Out of the three breeds- scared of roosters, which one to try?

[TigerLilly]

I say, if you're raising them, pick whichever one you feel most comfortable with. While they're growing, handle them as frequently as possible. All roos are going to be different, attitude-wise. If you have one that lets you hold it & acts 'right' then that's the one you keep. If you find that you favor one out of the bunch, start early & show him who's in charge & keep him.

 

[elieugene6]

I haven't personally dealt with full size easter egger roos but have heard from a few that they can be nasty. My youngest is sweet as can be but he still has a month or so to go before hormones kick in.

My jersey giant roo never once went through the hormone induced meanness. He is a sweetheart and a big baby. He is lowest on the full grown rooster pecking order below my golden comet and bantam cochin. Imagine a 13 lb rooster running away from a itty bitty bantam cochin. Its quite funny in a sad way. Cochins seem to be very nice as well.

I have heard that marans roos can be very mean but you have to select against that trait when breeding. So I would contact the people you got your eggs from and see if any have very gentle sweet roos. I know most do select against it but there are some that don't . Me if the roo is mean he becomes dinner. I even have some babies earmarked for the freezer because they weren't very nice as young chicks. I will not breed mean chickens or give them away and allow someone else to breed them its just wrong. I understand how you feel. My sister is to this day terrified of chickens. She was attacked by the neighbors chickens as a child. She is now 20 and in the air force but still when she comes home will run and hide from my chickens when they come to greet her. I remember being attacked by bantam roos as well. I think bantams can be horrible due to little man syndrome. Lol. My black bantam cochins can't make it more than a foot off the ground and would prefer to not do that. The jersey giant only comes off the ground to roost and when he needs to get away from the golden comet quickly. He is huge but sweet. He was raised by a broody and had very little human contact but since mature will come right up to eat out of my childrens hands. He was terrified of us as a chick.

So basically in conclusion. Just watch them if they show signs of aggression get rid of them. You will eventually see one that never shows any type of aggression. You might even get more than one. lol

 

[wannabchick]

Quote:
Thank u all so much and your stories and personal experiences.

Euliogne..sorry spelled wrong I know

I know nothing about Roos..so what do they do that shows signs of a aggression?
I Dont want to mistake something for cute and later find out ..that's their secret move before the atttude so to speak?

Thank u

 

[snowflake]

I have good ones and bad ones. if they start to attack and I can't get them to behave in a short time they go. I have an Araucana/Americana from Mcmurray's ...EE never has gone after any one not even 4yr. old twin grand daughters. I think if you handle them a lot when they are young it has a lot to do with how they behave when they get older.

 

[Pinky]

I would choose the Ameraucana because of his colored egg genes

I know everyone thinks rhode island reds and white leghorns are aggressive, but I got lucky and have two very nice roosters. The RIR never challenged me, not even once, and my white leghorn tried once, but it wasn't with me and I fixed him of that behavior. I couldn't trade them or ever replace them if I had to. They will even sit down with me (and the annoying kitten my mom brought home one day).
One reason I think they grew up so nice is because I thought I had 1 hen and 1 rooster, so they had no hens when they went though their teen days.
And as dawg53 said, the older the rooster, the better. I agree with this 100%

Good luck with the rooster you choose, just remember, they feed off your fear of them

 

[elieugene6]

Quote:
Thank u all so much and your stories and personal experiences.

Euliogne..sorry spelled wrong I know

I know nothing about Roos..so what do they do that shows signs of a aggression?
I Dont want to mistake something for cute and later find out ..that's their secret move before the atttude so to speak?

Thank u

Well the first thing you have to look for is if they start to lower their wing at you and dance around you in a circle. If they start to do that they are treating you like their hens. That is a good time to pick him up and hold him on his back until he stops struggling. If you allow it to go on eventually he is going to try and dominate you. Don't allow him to peck at you meanly, you will know the difference. If a rooster ever rushes you, not for food, its time to get rid of him. Do NOT run away or turn your back on a rooster that has rushed you. I think the only cute thing you have to worry about is the wing thing. I find it adorable, my bantam cochin occaisionally tries it but I pick him up everytime. The wing thing can be remedied but if they rush you don't even bother.

 

[WallTenters]

Quote:
I agree

We learned this the hard way - we had one of our roosters do the herding move on me and we just figured he was a little confused. About a month later he pecked the back of my leg, while I was in a skirt and sandals... It didn't hurt it just startled me. So I turned around and chased him. He decided he wasn't confused anymore. I've been told to hold them upside down as well if they ever get the idea in their head. For ours it was enough just getting chased a couple of times if he tried to get too "cocky" (now we all know where that comes from!).

Ours is a gentleman now. He still rushes towards us if one of the hen gets startled when we pick her up, but it's more to supervise I guess, as he just comes to within a couple of feet and clucks to her until she settles down. I think he's a little more scared of us than the hens are, but he'll still eat out of my hand and let me pet his back if I sit in the pen for a while with them.

 

[Egg Rookie 2010]

I took a "poll" of sorts in 4 different forums BYC included and with 105 responses to this same question for the same reasons 82 said COCHIN so thats what I got and he is 3 weeks old. I also kept one of the 11 extra males that came with my order for body heat and I hope he isnt evil or he will be dinner.

 

[sourland]

All that you can do is raise them and cull as they become aggressive. There will be some aggressive roosters among all three choices. Hopefully there will also be some that are more mellow. Overly socialized roosters are frequently among the most human aggressive. Make pets of the pullets and treat the cockerels like chickens.

 

[wannabchick]

Thanks again everyone..
I did put a post asking to explain direct aggressive behaviors..especially for us newbies

Keep in mind, a whole lot of us have never owned chickens and yes.. For months we may be falling in love with a rooster have had no desire and then keep it..think they are doing cute things and not have a clue they are doing something not cool at all

So again I thank u