What rooster breeds do best at watching over a flock?

[fluffycrow]

Being a good observer and knowing when to sound warning calls is not only an individual thing, but also has to do with age. When birds are younger, and do not yet have much experience with predators (especially when not raised by a broody), they tend to spook very easily, even at the sound of a dove. With age, they get better.



As long as the rooster doesn't have any feature stopping it from doing its job as sentinel(as is the case with most polish roosters and their enormous crests that reach their eyes), you should be good

 

[145chuckens]

So roosters that are raised by a hen are better at watching over the flock then those raised by humans? If so is there a way to help teach a cockerel that a buy/hatch as a day old chick to be a better sentinel. And what age range do you think that a rooster is best at watching the flock. I would imagine that not just young but also very old roosters won't do as good. But I'm not sure.

I would love to know the answers to chickenx2005's questions too. I have a lot of hawk problems and am curious as to what roos do best at watching out for hawks. My roo is a leghorn mix and he does great but I'm really curious if that's common for the breed/mix or not and what other breeds do good.
Thank you

 

[CHICKENX2005]

I have a gold penciled hamburg. He's a little guy (4.5 pounds sopping wet), but is very alert and the first to sound alerts over aerial threats. He's also incredibly quick (he's faster than my leghorn based hens).

I've had a jersey giant as well. Incredibly protective. He paced circles around the coop while a hen was broody in the coop, telling her about everything going on outside. I've heard stories about them (working together) killing hawks.

Both had older experienced birds teaching the younger ones about life. Notice I didn't say were broody raised. I got the hamburg (and other babies) into thee coop at an earlier age than the giant was, but still much later than I do now. Broodies talk to babies while still in eggs. When using incubators or farm store/shipped babies, I put them in a modified tote in the coop with the mama hen heating pad (found info on byc) from the beginning. The adults do the raising and its almost as good as broody raised.

So do you mean that you had the chicks in their own cage but where the older chickens can see them. Or where they in the same run as the older chickens?

 

[CHICKENX2005]

Tote with windows and baby hatches inside the coop.View attachment 3774438Whole thing tucked under the nest boxes. Adults won't let babies outside until they deem them big enough/temp warm enough/babies know alert sounds? for them to venture outside.

View attachment 3774445View attachment 3774446These babies came from feed store.

This is smart. I like this idea.

 

[rural mouse]

It doesn't matter. Hens are completely capable of watching out for themselves. A rooster won't change anything except that you'll need a constant supply as predators will likely pick the rooster off first since he'll be standing there yelling.

Depends upon the predator. They have a call for bird in the air, a different call (quieter) for dangerous bird in the air. When they use it EVERYONE freezes. There's yet another call for animal on the ground. And they use some of the noisy ones for "HUMAN, COME HEEEEELLLLLPPPPPP!" The crowing call is "All is well"

 

[Apis mellifera]

Other good roosters I’ve had include Plymouth Rocks and Chanteclers.

Whether they're hatched in an incubator or under a hen my Chantecler roosters also have been great. I had a roo die fighting a Redtail hawk.

 

[p4PaDuck]

This goes against everything I’ve learned and probably you have learned about australorps. I had an extremely friendly rooster named pirate that was by far the friendliest chicken I’ve ever met but, he also protected his girls very well. He did fight once but not ever agai but he did warn the hens (chickens and ducks) against possible threats when they were free ranging. I would recommend australorps to beginners. Very nice and pretty, and was gentle with the girls. I miss him so much.

 

[CHICKENX2005]

Being a good observer and knowing when to sound warning calls is not only an individual thing, but also has to do with age. When birds are younger, and do not yet have much experience with predators (especially when not raised by a broody), they tend to spook very easily, even at the sound of a dove. With age, they get better.



As long as the rooster doesn't have any feature stopping it from doing its job as sentinel(as is the case with most polish roosters and their enormous crests that reach their eyes), you should be good

So roosters that are raised by a hen are better at watching over the flock then those raised by humans? If so is there a way to help teach a cockerel that a buy/hatch as a day old chick to be a better sentinel. And what age range do you think that a rooster is best at watching the flock. I would imagine that not just young but also very old roosters won't do as good. But I'm not sure.

 

[nuthatched]

It doesn't matter. Hens are completely capable of watching out for themselves. A rooster won't change anything except that you'll need a constant supply as predators will likely pick the rooster off first since he'll be standing there yelling.