Which rooster should I pick to stay with the hens?

[momgard]

We ended up with 5 roosters out of a "mix"of 9. Now, we need to decide which rooster to keep. We have one that's so aggressive, if you turn your back on them, they will try to attack you (but if you pick it up, it will let you, being very agreeable with it), and some others that have only attacked on rare occasion, and two that run away when we try to corral them back in the coop, but have never attacked. I'm leaning more toward the most kid friendly, which would be one buff or a barred rock. Any specific behaviors that are better qualities?

 

[Amina]

I would get rid of all three that have ever attacked, and then see which of the remaining two has the better personality. Getting rid of the aggressive three will change the flock dynamics such that one of the remaining two may also decide to be aggressive now that he's at the top of the pecking order. Hopefully not, but I would want to get rid of the aggressive three before making a final decision.

 

[Mrs. K]

I would get rid of all three that have ever attacked, and then see which of the remaining two has the better personality. Getting rid of the aggressive three will change the flock dynamics such that one of the remaining two may also decide to be aggressive now that he's at the top of the pecking order. Hopefully not, but I would want to get rid of the aggressive three before making a final decision.

Good advice. I try and pick the middle rooster, top one too aggressive, bottom one not protective enough, but pulling birds, changes flock dynamics. The other idea is butcher them all, and get a proven year old rooster from someone else.

Mrs K

 

[draye]

Pictures sure would help folks decide. But with what you said I'd go with the buff. The barred one will give you a lot of barred.

 

[sunflour]

I have no personal experience with roosters, but read once that the Buff roos are courteous to the hens.

 

[speckledhen]

I'd get rid of the three who have already shown human aggression, then let some time go by and see how the behavior of the other two may change or mellow out.

You can't go by breed for anything, really. It's all individual. My roosters are Delaware, Barred Rock and Del x BR. They are chosen for temperament, which comes from the 6 year old Delaware rooster, who is father of one and grandfather of the other male. The Del rooster in my avatar is the one I'm talking about and he comes from a line chosen for temperament, which is generally heritable.

Most all roosters will do for watching out for the hens--they should never "protect" the hens against you. That is a no-no here. You want the one with the "smart genes", the one who knows who is top dog (you are) and knows you will not harm the hens. I'm not talking about some young guy boundary testing bites, I'm talking about all-out flogging and attacks. Biting can usually be stopped with some aversion therapy, I've found, IF the male is not genetically prone to human aggression anyway.

That said, the barred rooster will pass barring to all his progeny. So you'll have plenty of barred chicks. if you don't want that, that might influence your decision.

 

[donrae]

I'd get rid of the three who have already shown human aggression, then let some time go by and see how the behavior of the other two may change or mellow out.

You can't go by breed for anything, really. It's all individual. My roosters are Delaware, Barred Rock and Del x BR. They are chosen for temperament, which comes from the 6 year old Delaware rooster, who is father of one and grandfather of the other male. The Del rooster in my avatar is the one I'm talking about and he comes from a line chosen for temperament, which is generally heritable.

Most all roosters will do for watching out for the hens--they should never "protect" the hens against you. That is a no-no here. You want the one with the "smart genes", the one who knows who is top dog (you are) and knows you will not harm the hens. I'm not talking about some young guy boundary testing bites, I'm talking about all-out flogging and attacks. Biting can usually be stopped with some aversion therapy, I've found, IF the male is not genetically prone to human aggression anyway.

That said, the barred rooster will pass barring to all his progeny. So you'll have plenty of barred chicks. if you don't want that, that might influence your decision.

x2 on this. To me, the most kid friendly rooster is the one that just avoids the kiddos.

 

[momgard]

thank you for your replies. good ideas to keep the nicer two to see how they are once the pecking order changes.

 

[aart]

If you have small kids, under 10, get rid of all of them.
If you're only in it for the eggs and/or pets, especially if you are brand new to chicken keeping.

Do you need a rooster....or just kind of want one?

 

[appps]

Yeah I'm with aart. Having had a rooster didn't like the kids it is so much more pleasant without I would never keep a rooster round my kids again that wasn't of sweet (not just not as aggressive as another but sweet) personality. They will fly up and attack, can cause injuries requiring stitches at the least, and teach kids to be scared of the chickens. My daughter was 14 when ours drew blood about an inch from her eye, my sister in law still has a huge scar where she was attacked by one at 3, Do not take your eye off them for a second round the kids no matter how old.

We just hatch by buying eggs which is kind of fun too because can pick and change breeds that way. so you don't have to keep a rooster in a small family friendly flock.