# Rooster problems



## bam42 (May 25, 2010)

Wanting to hear a rooster crow in the morning is what got me started in the chicken business. I have a young Rhode Island rooster. Along with 4 golden comets , banty hen, and a white leghorn. Is there any breed of rooster that gets along with hens.


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Goodness, yes. Lots of roosters of different breeds get along very well with their ladies.


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## bam42 (May 25, 2010)

Could you recommend some breeds that I could look in too.


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## Guest (Jun 30, 2010)

Brahmas are one of the gentlest breeds I've had. The roosters usually even get along pretty well with each other. They are very gentle with the hens.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Aw. I know how you feel. Roosters can be so vile. I dont really keep chickens "for the crow" though. Eggs and meat! You cannot eat their voices. LOL.

I have personally never met a decent Barred Rock rooster. Or any Leghorn rooster worth keeping. Banty roos? I had a little silkie who was sweet, but the Polish guy I have now? Nope. He is just starting to crow and he is beautiful, but greedy over the feed and I think will not make the cut.

I have a Silver Laced Wyandotte roo who is nice to the girls. Not sugar-sweet, but he doesn't thrash them. I have had Orpington roosters who I managed to get along with.

In my opinion, most of the breeds for 'egg laying machine' chickens ~ the roosters have terrible temperaments. I think that the heavier egg-laying breeds (which are slower-growing and less "production" type) have better genetics for temperament. Maybe because they DO grow slower, people take the time to be more selective. ?

I am also interested to hear others opinions on this. Hatchery birds are a crap-shoot. If you want 'nice' birds, you need to get them from someone who raises nice birds. KWIM? 
I think the genetics can vary a lot w/in a BREED. So, it is (possibly) unfair to say "ALL Barred Rock roosters are mean." Although it has certainly been *MY* experience.  

Good luck finding the rooster you want. Some of the sweetest ones I have owned were of (gulp) "Mixed Heritage".


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## delphinium (Feb 4, 2006)

Salmon Faverolle roosters are gentle with their ladies, have a nice crow and are nice eye candy.


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Since you aren't particular about breed, why don't you put an ad on craig's list? Make sure whatever you bring home goes into isolation away from the others till you are sure he is healthy and free of passengers.


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## Ms.Lilly (Jun 23, 2008)

I have a Delaware Rooster and he is a wonderful rooster. In fact when we started with chickens I refused to have a rooster on the property (bad childhood experience), but my DH tried to convince me and I said I would consider it. When my chicks arrived and started to grow I realized I had a Delaware rooster in the bunch. He has made me realize that there are good roosters out there! I am still able to hand feed this guy. Since then I have had experience with a few other breeds and have not found one as gentle and he really does care for his ladies. Always rounds them up at night and makes sure there is plenty of food for them. Oh he is beautiful too!

Other breeds I have delt with: EE roo-he got the boot. Pheonix- He actually is a quiet guy and I would like to find him a good home. Silver Spangled Hamburg- must carry a stick when he is near, he needs a new home too (maybe the freezer). BO- One of my guys was eaten by a cayote, he was so obnoxious and mean to the girls he probably left a bad taste in the cayote mouth! The other BO is going to turn out to be okay, not wonderful but okay. Hope this helps.

Lillian


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## Freeholder (Jun 19, 2004)

I've never met a Barred Rock or RIR rooster that didn't attack humans, so never kept them around long enough to see how they dealt with their hens. Right now I have two roosters -- a black Silkie and a half-Silkie, half Easter Egger. Both of them seem to be good roosters -- don't attack people and don't tear the hens up. The cross roo is cute to watch, as he'll bring a hen over to where he wants her to lay, and show her how nice the spot is, pretend he's a hen about to lay (even making the little noises they make), then he gets up and lets her get to it. He's also a beauty, so he's a keeper.

Then I have a couple of five-month-old Salmon Faverolles cockerels. One is in a chicken tractor with two pullets, the other is loose. The loose one is very protective of the young birds in the chicken tractors, and I think will start attacking me soon. Then I'll have to put him back in a tractor, as I've got a couple of little girls here for the summer and I don't want them to have to worry about him. He's already big, and not through growing! I'd like to leave him loose longer and see how he treats the hens as he gets older, though. 

Kathleen


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## 4piecesof8 (Apr 7, 2010)

I have enjoyed every standard Brahmas or Cochins I have owned, true gentlemen in every way. My bantam boys get a tad over zealous.


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

I had a whole pen full of barred rock roos who were very nice to work around...but since they were slated to be eaten, they were probably on their best behavior  Boring chickens, tho. no personality.

Banties are known for their aggressiveness..not NASTY, but aggressive. (they have to be aggressive...or they're dead  ) 

I love our Cochin roo. VERY sweet bird. The current Marans roo is a true gentleman, too...as was Pierre, his predecessor. BUT marans are a "some are good, some aren't" from what I've seen.


