Which rooster breed?

[Ivan lee]

Malays are good flock Protectors, & are like puppies to their owners. Very people friendly.

I didn't know your Malays were nice. From my experience, Malays would always kick the living hell out of me.

 

[McChooky]

I would wait until this group is like 10 weeks old, then clean out the brooder and get 3-4 more chicks, including your rooster. Brooder-raised boys without older chickens to teach them manners have a higher chance of being aggressive, which can be totally devastating to the peace and health of your flock.

I'd also go with a smaller breed to reduce incidence of injury. I adore Brahmas (and roosters, for that matter), but our Brahma rooster nearly killed a couple of hens just with his weight. Everyone says the hens can handle it, but that wasn't the case with us.

That's just my 2¢. Not sure if that advice works for you, but I really, really wish I'd heard it before setting up our first flock, so figured I'd at least float it your way. Have so much fun with your chicks. It sounds like a pretty flock!

I cringe every time my friend mentions getting a big black Jersey Giant rooster for his small flock of Dominique hens(the hens usually weigh 5 lbs)

 

[neo71665]

I favor rhode island reds myself. I tend to like full sized birds and think a full sized roo will be better at protection.

 

[MysteryChicken]

We live in rural MO wooded area (LOTS of wildlife) and grandaughter (10) who spends weekends with us wanted chickens. She chose 1- Silver Laced Wyandotte / 2-Black Sex Linked / 2- Production Red / 2- Barred Plymouth Rock pullet chicks. We're upgrading the old chicken house and building a secure run, but hope to be able to allow them to free range some days. Chicks are 2 weeks old. I want to get a rooster chick to join them. I also intend to add a couple gineaus to the flock. What rooster breed would be best to assist in protecting the hens and still be safe with children?

Malays are good flock Protectors, & are like puppies to their owners. Very people friendly.

 

[VeryHappyHens]

Brahma, RIR, I'd say bantam as bantams are good protectors, but he may not be able to breed your hens. Good luck! Predators are sneaky here in MO so be on your look out. I've lost quite a few of my girls and some boys to the sneaky varmints. Raccoons, possums, skunks, and owls. Sometimes Bald Eagles and hawks. Good Luck!

I would not recommend RIR specifically because you have kids in my experience is that they attack and are so mean. I even bought the show type expensive pure breed RIR and they are also mean get a salmon faveroll rooster and 2 salmon faveroll hens or a brahama rooster.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

That may be where we wind up. My son and I just discussed trenching / running electric to coop. We'll try free range first. We have lots of ticks for them to enjoy.

Mmmm, ticks

 

[Egg Snatcher]

I would not recommend RIR specifically because you have kids in my experience is that they attack and are so mean. I even bought the show type expensive pure breed RIR and they are also mean get a salmon faveroll rooster and 2 salmon faveroll hens or a brahama rooster.

You must of had bad luck. When we had RIR roosters they were very sweet and nice.

 

[FolkSonginC]

liege fighters are supposed to be one of the best flock protectors and they can physically do the most damage to a predator, huge and large spurs, but also very friendly toward people. I've heard stories of liege fighters attacking hawks that came after hens. may be tricky getting your hands on one and unless you get a sexlinked breed I don't know how you could know to get a rooster chick for sure. You probably want to either hatch some eggs (fun project!) and keep a rooster or get an adult/juvenile rooster from someone

 

[Retired Tom]

Brahma, RIR, I'd say bantam as bantams are good protectors, but he may not be able to breed your hens. Good luck! Predators are sneaky here in MO so be on your look out. I've lost quite a few of my girls and some boys to the sneaky varmints. Raccoons, possums, skunks, and owls. Sometimes Bald Eagles and hawks. Good Luck!

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Wait until they are older then pick up a known well behaved cock from craigslist for free. There is no shortage of free cock birds, find one that is well behaved. Most birds are from hatchery so it's a gamble how they behave when older. Get a good one, breed doesn't really matter, that's already grown when your pullets are nearing point of lay.

x2 that breed often won't dictate personality, especially with all the hatchery strains out there. If you do give a potentially doomed Craigslist rooster a good home, which is a nice way to go, be sure to quarantine for 2-4 weeks to try to avoid introducing any diseases to the flock. There are probably many good posts on BYC about the best ways to do that.

I love love love roosters. They're beautiful, quirky, and can help deter some predator situations, but here in the woods of rural TN, we don't free-range for the same reasons @Retired Tom mentions: too many predators. A rooster can only do so much. We built out a big chicken yard surrounded by 6' welded wire and electric instead.