What rooster should I keep?

I do love to have beautiful roosters, but I would decide which rooster to keep based on behavior.
You can find beautiful roosters just about anywhere, but roosters who will treat their hens (and people) with respect are worth their weight in gold :D
That’s true I was given a rooster and he’s a jerk. He attacks my husband and my of my friends that come to see my birds.
 
Roosters mate and soemtiems has to be rough,chasing and being physically aggressive during breeding is how they were created to populate.I find it quite unfair to get rid of or even kill a rooster simply for doing what it is driven and known to do.As long as my males are not causing serious injury,there is no need to Seperate or get rid of a rooster for doing what is only natural,they don’t know any better,but everyone has their own opinions.

On top of that,we’re talking about birds.I haven't met a rooster (or animal in general),to let its ladies eat first,everyone eats at once.Howeber I do rather boys who share their treats with the ladies then to eat it themselves.

Sometimes when people are picking out roosters I think their forgetting their for the hens,not their future soul mates,lol:
 
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The way I decide who stays in main flock and who goes to rooster flock is by observing the way they lead the hens. I try to be nice and give them two months after puberty with my hens.

A main flock rooster must NOT:
Hang back and ignore the hens.
Only mate with a single hen all the time.
Peck at or bully hens away from treats or food.
Be the first one in the coop at night.
Mate hens who scream and/or try to resist.
Pull feathers out while mating/being rough in general.
Follow you.
Won't give you space while you walk by.
Be the first to dive for cover in case of hawks.
Attack, charge, or crow at you.


A main flock rooster MUST:
Always be within the group of hens.
Mate all hens equally.
Call hens for treats and food, and allow them to eat first.
Be the last in the coop at night. (Bonus: herding the hens in the coop at night)
Let hens go who resist mating.
Being gentle while mating hens.
Leave you alone.
Make a wide circle to give you space.
Be the last to dive for cover, chasing all hens to safety first.
Never attack, charge, or crow at you.

Your hens will usually prefer one rooster over another if you watch them long enough, but if they don't then you pick the one who will benefit your hens.
Basic good roosters protect, feed, and respect your hens.
This is very good information for those of us who are facing this dilemma. I hope my roosters make it easy for me to choose. I already know one for sure who has a one way ticket to the freezer.
 
@BreanneRN sex-linkage through barring only works if the cockerel is unbarred and the hen is barred; the hen can only pass barring onto her sons, but a cockerel will pass it on to all his offspring regardless of gender.
I wish I knew more about all this “barred mating” stuff.
So if my Barred Rock or Dominique hens mate with a Welsummer or SLW roo, can the chicks be sexed at hatch? What happens if said hens mate with a Barred Turken? Are they barred as well? I’m just full of curiosity and questions.
 
One sexlinked breed that’s barred is the black sexlink male.You can get this mix by using a New Hampshire or Rhode Isand red rooster to a barred rock hen,I’m pretty for sure there are more breeds you can use to get it,but that’s the “Mixture” I used to get my bsl cockerel.
 
This is very good information for those of us who are facing this dilemma. I hope my roosters make it easy for me to choose. I already know one for sure who has a one way ticket to the freezer.
I was lucky enough to have a "perfect rooster" which follows everything I described, so I really hope you have the same luck. If not, you may just have to decide what you're okay with and what you won't tolerate.
Maybe he won't be the last in the coop, but he could still be a good mannered, respectful rooster. :)
Think of yourself like the "King/Queen of Poultry". You decide how you want your "kingdom" to behave. :D:bow
 
I wish I knew more about all this “barred mating” stuff.
So if my Barred Rock or Dominique hens mate with a Welsummer or SLW roo, can the chicks be sexed at hatch? What happens if said hens mate with a Barred Turken? Are they barred as well? I’m just full of curiosity and questions.

Your barred hens mated to a non-barred cockerel will result in black sex links, yes. The males will have a white dot on their head at hatch, and will mature into single-barred birds. The females will lack the barring gene and will hatch black, maturing into black pullets. This is because males have two 'slots' for the gene, whilst females have only one, therefore a male pure for barring is BB, a female is B-. This is why pure barred males are lighter than barred females, as the double-dose is stronger.

Generally it is easier to see the little dot on a black base, though autosexing breeds like the Legbar use a partridge base, like that of a welsummer, and still show the dot. As the Barred Rock and Dominique are both black barred (without the barring gene, they would be solid black), and black is dominant over most other colours, you should be ok using a SLW, too, though I would go with the Welly for those pretty dark brown eggs.

ETA: With the barred Turken cockerel, sex-linkage is not possible. If he is single-barred (hen-barred, dark-barred, aka impure for barring), half the pullets will be black and half will be barred. Likewise, half the cockerels will be single-barred and half will be double-barred (pure for barring). Therefore, though you can guarantee that the chicks lacking the dot are female, there will be others that do have the dot, and are barred. If he is pure for barring, all chicks will be barred; males double barred, females, single barred. This is because cockerels get two copies of the barring gene (one from each parent), and pullets get one copy, from their father.
 
One sexlinked breed that’s barred is the black sexlink male.You can get this mix by using a New Hampshire or Rhode Isand red rooster to a barred rock hen,I’m pretty for sure there are more breeds you can use to get it,but that’s the “Mixture” I used to get my bsl cockerel.
Thank you for this info.
 

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