Your roos – good or bad? *Updated Chart on Page 15*

I like mine. His name is just kinda "rooster" he's a RIR, hatched about April10th of this year so almost 6 months old.


The dog used to chase him around a bit, playing with him (she thought) until one day he figured out that he could corner her up on the deck and she would turn into a big ole chicken and whine for mommy to come rescue her!
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Otherwise he's protective of his ladies without attacking me, shares the treats and calls them to food, treats them pretty gently, and generally takes care of the pullets.
 
I love my three roos.

First and always foremost is Thunder, 1.5 yr old silver laced wyandotte. He is the ultimate flock leader. He has never been aggressive with adults but my friend who watched the chickens while we were on vacation says he chased her two year old (chased but did not try to flog). He keeps a close eye on everything around him and is quick to herd the ladies away from any potential danger. He is always first into the coop at night and crowing to call all the ladies safely to bed. He does have a sense of humor though because he will be standing about with the hens pecking around and suddenly he will make the hawk alert. All the hens dive for cover and he just stands there and watches them, no hawks in the sky, or anything else for that matter. I swear he does it just to watch them scramble.

Roo #2 is Mr Red, a red frizzle bantam cochin. About 1 yr old. He is always after the ladies when they stray away from Thunder. It's really funny because the few times he has actually caught one of my big Wyandotte hens he holds onto the back of their head and mounts them at the shoulder he is so comparatively small. He is a good one for picking up and snuggling though and my best friend's kids love him.

Roo #3 is Bonfire. He is the "baby" of the group, just hatched in April. He is a blue laced red Wyandotte. Bonfire is big, gawky, and awkward. He can be found with the outcast hens, the ones Thunder decided aren't good enough to follow him around. Bonfire hasn't reached full roo-hood yet since he has yet to crow or pay any attention to his companion hens. He just wanders around like he is lost and rarely goes very far from the coop.

Thunder
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I have come into contact with hundreds, probably thousands of roosters being game owners (and meeting other chicken owners) we would raise probably 200-300 hundred often and never sold them really so we just fed them and fed them and fed them.. Until they either died of old age or we did sell em. I will say, after coming in contact with so many and being raised around chickens, there isn't really a mean rooster exactly UNLESS..

His genetic make-up had aggressive birds in the background, never breed a mean rooster unless you want mean roosters. Any rooster who's abused will be mean.

Things that are typically called mean, but are really just misunderstandings would be - A rooster protecting his flock, you scaring him with fast movements, or you accidentally hurt him/his hens somehow. It's the same with dogs really, people who raise them like serious breeders and such will tell you the same things and people agree most of the time. But when related to chickens people tend to just throw out the "He attacked me @#$#% @$#% I'm chopping his head off".

When you get one, i say follow the gentle method IE pick up, pet/hold, don't jerk if he bites, etc. Wear gloves and long sleeve shirts if need be and boots/long pants. Try holding them everyday for at least 10-15 minutes then bend down and put him on the ground gently. Maybe even a few treats while holding them as well, if it doesn't work sell him or get the ax.

I don't believe holding him to the ground to embarrass him, or anything like that truly works. I have tried those methods and many times in my experience it made it worse or took longer. I guess a kick would do to make him afraid of you, but might as well just chop his head off before he attacks other people.


ETA: Oh, and i love my roosters
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. My birds are held from the time they hatch out until the day they die pretty much, i try and pick em up at least once a week or so.
 
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I really like my current roo, Tobias~Toby for short. He is a PR, beautiful, gentle, smart and a good flockmaster. He has required no correction for behaviors and does his job well.

Best of all?
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He rarely ever crows!!! Even when he does, it's very muted.
 
We really like our Orpington Roo "Blue". He's always keeping an eye out protecting his girls, feeding them choice bits and treats. The other day I mixed up a batch of yogurt and some crumbles in a bowl. After the feeding frenzy, I watched him stand perfectly still while a little buff pecked and cleaned his wattles for him, before he wiped off in the grass. He's a great roo, and if I was more pc savvy, I'd have a pic for ya.
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I have a few 'wannabe' mean roos. I actually had one that I had to introduce to the broom. After about 4-5 broom spankings, he decided that he didn't need to have anything to do with me. He ended up dying to protect his girls from an unknown predator after the hurricanes hit here.

My current roo is a production RIR named Reggie. He is almost 2 and has tried to dance for me a couple times. He quickly found he did not like my response and gave up on trying to 'win' me over.

Nasty roos are UNacceptable no matter how pretty they are. I have a standing list of ladies who like to introduce them to their soup pot/oven! LOL
 
This is Jazz. We all love him. Never even dropped a wing to any of us. If only he could figure out how not to rip up the hens when he is doing his thing.
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And this is Pretty Boy. Fabulous rooster. Protects everyone (even Jazz) from hawks and other dangers. He even thinks the ducks are part of his flock and thus entitled to his protection. Cant touch him, he doesnt like to be picked up or touched but he is extremely non-aggressive with people and the hens.
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We are blessed!
 
Name: Artex
Breed: Splash Orpington
Age: 35 wks. old

I have been through 3 mean cockerels now (1 of them would draw blood on anyone that would get near him! He was the meanest thing I had ever seen). I am so happy and pleased with my Splash boy. He is nothing but a doll baby! Huge, but a sweet heart! He loves to walk by me and brush up against my leg or stand at my feet giving me this look which is almost an endearing one. This boy will always have a good home here.
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Here's my Artex at 33 wks. old.
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Our OEG bantam roo Cosmo is great! He takes great care of all the girls large and small. He is hard to catch and hold but my 10 yr. old can catch him every time. I think he feels a bit embarrassed when we catch him and pick him up. Guess he has that little man complex? There is nothing funnier than seeing him try to take care of his roo business with a standard hen.
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(we never let him or the girls see us laughing at him)
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This is an old pic sorry for the evil eye.
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