What Breed Should My Future Rooster Be?

[SunnySkyFarm]

I am planning on getting a rooster in a couple of weeks, along with a couple more girls. Right now I have 5 Rhode Island Reds/New Hampshire Reds (sold to us as New Hampshire Reds but a friend thinks they are Rhode Island Reds), 1 White Silkie, and 1 Blue Silkie (All my chickens are hens as of now).

I am planning on getting the rooster from Clark Farm, in Higganum CT.

These are the breeds on the website, I will see what she has available when we get there:

[FONT='Bookman Old Style', 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]Rhode Island Red, Buff Orpington, Barred Rock, Araucana, Light & Dark Brahmas, Silver Laced Wyondottes, Black Australorp, Leghorn, Sussex, Welsummer, Silver Hamburg, Jersey Giant, Buff Cochin, Blue Cochin, Salmon Faverolles, White Silkie, Polish, Golden Laced Wyondotte, Black Copper Maran
(copy and pasted from the website)[/FONT]
http://www.clarkfarmbusiness.com/Chickens-for-sale.html

Pros and Cons of roosters of each breed (as many as you can stand doing, LOL) are appreciated, also personal experiences!

Thanks!,
Eliza

 

[Eggcessive]

If you can get a heritage RIR which is the pure old fashioned red from the early 1900's, I would get one. There is a thread on BYC trying to educate people that the RIR that hatcheries and feedstores sell are actually a mixed breed chicken that is for cranking out more eggs in the first 2 years, then pooping out. The true RIR lay slightly less but for many years, and they are more gentle docile birds than the hatchery reds. I got some this year from hatching eggs, and they are so gentle. The roosters are not known to be aggressive. Their color is a deep mahogany brown with a bottle greenish black tail. However, I do like the looks of a New Hampshire rooster as well.

 

[Mickey Lou 04]

I had never heard about he cross bred thing but are the RIR bantams or standard? I have had nothing but issues with RIR birds, but roos in particular are even worse.

I personally don't like barred rocks because they are bird aggressive and I have talked with people who have raised birds for years and they have noticed that their BR were always trouble. I tried to introduce a few to my flock but they grabbed a hold of my birds' necks and wasn't letting go.

I have heard GREAT things about Buff Orp roos. A relative has one that her very young daughter hauls him around and he's really gentle to his hens and has good fertility.

If you do auricauna beware as they may end up being easter eggers bbut if not then I want some!

I haven't been able to find any.

My cochin roo is mean, but only to me. Which makes it hard as I'm usually the one in the coop So I doubt I'd do cochins again, very pretty but my birds and my friends cochins as well don't have great temperaments. If they are bantams and you keep their spurs short I put up with them. I'm not sure as to how bad tthehy beat up hens though.

I love my maran roo! He is awesome! He is sweet but doesn't put up with the other roosters' tricks. The only problem is when he was 13 weeks he had a seizure. He pulled through though and now he is our baby.

Hope this helps, Mickey Lou 04