Roosters: The Good The Bad & The Ugly

[ChicknBaron]

Sounds like i'll have to look into those Belgian D'uccles and Delawares! I've never heard of em but they sound pretty cool

Where can you get them from, because i've never seen either of the breeds for sale anywhere?

 

[Folly's place]

Australorp males are generally nice, and Favorelles are really mellow also. Mary

 

[math ace]

Sounds like i'll have to look into those Belgian D'uccles and Delawares! I've never heard of em but they sound pretty cool

Where can you get them from, because i've never seen either of the breeds for sale anywhere?

Well, of course you could get some from me LOL....
I got mine from highspringschix in High Springs Florida AND from Bill Braden in Oklahoma.
MANY folks on BYC have delawares that originated from Speckledhen's stock in Ga.
Kathyinmo on BYC is working on recreating the delawares from scratch using premium barred rocks x New Hampshire.

There are several threads on BYC for the delawares.
PLUS, there is a delaware club....

The delawares are an American made breed that has been around long enough to be considered a heritage breed. They are a large fowl dual purpose breed.

The boys are incredible in this breed. . . . . We nick named our one roo hug-a-bug. His real name is Thor because he is so big... He is our big hug-a-bug Thor. My other delaware rooster goes by Bill Baby...

 

[ChicknBaron]

That's neat,

how they're starting from scratch! I should try that

with some other breed too, lol!

 

[carolinasculpture]

DELAWARE roosters ALL the way!
If you want a giant teddy bear rooster, then you want a Delaware Rooster.
They do crow... and loudly... ONLY con to these sweet hearts! However, that is a rooster

Rooster Breeds I have owned...

Marans,
Leghorns,
Speckled Sussex,
Ameraucanas
and Delawares.

NEVER have I had a nasty Delaware Rooster. Plus, they are very people friendly birds. These too don't have to go hand in hand. I have had some breeds where the rooster wasn't people aggressive, but he was a touch-me-not too. Delawares have no problems with you picking them up for a few minutes of loving...

My marans boys are good too. However, I have heard others complain about their marans being aggressive. So, this may be a breed that you have to watch whose line you get.

The leghorns are skittish.

The Ameraucanas are bada## little boys. They are OK with people, BUT don't get along with other males at all! Because they are a lighter bird, the males can be flighty. I had an ameraucana roo that started crap with every male I had on the property. He would pace the fence line and purposely instigate crap. If he got a chance, he would fly into someone else's pen to start crap. The ameraucana roosters weren't nasty with people....BUT Lord help you if there was another male bird any where nearby!

Speckled Sussex - - I've had some really nasty ones and some really timid ones. No sure bets in this breed : (

Hi! I was just wondering where you got your Delawares. Are they hatchery or breeder? Sounds like what I am looking for! Thanks!

OK, sorry, just read the next post.... Have you had the same results with hatchery Delawares?

 

[math ace]

Sounds like what I am looking for! Thanks!

OK, sorry, just read the next post.... Have you had the same results with hatchery Delawares?

I have never had any hatchery Delawares. You can ask on one of the delaware threads....

 

[RedDrgn]

There is no such thing as a docile rooster breed and no way to know the real attitude of any roo until they are about a year or so old. Roos are crap shoots, 100% of the time and that's about the best odds you can get.

Personally, I love our roo (New Hampshire). He's beautiful, talkative, vigilante, hilarious, and respectful of my DH and I. The only cons I'd peg him with are that he's footwear prejudiced to the point of neurotic-pyscho-attack-beast, and even with my DH or I around he will not differentiate friend from foe - all 2-leggers on our property that are not us are not allowed by him. He does have a favorite girl that he's rough on the feathers of, but since she often submits to him when he hasn't even "asked", it apparently isnt too bad for her and we just saddled them all to prevent any injuries.

 

[math ace]

There is no such thing as a docile rooster breed and no way to know the real attitude of any roo until they are about a year or so old. Roos are crap shoots, 100% of the time and that's about the best odds you can get.

Personally, I love our roo (New Hampshire). He's beautiful, talkative, vigilante, hilarious, and respectful of my DH and I. The only cons I'd peg him with are that he's footwear prejudiced to the point of neurotic-pyscho-attack-beast, and even with my DH or I around he will not differentiate friend from foe - all 2-leggers on our property that are not us are not allowed by him. He does have a favorite girl that he's rough on the feathers of, but since she often submits to him when he hasn't even "asked", it apparently isnt too bad for her and we just saddled them all to prevent any injuries.

I will respectfully disagree, strongly disagree!

I spend a lot of time with my cockerels building trust with them. I have 5 adult roosters on the property right now and have no problems with any of them. Two of these boys are over 2 years old. Genetics and Environment come into play. Some breeds are just more likely to be respectful and trusting of their owners. However, a good rooster can be turned bad if not handled and trained correctly.

 

[dawg53]

I will respectfully disagree, strongly disagree!

I spend a lot of time with my cockerels building trust with them. I have 5 adult roosters on the property right now and have no problems with any of them. Two of these boys are over 2 years old. Genetics and Environment come into play. Some breeds are just more likely to be respectful and trusting of their owners. However, a good rooster can be turned bad if not handled and trained correctly.

x2
I can verify what Math Ace has stated. She was kind enough to let me have Thor for my roosterless flock at that time. I have NEVER seen such a calm and trusting rooster as Thor! He easily let me pick him up at will without a struggle or whimper.
I can also verify that Chickenzoo has several roosters much the same.

 

[math ace]

Thanks dawg53..... I've got a super sweet 20 week old Speckled Sussex Cockerel that is showing all the signs of turning into a super great rooster. He follows me around going wa wa wa waaaa. When you have a cockerel at this age that trys so hard to coommunicate with you, he will be a special boy when he finishes growing up.