What am I?

[suliah]

I got 6 straight run Easter Eggers from Tractor supply last spring... Or so I thought.

Now I have 4 hens and 1 roo (lost 1 roo early on)

clearly 2 are easter eggers-- green eggs, fluffy heads, gray feet. I'm not concerned about those girls.

1 has the speckles but a lot more brown, but no fluffy head, and lays tiny medium-dark brown eggs.
1 has the speckles, no fluffy head, and bright orange feet, and also small medium-dark brown eggs!

And the rooster, well he's beautiful, but aggressive and mean. He chases my kids across the yard and attacks them, really. I'm thinking about removing him, but I want to know if he's a welsummer and I should hatch me some olive-eggers first!

Thoughts what I really have in the pics below would be very helpful
.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

I got 6 straight run Easter Eggers from Tractor supply last spring...

Now I have 4 hens and 1 roo (lost 1 roo early on)

clearly 2 are easter eggers-- green eggs, fluffy heads, gray feet.

1 has the speckles but a lot more brown, but no fluffy head, and lays tiny medium-dark brown eggs.
1 has the speckles, no fluffy head, and bright orange feet, and also small medium-dark brown eggs!

And the rooster, well he's beautiful, but aggressive and mean. He chases my kids across the yard and attacks them, really. I'm thinking about removing him, but I want to know if he's a welsummer and I should hatch me some olive-eggers first!

Thoughts on the pics below would be very helpful
.

He might be a Welsummer although he looks a bit squat for one, I am not really familiar that breed though. One thing to keep in mind is that the offspring from an aggressive roo will also lean toward aggression.

 

[suliah]

He might be a Welsummer although he looks a bit squat for one, I am not really familiar that breed though. One thing to keep in mind is that the offspring from an aggressive roo will also lean toward aggression.

Ugh, didn't really think of that...

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

You might put an add out on Craigslist, or Nextech or here on BYC that you are in the market for a docile Welsummer. Roos are pretty easy to come by!

 

[donrae]

He's likely a Welsummer, but I'd go ahead and get rid of him. First, around here, Thou Shalt Be Nice. If you're not nice, off with your head!

Besides that, though, is your hens. To get a true Olive egger, you need to cross blue with dark brown. Your hens lay green eggs, so their offspring with him would lay a combination of green and brown eggs. You'd get a variety of shades, and some could be very pretty, but sometimes when I've mixed brown and green I've gotten a very muddy, unattractive shell color

.

I'd say if you're wanting to breed your own chicks, get rid of him and pick up a nicer tempered Easter egger rooster. That way you'll continue to have shades of green, and maybe pop out some bluer eggs down the road.

Please get rid of that bird. Kids don't deserve to be attacked on their home place.

 

[suliah]

He's likely a Welsummer, but I'd go ahead and get rid of him. First, around here, Thou Shalt Be Nice. If you're not nice, off with your head!

Besides that, though, is your hens. To get a true Olive egger, you need to cross blue with dark brown. Your hens lay green eggs, so their offspring with him would lay a combination of green and brown eggs. You'd get a variety of shades, and some could be very pretty, but sometimes when I've mixed brown and green I've gotten a very muddy, unattractive shell color

.

I'd say if you're wanting to breed your own chicks, get rid of him and pick up a nicer tempered Easter egger rooster. That way you'll continue to have shades of green, and maybe pop out some bluer eggs down the road.

Please get rid of that bird. Kids don't deserve to be attacked on their home place.

Yes, that's the direction I'm leaning more and more. The hard part is that he only just started getting mean in the last 6 weeks! I was hoping I could just train him (and he's going to be caged up pretty quick here) but that isn't working. I also remember having a mean rooster as a kid and how much I hated him, and I won't do that to my kids.

My only problem with that is that my lone duck (I had 3, and 2 got caught by hawks this summer) has really bonded with the rooster, and she'll be horribly upset if she loses her man!

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

Yes, that's the direction I'm leaning more and more. The hard part is that he only just started getting mean in the last 6 weeks! I was hoping I could just train him (and he's going to be caged up pretty quick here) but that isn't working. I also remember having a mean rooster as a kid and how much I hated him, and I won't do that to my kids.

My only problem with that is that my lone duck (I had 3, and 2 got caught by hawks this summer) has really bonded with the rooster, and she'll be horribly upset if she loses her man!

Rarely can a mean roo be 'trained' out of it. If he is attacking now, it will most likely continue or get worse. It is hard for kids to teach a roo that they are in charge, most of the time they are just too scared. I am sure that your duck will recover, you might want to get her a companion if possible.

I also have little ones and will not tolerate a mean roo.

 

[StarMeKritten]

I kept a mean orpington rooster around for way too long because he used to be nice and I thought he might get better. He was my first chicken and I was fond of him. Plus, he was nice to his hens and they LOVED him. I hatched some chicks from him and the females were nice but the males had his attitude. We finally sold him and kept a few nice roosters of different breeds instead. I thought I would be sad to see him go, but I only felt relief. His hens love their new man just as much. I have 5 roosters now and they aren't half as much trouble combined as my old one was on his own.

Best of luck with him! I know it's a tough decision to make.

 

[Wyandottes7]

I think that your rooster is a Welsummer.

If he's mean, I would get rid of him. Mean roosters are no fun to have around, and temperament can be passed down to the offspring.

 

[BantamLover21]

Looks like a Welsummer to me, too. It would probably be best to get rid of him and avoid possible future injuries or passing the aggressiveness to offspring. However, it is your choice.