What breeds have protective roosters?

[1cock2hens]

I have a picture of a game rooster killing a hawk....... they are smart and protective..... while I have only had a couple of real crazy ones that we were actually manfighters.... most are real good.....

I believe it

 

[centrarchid]

I have a picture of a game rooster killing a hawk....... they are smart and protective..... while I have only had a couple of real crazy ones that we were actually manfighters.... most are real good.....

I am inclined to believe it as possible. Juvenile male Cooper's Hawk below got into a pen where he killed a chick. I tried to extract him causing him to enter another pen where a game hen with chicks was located. Hen flogged him down and would have killed him very quickly if I did not intervene. He had already given up on trying to get away. Hen flogged me too as I pulled him out. She was riled. Now that young are weaned she shows no interest in hawks coming into barn.

This guy which is part of my Missouri Dominique is a bullstag investing a lot of effort in driving off Cooper's Hawks when the enter barn area.

Multiple were coming in, one at a time, mostly after songbirds and this guy would run them off perch is he could see them. Still lost a juvenile outside to hawk because the stag did not go over to where hawk had juvenile downed. Details of hawk issues in thread below. Hawks spent a lot of time in the barn each day with a couple become habituated to my presence as did adult chickens. Chicks safe so long as with hen.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1139715/coopers-hawk-working-barn-area-hard

 

[mich9510]

I heard a bunch of commotion in the yard a few weeks back so I went outside to see what was going on. As I started walking toward the commotion is saw a Coopers hawk flying away empty-talons...he was no match for my 6 month old Jersey giants....lol.

 

[chicknmania]

Size really doesn't matter that much though. Coopers hawk attacked my Araucauna pullet. She was a big girl. I chased it off her and thought she was ok, but it had reached around and grabbed her throat....turns out he severed her windpipe, the vet determined this. We have five roosters but not one of them offered to take on the Cooper's hawk, although they did a good job of keeping everyone corralled and also escorted my poor FrouFrou into the barn, and stayed with her. It wasn't til later that I realized she was critically injured. It was just a little Cooper's hawk too. Might have been a sharp shinned, they look similar.

yesterday though it wsa cute to see our oldest rooster, who's a mixed breed, but he's 6 years old so he's been around the block a few times. He had two hens with him and they were taking a walk, but they were close, one close on each side of him. It was obvious that he was assuring them that he would protect them.

 

[June2012]

OK, let me see if I'm understanding this right. You are looking for a rooster that will give his life protecting the flock, correct? Is that all that you're looking for? You want a rooster that is going to fight off predators. Here is the thing - unless you have an endless supply of roosters, you're going to need another line or two of defense. After all, once your rooster gives his life, what's going to protect your hens? If you have a heavy predator load, you could have a lot of dead roosters to replace. Do you free range? What is your environment like - woods, fields, city, suburban, rural? Do you have any cover for your chickens if they're out free ranging? What is your coop/run setup like? I like having a rooster around, but I don't depend on them for all my flock's protection. If you have a lot of predators around and your chickens are in a run (preferably covered), electric fence around that run is your friend. If you want to move them around the yard, electric netting is a good thing.

We free range, so we know that there is always a chance a chicken will die. A few years ago, we had a coyote take about half my flock in a very short time. We were gone, but I can only guess that the rooster got taken first, then the rest of the birds. This fall I had a cockerel give his life protecting one of the flock. I had three, but I also have enough hens that they weren't overbred by the number of cockerels. Had the one that was killed been the only one, I'd be out of luck right now. After that loss, my chickens were cooped for a couple of weeks to hopefully discourage whatever killed him.

If you're looking for a rooster to call an alarm, find tidbits for hens, and put them to bed at night, you really don't need one. A dominant hen will watch and alert for predators. Hens are perfectly capable of finding their own food and going into the coop on their own at night.

I live in a suburban area while wondering if I could even have a rooster in where I am. I don't even know, although there are people who do raise roosters in a suburban area. I'm looking at the No-Crow Rooster collar...but I have zero experience with it, and have no idea as to how well that works.

