What rooster should I have?

[bantyhen'sfriend]

I have not found the way a roo to be raised to have much of a factor as to how aggressive he is. It has more to do with the personality of the bird. Nature vs nurture, and nurture only goes so far before nature takes over. Sometimes, the roo is a real sweetie, or at least non aggressive, until his hormones kick in. Then, they either get to tolerate their owners or they don't. Also, I'd rather take the boss roo in a flock over a subordinate, because you cannot see the true personality of the roo that is at the bottom of the heap. When our boss roo died because of a freak accident, the second roo took over. Soon, the sweet rooster I had raised from a chick put his three-inch spurs into my knee, and we could not go into the coop without a grain shovel to protect our legs or wedge him into a corner so we could feed and collect eggs. Maybe this was just a one-time occurance, but you might be able to say it made it's mark on me.

I have found that production bloodlines have some really nasty roos. Most people say Buff Orps, Barred Rocks, Australorps, Brahmas, and Cochins are very docile, even rom hatchery stock. But a nice, quiet mutt off craigslist will also do the job. I'd just pick a nice docile boy and go for it, the coop is empty without a rooster. You might also be able to get an exhibition breeder's culls, birds that are not good enough to be shown but are more than able to become flock roos. This would be my first choice, because then you get a big, pretty bird who is used to people and is most likely not aggressive.

 

[CANDLE98]

I agree that it is bread into them, i hatched some wellsummers and i ended up with 2 roosters and 2 hens, well i had one rooster that would attack us every time we went outside, so we ate him and his brother is the coolest rooster i have ever had! He is a good man to his ladies and he doesn't bother me one bit. He won't let me pet him or anything, but he doesn't care that I am around or if I mess with his hens. He is head roo over 2 silkies, 2BCM and 1 EE. Our EE roo is a butt head and he is lowest on the pecking order. I wanted to use him for breeding, but I don't want to get another mean roo like him, so we might eat him too!

 

[RedJasper]

I have a mix of RIR and New Hampshire Roos....My head roo 'Big Red' is incredible and extremely protective of the flock AND myself and fiance. I have one roo who doesn't like my fiance for some reason and if the bad boy starts to come hear him, Big Red jumps between them and chases the other roo out.

The other day I had Big Red and a few Barred Rocks out getting some sun and when I went to put the chickens in for the night, Red would not stay in the coop until all the girls were back inside, despite having 10 other girls inside already. He is an absolutely AMAZING rooster and hope he lives a long time.

When all the chicks were babies and getting bigger, I spend a lot of time holding all the birds, especially the boys. I can hold all the roos, (once I catch them) but all but Red are skiddish.

Good luck with your decision.
Keri

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

Quote:
IDK, I raised a BR roo, handled him every day, he did great until he hit about 6 mos. and became very aggressive. I'm on my third roo, an EE who is very mellow and rarely crows despite all the roosters crowing in the neighborhood. He is 8 mos. old and I'm hoping he'll continue to behave himself.

To the OP, why not get an Araucana or Ameraucana roo and you'll end up with EE chicks? That Barred Rock will give you some good layers and he's a handsome fella!

 

[Mervin]

Quote:
I'm starting to think more and more that it's all in the breeding and their spot in the pecking order. This summer I had two Wellie roos as well. The head roo was kind of a jerk to the hens and sometimes people as well and he was always crowing. The other roo seemed much more mellow. The hens tended to stay away from the alpha and treated the other roo like just one of the girls. Well, I had enough and "promoted" him. As soon as he was the top dog, he started acting like an even bigger jerk than the first. My little girl was afraid to be anywhere near him. Then he started tearing out everybody's feathers too. When he started coming after me, he was much more aggressive I'd ever seen. He made a fine stew.