Should I keep one or cull all my roos?

[legacyln]

I had posted this in "Egg Laying & other behavior" but after reading this forum I think this might be a more appropriate spot for the question...

I had hens years ago and loved them. Am ready to keep chickens again and just got 13 SR Dominiques and, a Buff Orphington pullet and two SR Rhode Islands. Although my plan was to get pullets only, by chance I ended up w/SR chicks b/c I bought from a 4-Her. My original plan was to get a couple new pullet chicks every year. So now I'm debating, should I keep a rooster or two or give them all away? (I don't have a problem with eating them generally, I just don't want to have to eat guys I've raised myself and I don't want to go through cleaning and plucking them!) Now that we have them, my husband thinks he'd like having a rooster here crowing and of course I'm thinking it might be neat to let a hen raise some chicks next spring... Chickens are really a slippery slope!

The only roosters I've ever been around were aggressive. I like my hens to be healthy and happy, and I have small children. So my question is, are there "nice" roosters? I can tolerate bossy and in charge, just not attacking and making all the hens (and me!) cower. If such lower key, "nice" roosters exist, how old do they need to be to determine what their personalty is like?

Thanks in advance for any and all opinions and information you can offer.

PS These Doms seem like nice calm chicks-- might be different altogether from the the Insane Terrorist White Leghorn roosters I briefly had as a kid.

 

[LinckHillPoultry]

I have tons of roos... about 10... or 12. They're all split due to the fact some are mean and some get picked on by the other roos. I am iffy about culling them myself.

I have one roo that pretty much claimed all the hens... so he is the "big" daddy.

One roo would be enough for about 8 or 10 hens.

 

[MissPrissy]

It is impossible to predict if a roo will become aggressive and cause problems. If you have just one and handle him alot there is a good chance he might stay nice.

 

[Stormhorse23]

i have a silkie roo with 4 hens and he keeps the eggs fertile but doesnt "over-love" the girls

 

[skeeter9]

Some roos are nice and some aren't. Unfortunately you won't know for sure until they are mature. All you can do is try to raise them to respect you and handle them a lot, then wait and see. . . If you get a nasty one you can just get rid of it and try again. For me, they are definitely worth it because I love the crowing and they usually take great care of their ladies.

Lori