Snakebiteholloway
Songster
- Aug 18, 2021
- 282
- 368
- 141
I'm fairly new to chicken keeping myself, and like you I've had to cull several aggressive roos, both to humans who raised them hand-fed (me and dd) and strangers and most importantly my 18 lovely hens. I've so far culled 1)Rhode Island Red roo -vicious creature!) 2) one Australorp started sweet, got vicious to the hens, 3) gave away one brahma roo for unnecessary hen cruelty. 4) one Americauna roo i think was a cannibal at heart.So, my last two years of chickenkeeping have mostly just been rooster trouble. I currently have a flock of...I think 8 two-year-old hens and 2 pullets. Last year's girls grew up with a Dominique cockerel who was an absolute nightmare and ended up being my first cull earlier this year. This year's girls had a surprise easter egger cockerel who I culled at maybe 4 or 5 months because he was terrorizing my flightiest hen and got increasingly human-aggressive. I want to grow toward keeping a sustainable flock, so I am trying to to figure out the surest way to end up with a rooster who is not abusive to hens or humans, and who will (hopefully) protect from aerial predators.
I've read in a couple of places that having a male chick grow up among adult hens is good, because they don't allow him to run roughshod over them, and indeed, the one hen I had from the previous year was the only girl who my awful Dominique didn't wear the feathers off of. My bright idea for next year is to get a half-dozen male chicks and keep only one to two who are well-behaved. But here are my questions before I move forward:
First, do you think the girls that grew up with that nasty rooster will be tough enough with new cockerels? They certainly boss the new hens around for the most part, but they weren't keeping this year's cockerel in check.
Second, any breed recommendations for a clean-footed, ideally nonwhite and non-crested rooster with a reputation for not being a terror? I was leaning toward Speckled Sussex, possibly Dorking, possibly easter egger, but I'm really curious to hear from others with more experience. I would also consider buying from a particular hatchery known to produce good roos.
I truly appreciate all the insight I always get when I come to BYC with questions, and I'm looking forward to any responses. Let me know if you're doing any chick purchasing for next year too!
This year, I stumbled upon a great flock-daddy. He's a Jersey Giant black. At almost one year old he's not nearly as big as research predicted and is fully grown. My hens are all big Mamas, lol, so i think he's a mini JG, lol, but he's fabulous. Handsome BlackJack. At 6 months he successfully fought off a large hawk. He kills mice as a hobby. He only crows when something is wrong or danger-close and in the a.m. he's a very gentle roo, never had him blood a hen even when they all first started the mating dance. (I bought 13 pairs of different breeds as hatchlings and raised them together)
So He had a brother in that batch who was aiming to be the normal JG size, but a fox ran up and grabbed him from right under my chair one day.
Very sad. Yes. I chased the fox. The fox won. Grrrrr!!!
So, i vote Jersey Giants.
PS. My more experienced chicken keeper local buddy told me the mean brahma roo i had was not normal as they are usually sweet and docile.
I'm taking her at her word and getting another this spring for breeding. (Separate rooster condos for all the boys except BlackJack.)
Hers are certainly very large and very calm and affectionate!
Good luck!