I do know that a dominant hen would work just as well, but I am someone looking forward to chicks if the situation were to permit it. ^o^

I'm not an expert - I only have my own experience to go on. But over the past few years, I've found it really depends on the individual a little more than the breed. Last year was a prime example when we received an overabundance of roosters in our January chick order - Easter Eggers, Large Cochin, Silver Laced Wyandotte, a Buttercup, and a couple "surprise" breeds we never did manage to identify. We had a really large flock of hens at the time thankfully, and a big yard for everyone to free-range in, so it was a good setting in which to watch the roos mature.

I did want to raise chicks and wanted to keep one or two roos, so this is how it shook out after they reached maturity:

We found one of the large Cochins to be extremely mellow and we've kept him for no good reason except we really like him. He has little in the way of self-preservation instincts, however, nevermind any inclination to protect the girls. The hens let him pal around with them (LOL - he's so big, he looks like a big fluffy turkey in the midst of the gals!). A second Cochin roo shocked us by being a cranky bully (not typical for the breed). He was determined to have all the food for himself, and would aggressively knock the hens away from anything they found! We rehomed him!

The three Easter Egger roos turned out to be remarkably belligerent towards the hens -- I didn't expect that because I adore the temperament of our EE girls. I considered at first if they were in competition with each other, but they were acting alone. They didn't treat the hens well at all, bullying and yanking out their feathers, and generally being jerks. They didn't bother people, interestingly, and didn't even fight with each other, but after seeing the condition of a couple of our hens, we moved them on to the stew pot.

The Buttercup was a little gentleman, unbelievably solicitous and sweet towards the two buttercup hens, cooing and calling them for food, and so forth. But he ignored all the other hens completely -- it may have been his size. The buttercups were much smaller birds than expected. I rehomed them all to someone who fancied the breed.

The winner by a long shot has been Earl, our Silver-Laced Wyandotte rooster. Definitely the tallest and most athletic of the bunch. He isn't mean to the girls in the least, accomplishes mating efficiently without damaging their feathers, and calls them when there's food to be had. He didn't fight with any of the other roosters --- a few wing-flappings only, and everyone accepted he was boss, and that was that. He tolerates the remaining two roosters quite well.

Earl surprised me one day by suddenly gathering the girls to the safety of the bushes -- he called and they ran! Just then, a hawk swooped in low for a few passes, and left empty-handed because Earl had obviously spotted the predator in the sky. I've seen Earl keeping the peace in the flock too, getting between hens who are having a disagreement. One squawk from anyone and he's on the spot to see what's going on! And I watched him hover protectively over our little Polish gal, Priscilla, when she had three chicks. He was seldom far from them, and inserted his body between them and a hen who wanted to peck at the chicks!

Like many roos, Earl had to be discouraged in the beginning from flapping at my legs, but we established who was boss early and he's never done it since -- although he doesn't take kindly to strangers. All in all, I couldn't ask for a better roo. Are all Silver-Laced Wyandotte roosters like Earl? I don't know. Like I said, it still depends on the individual, but if I was looking for a flock rooster again, I'd start with Wyandottes.

Hope that helps a little bit.

I have looked into Wyandottes, to be honest. They are such a beautiful breed! Thank you for your post. It provided amazing insight!

 

[centrarchid]

The protective qualities is very much a mentality issue. Breed and size obviously can have impact on what the rooster does, as does variation between individuals. I have been watching roosters a lot, in part because I have a lot and keep them under a range of conditions for a fair amount of time. Three other factors relating to the roosters biology also involved; first is maturity, second is season, and third is social status of rooster. Immature roosters less than 9 to 12 months are not reliable. My games do not get real serious until over a year old. Roosters in the process of replacing tail and body feathers are more concerned with self preservation and invest less in protection. Roosters that are most reliable are harem masters that have offspring. They are protecting the offspring, not the hens. The offspring can be eggs. With all these considerations, my free-range roosters become reliable in February-March and continue into roughly August. Older roosters seem more inclined to invest in offspring through molt. Following fall molt, most of my roosters do not do much more than produce alarm calls until day length starts to increase.

 

[skycrow10]

my orpington roosters have been very protective of the hens and very gentle with hens and owners the hens love them

 

[Addisen]

I know how protective rhode island reds can be I have one of the roos and about 7 of the hen(I have other hen but they are a different breed.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Do you think it's possible for a rooster to be protective but friendly? Or at least not aggressive to me?

 

[dekel18042]

Do you think it's possible for a rooster to be protective but friendly? Or at least not aggressive to me?