Roosters

[Country Dreamin']

Hi Everyone,

I am just in the planning stages for my first flock and am wondering about roosters.

How many people have roosters in their flock?

I would like to have one to get fertile eggs from. However, i don't want a noisy or aggressive bird running around.

If you have different breeds of chickens in your coop and a rooster i guess you are going to end up with mixed breeds, right? What about meat birds and layers?

What breed of rooster would you recommend if i am looking for calm and quiet? Will it depend on what breeds i currently own?

I am very confused about the whole rooster thing....

Thanks!

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you are up to reading a bit, these links have some pretty good information in them about rooster behavior. The bottom line is that you are never sure how any one specific rooster will behave, no matter what the breed. Some breeds are known to have roosters that are often not well behaved, like Rhode Island Reds, yet you'll have people on here that talk about how well behaved their RIR is. And Buff Orpington's have a reputation of being fairly docile and laidback, yet you'll get posts about how mean their BO is. It is purely individual with the specific bird. I think your odds of getting a well-behaved rooster is fairly good with the BO, Delaware, Australorp, Sussex, and any of the Rocks or Wyandottes. No guarantees, just decent odds. These are all good dual purpose breeds that should provide reasonable egg laying and meat.

Breeders managing roosters
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=250327

Number of roosters thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=219443

Managing multiple roosters
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=229968

A rooster will mate with any hen in the flock, so yes you will get mixed breeds if you have different breeds. It doesn't matter if they are more for meat or more for eggs. Unless your goals include showing chickens or for some reason wanting one specific pure breed, many of us don't consider that bad. If you have good egg laying breeds and they mate, you should get good egg laying chickens, whether they are purebred or mixed.

 

[SillyChicken]

you should also double check to see if there are any restrictions on owning a rooster. Many areas won't allow them.

I love my 2 Salmon Faverolle roosters, (I only have one, dual purpose breed) both of the roos have great personalities. They do crow mostly in the early morning but are generally quite the rest of the day....... but that will always depend on the bird.

 

[33yardbirds]

Just went out to get eggs before they froze and all the girls were in the underbrush resting and there stood Bob my Barred Rock roo keeping an eyeout for anything that could cause them problems. Rarely is he off his feet. I would never be without a roo. Fortunately I live far out and could have gazillions of roos and nobody would care.

 

[Yazzo]

Rooster are not only really entertaining, but really easy to handle once you get to know them.

Here's some info for you if you do decide to take the plunge: https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=63850-the-definite-guide-to-roosters

 

[Chickengill]

I haven't had too much experience with roosters but make sure you have enough hens to keep him happy or keep them seperated. My first was a RIR with him I only had six hens and he wore them out pretty bad. Now I have a Barred Rock rooster with twelve hens almost a year old and the girls are still looking pretty. The RIR was a pretty nasty bird but this Barred Rock seems to be a little more kind.