Rooster Question

I have a rooster question. I don't have any myself but i was wondering if there are varying degrees of aggressiveness between the breeds. I have a friend that has one rooster and one chicken (I think barred rock) and the rooster is a mean one. It will come after you regardless of what you are doing. I personally am a city gal and don't know much about the critters. I had come out of their front door and the rooster and hen came up to me and the stupid rooster jumped up and spurred my leg. I had jeans on so it was just bruised I guess it has attacked their 9yo daughter also. They carry squirt bottles with vinegar water whenever they go outside to keep it away.. To me this seems a tad ridiculous to have to arm yourself to enjoy your yard?
So anyway.. any thoughts about rooster temperment is appreciated. Their poor chicken has almost no back feathers cause this guy pulls them out.. My firend is thinking of getting more hens to give the gal a break. I didn't think you even needed a rooster for eggs unless you wanted baby chicks.. am I wrong?

Jazzpunkin, Correct. They must really enjoy the rooster being so good looking. I used to keep my roos separate from the hens due to the abuse. I lost half of them due to dog attacks so the abuse was reduced considerably. If it were me ... I'd get rid of the 1 mean roo and buy 2-3 more hens.

Chickens are kinda lousy on gardens ..... which is the main reason for this side forum. I've pretty much come to the conclusion that chickens are a major pain in the backside and my flock costs me $10 a week for little to no enjoyment. When it all shakes out ..... I'll reduce my flock to a few guineas and enjoy of the neighbors Game Fowl chickens. No more ducks or chickens for me. The guineas fowl and the Game Fowl chickens both forage far and are great lawn ornaments. They reproduce like rabbits. Feed costs are reduced to next to nothing and the eggs we eat can be had for 10% of the price at the grocery store.

I had originally encouraged my friend to get Guinea hens because they have a lot of ticks on their property. are the eggs the same size?

Jazzpunkin, I did not phrase what I wrote well in my prior post. Guinea fowl can be nearly free to keep around these parts ...11 months of the year. They forage very well. Their eggs are medium size and quite edible. Their eggshells are hard ...... most folks would laugh at the difficulty involved in cracking a guinea egg. They hide their eggs fairly well. My chickens lay eggs fine but feed costs force me to sell their eggs for $4 / doz to break even ... not a bargain when eggs cost $1 / doz at the store. I do not sell near enough eggs so have decided to eliminate / reduce my flock. I have too much work and too little time to spend babysitting chickens. The pit fighting American Game Fowl are an almost wild breed of chicken. They roost in trees and forage widely. They can exist nearly without feed like the Guinea fowl. They do better in areas where predators are thin and do need trees or small outbuildings for protection from the elements and predators. I think the Game Fowl chicks require significant protection for about 6 weeks due to feral cat populations. Once they learn to roost high up ..... they can do well. Guinea fowl are a riot of fun but they are a bit mean toward chickens when confined with them. I don't recommend both in a confined coop. Kelly

Oh Photographer, I just personally disagree so strongly about chickens giving enjoyment. Obviously I'm not saying it isn't true for you, but I love chickens so much and get incredible enjoyment from watching them. We have 11 egg layers and 17 pullet and cockerel silkies, etc. that are just for fun. We get so many eggs from them. We love to give them away.

Do you have a lot more than me? I definitely don't spend ten dollars a week on my hens and they give so many eggs. We choose to just give them away b/c we enjoy the girls so much and don't really want to go through all the effort to sell them, given how little eggs cost. Plus, we have bantam and standard layers all mixed, so the eggs are of varying sizes.

But we mostly love the personalities and the interactions of the flock. As to the rooster question, she definitely needs to get several more hens so that the hen can grow her feather back before winter! You need about 3 or 4 hens per roo.

Also, yes, breeding, individual personality and amount of handling all play into rooster behavior. I would never put up with such a bully in my back yard!

I have heard from many people that they wouldn't keep a Roo with that personality. Thanks
Any thoughts on breeds or hamding tips that can produce a nicer roo?

Well ,my next door neighbor is a 12 year old girl and she managed to raise 3 really sweet roosters, one is a dark brahma and the others are cochin crosses. I don't think any are particularly known to be sweet, but she handles them constantly. She is a homeschooler and she has a lot of free time to spend with them. She carries them around under her arm and pets them a lot.

I have heard silkie roos are really friendly, plus they are little, so they aren't as intense.

Now let me see! I quit counting a while back , I have so many "Babies " now that I just take a look and can tell if some one is either missing or not where they ought to be! They have their own "Clicks" or groups and seem to always roam together when ranging. I lock everybody up at night and turn them loose every morning. I have 7 waterers and placed all over their areas and they get cleaned and filled every two days. I feed them every morning , just enough to let them know I love them and not enough to leave any on the ground! Since they free range all day! the ones in their breeding yards have feeders that keep them happy and non-accessible to wild birds (mostly)!
My DH and I rarely eat eggs. I gather them up and put the pretty Barred Rock eggs in the fridge for baking or "give Aways"! I spend , usually , around $12.00 a month on wildbird seed and scratch! Every Spring I buy laying mash usually two 40# bags, and of course at least 3 bags of Grower starter,40#, for the new babies ! now all in all I spend less than $300.00 on feed for them a year! Usually averaging about $17.00 a month in early spring!
My point being , I love my chickens! I have several roosters because I have several breeds! All my Chickens are Friendly and come to me and "Talk" ! None of them run from me or try to roost in trees , that would make me think that they aren't happy or felt un-safe in their environment! Now they do have a mind of their own, and if they decide that they arent ready to go where I want them to go ...they dont! But usually a little feed and a little coaxing gets them where they need to be!
Yes, sometimes I think I have too many, if that occurs I sell or trade a couple . It is sometimes a hard choice. I am trying to get the best of the breeds , but sometimes the silliest thing can steal my heart! Like a silly look on a little chicken face or a sideways wobble of tailfeathers that should stand up straight. I have so many outsider Chickens that just dont fit anyones mold on what a " good" chicken feature should be! These are my Pets , No my family, just like someone elses Cat or dog or Parakeet! My little Chihuahua knows that they are his equal,( sometimes more than he cares for)!
So heres a few pictures of my Roosters! Most are kept in their own areas but a few are roaming free range with big old Cocklelooloo , and all is right in the world!
Oh Yes , I did find a home for the big old Buff Orpington roo! He now lives about 2miles away! Only because he and Cocklelooloo could not get along!
heres my Mille Fluer BB- "Popcorn"

Cocklelooloo- Barred Rock

Boogie- Speckled Sussex

Mushmellow- Light Brahma

Quark- Americana

Midnight- Black Japanese

"Happy Feet"- Grey Japanese

then there is : "Black-tail" Japanese
" Star"- White Japanese
" UggieSang"- Buff silkie
"PawPaw"- White Sultan
and the oldest of my Fella's "Jim" the BbRed Bantam
Figured Id save those pics for later!
Now as to counting the Hens and showing to pics.. LOL! Dont worry I wont!!!!!

I have 31 dual purpose hens and 4 roos + my neighbors has 35 nearly wild Game Fowl chickens. Basically we're sharing the ownership. The chickens, guineas & ducks seem to cost me closer to $500 out of pocket expense / year. I suspect I can reduce that to $50 by eliminating my egg layers and the ducks. The guineas forage adequately for feed, and same for the game fowl so that I'll still get to enjoy having chickens ...... but the cost will be a non-issue. I've had chickens for 5 years .... just sorta got tired of the cost vs enjoyment and the time involved in care. Guineas and Pit Game chickens are just way less effort because they are far more self reliant.