Rooster questions

[33yardbirds]

If you would like a RIR roo I have extras 8 wks old. You pick. If Jersey Jack is from Jersey and you are fairly close. These are real RIRs and there is no charge. PM if interested.

 

[so lucky]

May I ask why you want a Roo? (Yes, "because they are beautiful" is a good reason!) At 13 weeks, your flock probably has already established pecking order. I wonder if adding a roo at this point would add confusion you don't need. You may well have a dominant pullet that serves the watchdog/leader purpose that a roo would. My 6 chickens are about 10 weeks old, and already the roo is causing trouble, chasing and pecking the girls, acting like he wants to challenge me, getting upset when the girls jump on my lap. I am making plans to get rid of him if he doesn't get over himself. I don't need the hassle.

 

[so lucky]

sorry, I mis-read the age of your flock when I responded to your original question.

 

[Blue]

Quote:
In an earlier reply it was suggested to wait till my hens were sexually active, does that mean when they start laying or wearing lipstick? My birds free range all day, knock wood, no casualties as of yet.

I would like to get a roo asap, I'm mulling two choices, please vote and help me decide

1. Get a 6 month old rooster now

2. Wait till my hens start puttin out, then add a year old rooster

I don't know much about chickens, other than what I've read here, please help! Thanks

For chickens, sexually active just means when the hens start laying eggs. Of course, if your chickens do start wearing lipstick, you may have a great money maker there. lol! If you've already found a rooster available that you like, I'd just get him now. You could always keep him separated from the hens until the hens start laying and add him then. FYI, an older rooster (1 year +) is usually better as his temperament is already established. Some young roosters can do a complete Jekyl and Hyde when their hormones really hit.

 

[kestrel1027]

Our Hamburg rooster is the epitome of a gentleman. Yes, he is a bit skittish, due to the breed, but he is not at all agressive and he has been very considerate of his hens.

We only had one issue with pecking near to his introduction. He kept pulling feathers from a leghorn hen twice his size who was not accepting him as boss and bullying his personal favorite hen (a delicate little hamburg he was raised with). We put peepers on him for about a month and everything has been right as rain since then.

He is stunning to look at and is personable even if he doesn't like to be held. I have become very fascinated with this lovely breed because of these two, might even consider moving to a single breed flock.

 

[bobbi-j]

Getting an older rooster and keeping him separated from the hens until they're older (yet within sight of the hens so they can get acquainted) sounds like a good idea. As previously stated, his personality should be pretty well developed by then. Of the many roosters I've had, the breeds that I have found to be aggressive are EE and Barred Rock. The calm ones were Cochin, OEGB, Golden Comet Brown Leghorn (although the people I got him from had him because he attacked his previous owner), and Brahma (that's what I have now). This is not saying that all of these breeds have those temperaments. That's just been my experience. Another thing to think about is WHY you want a rooster. Do you want to hatch out chicks for future egg production only? Find a breed that's known for that. If you want a dual-purpose flock - egg production and meat, you might want a larger breed. That's why I have my brahma. I'm hoping to start a dual-purpose flock, and this guy is huge. Please keep us posted. It will be fun to see what you decide.