Which is friendlier rooster?

[ringaring]

Does anyone know which rooster is more friendly: jersey giant or leghorn? My chickens are 9 wks old and I have a JG & a Leghorn crowing. Seems a bit early. I also have Australorps, Buckeyes & Ameraucana chickens which were supposed to be sexed (as was the Leghorn which was also supposed to be a Cornish). I have 16 chickens - unless someone else starts crowing, but only want 1 rooster so there's no bickering when the flock is culled to 5 or 6 total. I would like a self sustaining flock, hence need a rooster. Any suggestions appreciated.

 

[The Happster]

My personal opinion; the Jersey Giant's seem much friendlier.

 

[Mrs. K]

Roosters are a crap shoot, often times they do not work out, and really there is no fail proof way to say of a rooster chick, if he is this breed, and I treat him like... he will be a gentleman and a flock master.

If this is your first flock, I would recommend culling all your roosters, wait until your hens begin laying. Contact the feed store, the local poultry club or the county extension agent. I think you get the best roosters when they are raised in enough space, in a multi-generational flock. These birds are not the biggest bird in the flock and they learn the behavior needed to live in a true chicken society. What you are hoping to find, is a rooster that was so darn nice, that he has been kept as a spare.

Rooster chicks raised with flock mates rapidly become bigger than the pullets, are interested in sex long before the pullets are ready, and often times become rather a bully. These chicks are often the friendliest and loose all fear of humans, which with a puppy is a good thing, but with a chicken, not so much. Fear equals respect. These pages are filled where the darling became the nightmare. These roosters are often bullies and aggressive.

So, do not pick a breed, you have to really wait and see. You may want to separate them from the pullets, as they can be pretty aggressive. Wait and see, cull the ones you don't want first. Wait and see, cull again, wait and see, then make the final choice.

Be aware, that none of these roosters might work, it is a crapshoot, if they don't, look for a good rooster elsewhere. No need to breed a rotten temperament into the flock, no need to put up with a rotten rooster, especially when there are truly wonderful roosters out there.

Mrs K

 

[Ruthster55]

Jersey Giant or any other heavy breed will be a friendlier flock rooster.

 

[Folly's place]

@Mrs. K has excellent advice here!
"Friendly' is relative, and not really what a rooster is all about. He should be focused on his flockmates and their welfare, not you. It takes time to discover how any individual cockerel will behave, and yours are still pretty young.
If you want to raise chicks, what are your goals? Dual purpose? maximum egg production? What? Your breed choices seem more towards dual purpose, and that Leghorn won't produce nice big meaty birds for your freezer. The JG should produce large, but they will tend to be slower growing, and is that okay with you?
Personally I like JGs better than leghorns, but that's not the issue here.
If neither cockerel is your dream bird, that's fine. Next year get some straight run chicks of breeds that look interesting, and see if there's a 'keeper' cockerel in the group.
Mary

 

[Alaskan]

I currently have several excellent Leghorn roosters.

But then, I started out, a great many years ago with 10 Leghorn males,and I culled for personality first, all other traits second.

Everything that @Mrs. K said x2.

If you want to keep them, let them grow up a bit and see what personalities they have.

I haven't had luck with large breeds, even good roosters. They are just so heavy that they tend to wear out the back feathers on the girls much more than the light bodied boys.

 

[Acre4Me]

9 weeks is too young to tell.

I had a Leghorn rooster, wouldn’t shut up....we sold him at 5 months. So still in puberty -maybe he would have been ok when older.

we’ve had 2 BJG Males. Last one was fine, but tried to be aggressive with me. Was fine with the kid that handled him all the time. He settled down around 18 months old. Current BJG is nearly a year and never aggressive, seems pretty good so far. Both of them had/have crows that are a little deeper and easier to tolerate, also they are not prone to crow as much as other males we’ve had (our current head rooster is a GLW - penned with the main flock and is not with the BJG). When either BJG was with the flock they were subordinate to another male - unless they were the only mature male.

good luck!

 

[ringaring]

Now have 3 roos: 1 JG, 2 Leghorns. Guess I'll wait to see if anyone else learns to crow. So far no aggression to me & they're all running as a cohesive flock. I'll definitely be culling the Australorps as they have a tendency toward aggression with other birds, & likely all the JG which were intended as meat birds. Sadly, the JG roo has 2 bent toes, a trait I don't want passed on to chicks, so into the pot he goes. The Leghorns are too puny for a pot so they may stay - if they behave. Would love to keep them all but just selling eggs won't buy enough feed. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[AllenK RGV]

Roosters are a crap shoot, often times they do not work out, and really there is no fail proof way to say of a rooster chick, if he is this breed, and I treat him like... he will be a gentleman and a flock master.

If this is your first flock, I would recommend culling all your roosters, wait until your hens begin laying. Contact the feed store, the local poultry club or the county extension agent. I think you get the best roosters when they are raised in enough space, in a multi-generational flock. These birds are not the biggest bird in the flock and they learn the behavior needed to live in a true chicken society. What you are hoping to find, is a rooster that was so darn nice, that he has been kept as a spare.

Rooster chicks raised with flock mates rapidly become bigger than the pullets, are interested in sex long before the pullets are ready, and often times become rather a bully. These chicks are often the friendliest and loose all fear of humans, which with a puppy is a good thing, but with a chicken, not so much. Fear equals respect. These pages are filled where the darling became the nightmare. These roosters are often bullies and aggressive.

So, do not pick a breed, you have to really wait and see. You may want to separate them from the pullets, as they can be pretty aggressive. Wait and see, cull the ones you don't want first. Wait and see, cull again, wait and see, then make the final choice.

Be aware, that none of these roosters might work, it is a crapshoot, if they don't, look for a good rooster elsewhere. No need to breed a rotten temperament into the flock, no need to put up with a rotten rooster, especially when there are truly wonderful roosters out there.

Mrs K

I concur. I didn't start getting good roosters until they were raised around an older generation of hens. 99.95%(one made it to roosterhood then spurred me between the eyes) of my fresh flock starts were rooster fails as they were fixated on me is my thinking. I do free range everyone with feed points set up which may alter your results if you plan to confine them to a coop/run.

 

[Alaskan]

The Leghorns are too puny for a pot

Eh, mine get decent sized by 6 months, taste yummy..

(Way more meat than bantam Leghorns )