Just wanted to add my voice to the chorus--yes, RIR have the reputation of being nasty, but all roosters are individuals. My RIR is rising four years old this year and is a great addition to my flock. He was only aggressive towards me once when he was young and stupid, and I chased him around the pasture and caught him and held him down and scared the heck out of him, and he never made one aggressive move towards a human again.
The cool thing about a RIR rooster is that so many great crosses are made with one. With a white Rock or Columbian Rock, you get a Red Sex Link. With a Barred Rock, you get a black sex link. Then you know what sex your babies are at hatch.
I like having a rooster very much. We have three right now with 47 hens, and I'm looking for at least one, maybe two more this summer. They all live together in the same pasture and the same hen house, with very little fighting amongst themselves. They are very good at keeping hen squabbles to a minimum, and they are so cute when they bring treats to the hens. Mine have never done much for predator protection in terms of putting their lives on the line, but they will herd everyone inside when they sight a hawk.
That being said, just be completely prepared to get rid of him if he's aggressive. Don't even hesitate. Don't even feel badly. There are many thousands of non-aggressive roosters looking for homes every single day, so there's no reason to keep a nasty one.
Here's Bruce with one of his daughters. The hen was a red sex link:
The cool thing about a RIR rooster is that so many great crosses are made with one. With a white Rock or Columbian Rock, you get a Red Sex Link. With a Barred Rock, you get a black sex link. Then you know what sex your babies are at hatch.
I like having a rooster very much. We have three right now with 47 hens, and I'm looking for at least one, maybe two more this summer. They all live together in the same pasture and the same hen house, with very little fighting amongst themselves. They are very good at keeping hen squabbles to a minimum, and they are so cute when they bring treats to the hens. Mine have never done much for predator protection in terms of putting their lives on the line, but they will herd everyone inside when they sight a hawk.
That being said, just be completely prepared to get rid of him if he's aggressive. Don't even hesitate. Don't even feel badly. There are many thousands of non-aggressive roosters looking for homes every single day, so there's no reason to keep a nasty one.
Here's Bruce with one of his daughters. The hen was a red sex link:
