want out of that rooster? Without knowing your goals I can't make a recommendation between the two.

Even if I knew your goals I'd probably have a lot of trouble deciding between the two. Individual chickens have their own personality regardless of breed tendencies. Besides an EE is a mixed chicken, not a breed, so there are no breed tendencies to fall back on. It just depends what is in his background and how they have been raised.

If you can tell us why you want a rooster we may be able to help you decide, but my general advice is take the one you want more than the other for whatever reason. One is likely to be as good as the other. If one is mature and the other is not I'd go with the mature one. That makes integration easier.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I forgot to mention, if you want to hatch eggs from your new rooster and those hens you will need an incubator. It is highly unlikely any of those hens will go broody.

 

[Mrs. K]

If you are a first year chicken flock, I would wait to add a rooster until next spring. This will give you some more experience with chickens. Roosters in my opinion, take a bit of experience. They change the dynamics of the flock. The hens will fall in love with him, and look to him, and not to you. They become less pet like.

Roosters are not like kittens and puppies. Those pets, when cuddled and petted as juveniles, become nice adults. Rooster, on the other hand equate fear with respect. As chicks they are often bold and outgoing, which inexperienced people think of as being friendly. When they sit on your lap, they are in the dominant position, you are being submissive. When they come into their hormones, they often become very aggressive towards people, they have no fear of them. This forum is full of posts how the darling became a dangerous nightmare in an instant. Which is not probably true, but inexperienced people don't always pick up on the signs of aggression until there is a full blown attack. If you have small children, they will be attacked first, and most often at face level.

Mrs K

 

[OnnieMae]

If you are a first year chicken flock, I would wait to add a rooster until next spring. This will give you some more experience with chickens. Roosters in my opinion, take a bit of experience. They change the dynamics of the flock. The hens will fall in love with him, and look to him, and not to you. They become less pet like.

Roosters are not like kittens and puppies. Those pets, when cuddled and petted as juveniles, become nice adults. Rooster, on the other hand equate fear with respect. As chicks they are often bold and outgoing, which inexperienced people think of as being friendly. When they sit on your lap, they are in the dominant position, you are being submissive. When they come into their hormones, they often become very aggressive towards people, they have no fear of them. This forum is full of posts how the darling became a dangerous nightmare in an instant. Which is not probably true, but inexperienced people don't always pick up on the signs of aggression until there is a full blown attack. If you have small children, they will be attacked first, and most often at face level.

Mrs K

Thank you so much for your post. I will wait until next spring to bring in a rooster.

 

[OnnieMae]

I forgot to mention, if you want to hatch eggs from your new rooster and those hens you will need an incubator. It is highly unlikely any of those hens will go broody.

Thank you!

 

[OnnieMae]

Chickens take on traits from both parents through genetics. That includes color/pattern, size, growth rate, egg size and rate of lay, some behaviors, just about everything. Which traits they pick up form each parent depends on which genes are dominant or recessive and how they go together.

I don't know what your goals are or why you want a rooster. Are you planning on hatching eggs form the rooster and your hens? Are you just looking for eye candy? What do you want out of that rooster? Without knowing your goals I can't make a recommendation between the two.

Even if I knew your goals I'd probably have a lot of trouble deciding between the two. Individual chickens have their own personality regardless of breed tendencies. Besides an EE is a mixed chicken, not a breed, so there are no breed tendencies to fall back on. It just depends what is in his background and how they have been raised.

If you can tell us why you want a rooster we may be able to help you decide, but my general advice is take the one you want more than the other for whatever reason. One is likely to be as good as the other. If one is mature and the other is not I'd go with the mature one. That makes integration easier.

I was interested in adopting a rooster to breed with my hens to grow my flock. I also wanted a rooster because I have read that they are protective and caring towards the hens.

Maybe I should just adopt more chicks. Now I am starting to second guess myself.

 

[Ridgerunner]

There is no right or wrong way to do this. There are advantages and disadvantages to all methods. Many of us enjoy hatching eggs and raising chicks, but half of what you hatch will be males. What will you do with those? I eat mine but that's not necessarily an option with everyone.

The only reason you need a rooster is for fertile eggs, everything else is just personal preference. Many of us would not dream of having a flock without a rooster, others are very happy with just hens. I suggest you wait and see how you like the hens only flock. You can always add a rooster later if you decide you want to try one.