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## wintrrwolf (Sep 29, 2009)

At the moment I have 4 roos of different breeds. Titan is a 3 yr old sex link that takes real good care of his ladies and is respectful of humans. Rocket is 20 wks old Americana trys to breed any hen he can catch, great eye candy, but very human shy trys to outdo Titan in crowing. Big Ben is 20 wk old Light Braham, huge and handsome very calm, a little human shy, hasnt crowed yet. Ace is 18 wk old Standard Buff Cochin calm, human friendly likes being held, and prefers to hideout from the other roo's, he hasnt crowed yet either. Out of all these roo's Rocket would be the only one so far that I would consider letting go only because he spends his day harrassing the ladies, and making Titan chase him.


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## HorseFeatherz (Feb 16, 2008)

I have a wonderful Splash Orpington Roo - 14 pounds, he is so gentle he feeds chicks. When he calls that he has found a treat, my girls fly/run to get to him.

I have two adult bantam roos who are just as sweet and wonderful. One is a RIR, he runs to greet me, sits on my lap and will take a nap. The other is a Splash Rosecomb - loves to be held also. Both bantams will feed chicks also.


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## WildernesFamily (Mar 11, 2006)

We had 4 roos. Two of them were RIR and were just plain mean. After the one pecked my children hard enough to draw blood they both went to freezer camp. They were also really mean to the hens.

Now we have two left and I'm still trying to decide which will stay around long term. One is a huge fat white rooster and *supposed* to be an Easter Egger but I doubt he is.. the other is a BO. The white rooster is quite friendly and will eat out of our hands and even allow himself to be held for a little while. He will warn the hens of anything predator looking flying above and will call them when he finds treats.. though *sometimes* he just calls them under false pretenses so he can romance them. He will come running to their rescue if they squawk.

First time we've had roosters, so I don't know if he's particularly rough or not. If the hen is willing he appears to be quite gentle. He does pull feathers sometimes (usually in the case of an unwilling hen) don't know if that's "normal".

The BO is second in command and very shy with us. He is also pathetically desparate and is often seen chasing one hen or another around the yard. Every time he calls the hens for treats he is lying about it and just trying to get them closer. They don't pay him much mind anymore. He's not any more gentle with the hens that the white roo.

I guess I just answered my own question and should look for a new home for the BO.. or send him off to freezer camp.

Anyway, bam42 I would suggest sending the RIR to freezer camp and doing what someone else said and looking at Craigslist. There always seems to be someone on there looking for a home for a rooster.


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## Ohiogal (Mar 15, 2007)

Of all the birds I've had, 15 different breeds, the absolute best rooster I've ever had has been without a doubt a big Buckeye. I've had 2 now - father and son - and they are very good with the hens. They are so big that they rule the roost, so to speak, and when they do battle, the others know to watch out as they'll get thrashed.
I've had some bad ones - an Ancona and an early EE (in my breeding program) that were beyond description for how rough they were with the hens. 
I ate both of those.
I have a Cochin/EE cross that is just as gentle as can be and very nice to the hens, but does not fit in my breeding program. 
He's not quite 6 months yet, if you want him, I'll give him to you, PM me.


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## suelandress (May 10, 2002)

I don't think it's the breed, generally speaking. I'v ehad good and bad Spitzes, Silkies, EE's, Ameraucanas, Buff O's, Australorps and Barred Rock. The ones with the MOST nice roosters have been the EE's, the group with the MOST hostile roos has been the Barred rocks. Luck of the draw?

ETA I've never had a mean Brabanters, but they are cowards by nature


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## Joshie (Dec 8, 2008)

bam42 said:


> Wanting to hear a rooster crow in the morning is what got me started in the chicken business. I have a young Rhode Island rooster. Along with 4 golden comets , banty hen, and a white leghorn. Is there any breed of rooster that gets along with hens.


Why do you want another rooster? How many pullets/hens do you have? If you have too many roos for your hens, it really doesn't matter what their breed is.... they won't get along and your girls are gonna get beat up from all that breeding.

Also, what do you mean by getting into the chicken business? Do you want to sell meat? Eggs? Do you have a market? I can tell you that I cannot sell eggs for any more than $1.50/dozen. I can only get one sister to buy them. Doesn't even pay for feed.

Make sure your state will allow you to sell your eggs/meat. In our state you can sell from your farm. If you take eggs anywhere else your place needs to be inspected. You'd have to have a pretty big operation to make it worth that. You'd also have to have a dependable market. Way out in the boonies it's tough to get rid of eggs and the like.


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## Sanza (Sep 8, 2008)

Since you're just getting into raising chickens then spend some time reading up on the different breeds to find the ones most suited to your lifestyle and your area. There are breeds that are best for laying in the heat, and then some bred for surviving cold winters. Still if you want to make your chickens self supporting get the same breed roo for your hens. Then if you can't sell the eggs to pay for feed at least you can sell young purebred chicks for more then you can get for mutts.


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