What breed rooster do you recommend?

[ChcknNurse]

Of the two pullets I began with, at least one is behaving like a roo. However, if you could only have one rooster, what breed would you recommend? I am expecting lavender ameracauna and orphington and I am getting a silver laced wyandotte. I am trying to get some guidance on which to keep. Also, I have a barred rock I think is a rooster.

 

[Den in Penn]

For a pet flock I wouldn't worry about what breed, but their temperament. If you have a goal on what you want out of your flock then you choose the rooster that will be closer to your goal. What is your goal?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I think Den asked the perfect question, what do you want out of your rooster? What are your goals?

I also agree that breed doesn’t matter unless you are breeding for a specific breed. You can find great roosters or poorly behaved roosters of any breed. For pets keep you best-behaved rooster. For egg laying, choose the best behaved that comes from a flock that lays well. For meat, choose the best behaved big rooster that matures early. Ameraucana, Orpington, Wyandotte, or Rocks, you can get good ones or bad ones.

 

[ChcknNurse]

Thank you for responding. Our focus is laying but temperament is very important. Also, predator protection.

 

[Ridgerunner]

A rooster doesn’t lay eggs so you can’t tell exactly what he is bringing to the table genetically when it comes to egg laying. But if you have hens from the same flock he likely shares a lot of genetics with them. If the hens from that flock are laying well, he will likely bring good genetics.

As far as temperament goes, you will find good or bad roosters in every breed. If you like the temperament of a certain rooster, he is a good choice.

Roosters are more of an early warning system that anything else. Part of their job as flock master is to check out suspicious conditions and give warnings. Occasionally you will have a rooster that will sacrifice his life fighting for his flock but mine are more likely to lead the flock to safety than put themselves in between the flock and the danger once a risk has been identified. The only way to know what any rooster will do is to put him in that situation, and by then it’s too late to change your mind about which one to keep.

 

[ChcknNurse]

Makes sense.

 

[Mrs. K]

Maturity of the rooster also has a big part to play in flock protection. Juvenile roosters are just randy and not responsible. I live on the prairie with every predator. When my second rooster, Captain, turned a year old, I did not have a day time loss for more than one year. Up to that point, I lost a lot of birds when I free ranged.

I just got a new rooster, a year old, and I am pretty impressed so far. The second day, the dog and I headed down, she does not bother them, but by the time we got to the coop/run he had all the hens in the run.

A good rooster is a lot of fun.

Mrs K

 

[ChcknNurse]

Maturity of the rooster also has a big part to play in flock protection. Juvenile roosters are just randy and not responsible. I live on the prairie with every predator. When my second rooster, Captain, turned a year old, I did not have a day time loss for more than one year. Up to that point, I lost a lot of birds when I free ranged.

I just got a new rooster, a year old, and I am pretty impressed so far. The second day, the dog and I headed down, she does not bother them, but by the time we got to the coop/run he had all the hens in the run. 

A good rooster is a lot of fun.

Mrs K

Aww, that's great! We will be too small to do anything more than mixed breed chicks, likely. But, just want to use some wisdom. My daughter fell in love with the silver laced wyandotte, which screamed rooster (based on reading the sexing Slw thread -intense silver shoulders). At about a week and half he seems on the ball. Of course, I won't tolerate a cockrel that is nasty. I just figured some breeds would fit the mold more easily. I am way too new to have any grasp on genetics, of these different breeds and that is currently not my priority. As long as we have a few laying eggs in a years time, we can learn and do what we need to to adjust our flock. Of course, losing to predators will be heartbreaking.

On that point, anyone use those nightime red predator lights? Are they effective? I have heard that those with goats tend to not have so much problems with the predators being bold enough... Do guinea hens do anything beneficial? Sorry for all the questions.

 

[Mrs. K]

Night time predators need a good fence with an apron. Laying out a length of chicken wire on top of the ground connected to the fence will deter digging predators. I held mine in place with those long fabric garden U shape prongs. Then the vegetation grows up through it. Diggers tend to dig in a tight u shape, close to the fence, the chicken wire prevents them getting close to the fence. On the ground, they can't tear through it.

As a fence, chicken wire is not enough, mine has woven wire fence up about 4 feet on the outside, chicken wire up about 2 feet to keep chicks in. Then I have chicken wire over the top, completely enclosing my run and coop. Raccoons can crawl up a 5 foot fence and down again to eat your chickens. Trust me, I tried this, and lost a lot at night. Once I enclosed the top with chicken wire, I was fine.

You really need to look carefully at the gate, that is generally a weak area of the set up. I buried an old piece of metal directly under the gate, and then placed a piece of a railroad tie that the bottom of the gate is pressed firmly against when closed.

I love to have mine out and about, think they are healthier, a rooster helps, but I also have enough room to keep them locked up. I keep them locked up if I am hit by a predator for a week so the predator moves on, I don't let them out on windy days, I think it interferes with their hearing. Bobbi Jo, recommends not on a real dark cloudy day either, so I do that to.

Yes, you hate it when you lose one, and it is always your favorite, but then you can get more chicks!

Mrs K

 

[ChcknNurse]

Night time predators need a good fence with an apron. Laying out a length of chicken wire on top of the ground connected to the fence will deter digging predators. I held mine in place with those long fabric garden U shape prongs. Then the vegetation grows up through it.  Diggers tend to dig in a tight u shape, close to the fence, the chicken wire prevents them getting close to the fence. On the ground, they can't tear through it.

As a fence, chicken wire is not enough, mine has woven wire fence up about 4 feet on the outside, chicken wire up about 2 feet to keep chicks in. Then I have chicken wire over the top, completely enclosing my run and coop. Raccoons can crawl up a 5 foot fence and down again to eat your chickens. Trust me, I tried this, and lost a lot at night. Once I enclosed the top with chicken wire, I was fine. 

You really need to look carefully at the gate, that is generally a weak area of the set up. I buried an old piece of metal directly under the gate, and then placed a piece of a railroad tie that the bottom of the gate is pressed firmly against when closed.

I love to have mine out and about, think they are healthier, a rooster helps, but I also have enough room to keep them locked up. I keep them locked up if I am hit by a predator for a week so the predator moves on, I don't let them out on windy days, I think it interferes with their hearing. Bobbi Jo, recommends not on a real dark cloudy day either, so I do that to.

Yes, you hate it when you lose one, and it is always your favorite, but then you can get more chicks!

Mrs K

thank you so much for all the detail. That's what I need.