what should I look for in a roo?

[galanie]

so hard to give advice, but the friendly one, I would NOT keep. Roosters need to think you are the boss. In the chicken world, the toughest one is the boss,  the rooster needs to be a bit afraid of you, moving out of your space.

Many, many posts are on here, reporting how the most beloved pet becomes the monster. With dogs and cats, if you pet them as kittens and puppies, they become friendly, and stay that way into adulthood. But not so with chickens (for the most part) A rooster that is not leery of you, begins to think that because you are nice, you are submissive. They often will attack to prove their point.

They need to be a little bit intimidated by all humans, imho.

MrsK

Absolutely. The one that doesn't want to be held, that would be my choice.

 

[Stephanie739]

Temperment is THE most important factor here. First, he has to understand humans are boss. All humans, all the time. Sharp learning curve here.

How he treats the hens is next. This is hard to eval during puberty, they're just horndogs. But a roo that calls the girls for food or treats, breaks up fights, escorts them into the roost, snuggles with them at night and drops a wing in courtship is a keeper.

Then you get into breeds, looks, etc. I won't keep the prettiest roo in the world if he's mean to me or the hens. That's far down my list of criteria.


Four hens isn't much for one roo, you might need extra hens or a place to seperate the roo if the hens start showing wear and tear and need a break from the lovin'. You'll have to be vigilant for signs of overmating--bald backs, screaming or running from the roo, etc.

All of my roosters show these traits you mention, but I do have too many roos and a couple of the more submissive ladies are showing wear on their backs. I chose the rooster breeds based on the docile feedback I have read about, and am so glad I did. Still the RIR that showed up at my house from the neighbor's flock shows some of the same sort of winning traits. I'm pretty sure he was very low in the pecking order.

 

[lablover]

MrsK, that definitely makes sense. I have another roo that does not like to be held or touch at all, but will raise his hackels and hop around when I try to catch him.

Both of the roos that I'm considering duck when I go to pet them on the ground. I know that I made it sound like the little red roo is very confident around me, but I can only catch him about 80% of the time. Even then, most of the time he ducks and gets just out of reach.

I'm not really sure how to be the dominant one with chickens.

 

[donrae]

I agree with those who posted about not making pets of a roo. I like my roos to be a little stand-offish, I don't want them thinking they can come up and touch me in any way. As stated, lots of posts---"he used to be my baby and now he's flogging me!". Those can also be the same folks that try having roosters over and over and don't understand why all their roosters are mean. Meanwhile, with my not-so-much-pet roosters, I've had only ONE attack a human in the fifteen years I've kept chickens. Guess how long he lasted?

 

[centrarchid]

What are some guidelines to go by when deciding on which roo to keep to manage 4 hens?

Depends on purpose and method of keep for hens.

Mature rooster usually 8 months or more will not be inclined to over mate hens.

Two good eyes and other parts needed in pairs.

Good feathering for your visual pleasure and his physical performance if needed.

Not a manfighter. Pet rooster in my experience not a problem. All my gamecocks behave as pets in hand and in close proximity and are very unlikely to attack unless hens or offspring threatened.

Genetics important if long term breeding desired.

Not too large or small relative to hens, ideally a little larger than hens.