When can a roo remain a roo...

[Achickenwrangler#1]

A smart roos will call the attention of the predator, then lure it in the other direction, and hopefully fly off into a tree. If he's fast enough. You will know if you had a good roos when the hens come back and he didn't. Unfortunately it can take awhile for the next roos to replace him. Either way, a roo is no match for, say, a bobcat. As for the mating ritual comparison of bringing candy...I don't know how that would work...I can make candy, better be expensive jewelry. Ha ha. In a wild stage the hens will choose the roo, whoever is left standing, if she doesn't like him, she leaves. Now, it's up to you to decide if she can leave his sorry butt behind. Two words...crock pot.

 

[Wisher1000]

This is Darty's (above) son, DJ (Darty Junior.) He is half Ameraucana and half Buff Orpington. He has the same great qualities as his father and has also never been aggressive toward his people. He was rehomed to another BYCer and she is very happy with him. They call him John Wayne.

 

[Wisher1000]

A smart roos will call the attention of the predator, then lure it in the other direction, and hopefully fly off into a tree. If he's fast enough. You will know if you had a good roos when the hens come back and he didn't. Unfortunately it can take awhile for the next roos to replace him. Either way, a roo is no match for, say, a bobcat. As for the mating ritual comparison of bringing candy...I don't know how that would work...I can make candy, better be expensive jewelry. Ha ha. In a wild stage the hens will choose the roo, whoever is left standing, if she doesn't like him, she leaves. Now, it's up to you to decide if she can leave his sorry butt behind. Two words...crock pot.

Now, I don't know your hen, but there is usually something simple that will work just as well. One of the best treats I ever received was a magnolia blossom, stolen from a neighbors tree, in a beer can full of water on my back porch. It was there when I came home from work after a bad day. That was in 1994, we married in 1996 and he is still getting credit for it.

Expensive is nice, but it is not what matters most.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Well, perhaps, reading between the lines, the mating rituals of chickens cannot be truly compared to humans. Passing on genetics is the roosters primary goal.

 

[LeJeune1]

Wisher How funny! Your roo looks like an EE that means business! Keep up the good work on your end of Dixie )

 

[RaeRae2]

Well, the Dark Brahma that I had went to a new home this weekend after he savagely attacked my old hen that I just spent $$$$ and time nursing back from near death.

I heard so much screaming and commotion and I ran out of the barn to see that *&$%#*( rooster on top of my hen absolutely beating her to death. He would have killed her if I wasn't there. Her head was bloody and that poor thing was screaming for help. He was flogging and spurring her and I had to grab him by a handfull of feathers and yank him off of her. I put him in a dog kennel.My dad was able to find him a home out in the country where he's an only rooster. They do plan to get some hens for him, but for now he's alone.

Also my Ancona hen had a bloody head and a torn comb so I'm sure he did that also.

So as I stated at the beginning of this thread, EVERY rooster I have ever had has turned out to be absolutely horrible.

If I had just found that poor hen's dead body later on, and not seen this attack in progress, I would have assumed that some predator did that to her. That poor hen is so terrified that she's been hiding now since Saturday. The *(&$%($ rooster is gone, and she still won't come out of hiding. It is infuriating. That rooster also went toe to toe with my old 7 yr old hen and she was fighting him and not backing down, but I broke it up before he could have really hurt her.

That was the LAST straw. I will never entertain the thought of a rooster again. One won't even get a chance here. This is literally probably the 10th one that has turned out this way. All different ages and breeds....makes no difference. So I truly do not understand how everyone with "good" roosters, gets them. I have always had a big flock of hens with only one rooster so there's no competition. Some have been raised with the flock, some brought in as adults. All of them totally free range over the years, and only this flock I have now have been kept in a run/coop. So space was never an issue either.

 

[RaeRae2]

This was the loudest rooster I've ever been around, literally crowing non-stop. One morning he crowed once about every 3 seconds for 35 minutes straight. Then he'll stop for 5-10 minutes, and start up again. We couldn't even talk to each other around the farm because he was so loud and the crowing was literally NON-STOP.

I don't project human values onto chickens, but when they cause SUCH a disruption to daily life, they have to go. Especially when they start viciously attacking my hens, as this one did. GONE.

Roosters crow, that's what they do. It's how they communicate.
As to the OP many comments on this board exagerate what to expect from a rooster. The notion that they will protect hens from preditors is vastly overstated. The rooster that tries to protect hens from most any preditor will just be the first chicken killed.
Many, but not all, roosters will call hens attention to food-they do this for the same reason men bring women candy-we all know why, right? At 15 weeks he probably isn't as preoccupied with mating as he eventually will be so he's not motivated to bring any candy yet.
The thing to remember is, they're chickens not little people with feathers. Don't project human values & behaviors on them.

 

[angelbabyamy]

I've had problems finding a good rooster also. I finally butchered my Black Copper Marans because he would flog everyone and no matter what I tried, he wouldn't stop. I had a WONDERFUL BLue Laced Red Wyandotte who was very mellow and nice, but lost him to a predator.
I currently have a Lavender Orpington Roo, EE and Speckled Sussex roo. They are all under a year old, so I am giving them some time to make sure they will work out. The lavender is such a sweetie and doesn't even harrass the hens and he's almost 7 months. The Sussex is also 7 months and is rough with the hens, I want to keep him, he doesn't try to flog me and keeps out of my way, so I hope he works out. The EE is good with the hens, will call to them if I throw treats, but the hens are not too fond of him, some of them will fight with him.
I keep saying I'm not going to keep roosters too. It's hard to find a good one.

 

[RaeRae2]

Yep, life is just too short to deal with that kind of stuff. I have no need of a rooster because my hens don't free range so predators aren't too much of an issue I only let them out when I'm there so I can watch for hawks. I do like raising chicks when one of my hens goes broody but it's easy enough to get some hatching eggs if that happens. As far as roosters singing the egg song along with hens, "feeding" them treats, or calling to them..........that stuff is of no value to me, and my hens don't care one way or the other. What I have observed is 99% of the time, the hens would rather be left alone, and totally ignore what the rooster is doing anyway. I do not like seeing broken and torn out feathers on my hens, and I just hate to see them screaming and running to hide with a rooster chasing them at a dead run.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

I keep a razor sharp machette hanging near the door of my coop, I find it hard to miss with...unfortunately over the years, roosters have been bred to cover many hens, probably more than they should, personality traits not even considered. I find my game cross with a straight comb much more gallant than the same with a peacomb. I've had roosters run across the field to molest a broody hen with chicks. So long rooster. This is the time of year when I'm really scrutinizing this years cockerelles and watching how they treat their flockmates...I want to breed for color, but if attitude isn't there it goes.