Useless rooster

[birdlover2]

No, he is an Ayam Cemani. About a yr old now. He is so pretty, i hate to get rid of him

You don't have to. If him and the new rooster get along you could keep him still for breeding/as a pet. You could even build him a separate pen and stuff, but that's probably not worth it for just one rooster. I would get a new rooster to protect the hens and see if they get along. If he's so flighty maybe he won't be dominant either. If he's submissive they may have a few fights but will eventually get along. Some say it's not worth the chicken-feed to keep around a useless rooster, but I'm the kind of person who really would have chickens as pets and grow attached to them all, and if you want to keep him around as an extra then that's just fine. Also, Ayam Cemani are pretty darn rare and valuable, so it wouldn't make sense to make him soup. I would sell him or give him to a reputable breeder if you want to get rid of him. But if you keep him around I would look into breeding him.

 

[Folly's place]

As mentioned, if your cat can get there, so can everyone else!
Most cats will go after chicks, and most broody hens will defend their chicks, at least from cats. Unprotected small chicks are definitely fair game though. And most chickens won't defend baby chicks not their own.
Mary

 

[Cwillenburg]

You don't have to. If him and the new rooster get along you could keep him still for breeding/as a pet. You could even build him a separate pen and stuff, but that's probably not worth it for just one rooster. I would get a new rooster to protect the hens and see if they get along. If he's so flighty maybe he won't be dominant either. If he's submissive they may have a few fights but will eventually get along. Some say it's not worth the chicken-feed to keep around a useless rooster, but I'm the kind of person who really would have chickens as pets and grow attached to them all, and if you want to keep him around as an extra then that's just fine. Also, Ayam Cemani are pretty darn rare and valuable, so it wouldn't make sense to make him soup. I would sell him or give him to a reputable breeder if you want to get rid of him. But if you keep him around I would look into breeding him.

He has always been dominant towards other roosters. We've hatched multiple babies from him and he does not like to share his girls lol. He's only pet quality so he isn't worth anything, just pretty and makes cute babies

 

[Cwillenburg]

I've often wondered if Malay, or fighting type roosters would make good protectors. I feel like they would, isn't that kinda what they're bred for?
I know that @MysteryChicken is gonna have a few available after she figures out which are boys, but she's in Michigan so you'd have to be in her area.

I live in OK. I've thought of OEG but can't find any breedera near me.

 

[Cwillenburg]

You didn't. Hot wire would cure him in an instant.

There isn't a way to attach hot wire to where he is getting in. We've tried

 

[birdlover2]

He has always been dominant towards other roosters. We've hatched multiple babies from him and he does not like to share his girls lol. He's only pet quality so he isn't worth anything, just pretty and makes cute babies

Oh ok, well in that case I would sell him. If he's an Ayam Cemani (pure black chicken) he is worth something just because of his rarity. There are people who collect/breed rare chickens just because they like the look of them or because they're rare. Not very practical, but if you sold him to someone like that you could profit off it and the rooster wouldn't become soup either.

 

[Cwillenburg]

I think good roosters are luck of the draw. My best two have been a Wyandotte and a Black Copper Marans.

But your thread title made me laugh. I had five roosters this year and narrowed it down to two. Humperdinck, a handsome Bielefelder, and Steve, a Polish who was just too stupid to eat. One day a red tailed hawk came down and buzzed my hens while I was out in the yard. Humperdinck sounded one sharp alarm yip and immediately led all of the hens under the henhouse. Steve ran around the yard in circles squawking for about 30 seconds and then dove under the porch.

Guess who's alive and who is soup.

When we first got our chickens last year we ended up butchering a RIR rooster that was slightly aggressive. We didn't want him going after our kids. I'm having serious regrets now

 

[pony007]

There isn't a way to attach hot wire to where he is getting in. We've tried

whats your setup like? there are hot fence insulators that can be wired, screwed, hammered, or clipped onto pretty much any surface. It doesnt need to be directly where the cats getting in either, if its on the bottom and middle of the fence its unlikely kittys gonna miss it. Hot fence works like a charm.

I had a cat get curious about my birds, and it only took one zap to keep the cat from even getting close to my run again.

 

[birdlover2]

When we first got our chickens last year we ended up butchering a RIR rooster that was slightly aggressive. We didn't want him going after our kids. I'm having serious regrets now

It can be difficult to find a good rooster sometimes. I would say it depends on the amount of aggression what you should do, but there are ways to make your rooster less aggressive. Once somebody on here posted a video showing how to show the rooster that you are the boss in a way they understand. Once they recognise that you (and your kids) are a higher rooster than you they are less likely to attack. Some aggression is needed, though ideally a good rooster won't attack you (or your family) but will defend the hens and it's sometimes hard to get that balance. Our good leghorn rooster, (who eventually did die protecting his hens, at least that's what was theorized), knew and respected us and was generally non-aggresive though cautious around other people. But one day a little kid started throwing stones and sticks at his hens and him. He didn't put up with that long and attacked the kid. So even the best of roosters can be provoked. Which is why it's important to teach children to be careful around animals, even chickens.

 

[Brooks_]

There isn't a way to attach hot wire to where he is getting in. We've tried

HWC?