Wondering about a cross

[Shnookie]

Hmm. Maybe I should not keep him, and just get some from another breed and color. I tried to get some Speckled Sussex hatching eggs once - it was a disaster.

[kenya]

Blue Wheaten ameraucana cross would be nice

[Jaye]

Hmm. Maybe I should not keep him, and just get some from another breed and color. I tried to get some Speckled Sussex hatching eggs once - it was a disaster.

Well, maybe it's for the best anyway: If it were me, I don't think I'd want to pass on those nasty temperament genes to future generations. I believe that there are plenty of good-looking AND good-natured roosters out there that are bound for freezer camp because they are superfluous to owner's needs.

As for your hatching egg disaster, I'm curious - what happened? I think I may have an experience similar to yours. I will still try again if my Silkie decides to go broody again, though, but I doubt that she will after what she went through last year. I honestly can't and don't blame her.

[Shnookie]

Jaye, you are right. I have purposely not kept nasty roosters, so far. They just aren't much fun. I don't make mine into pets, but it annoys me when they run at me every time I go by their pens, or attack my legs when I go in to feed them, even when they are not with hens. One thing I have noticed though is that they get more aggressive sometimes in conjunction with weather changes, which we have a lot of, so I do have a couple of roosters who have had bad days, but for the most part are not aggressive.

Hatching egg disaster:
-ordered 2 dozen eggs from someone far away who said they had lots of experience breeding, showing chickens and shipping hatching eggs
-the eggs were shipped Expedited Parcel, not Express Post as I had requested
-the eggs took over a week to get here
-the seller never did give me the tracking number for the package
-the seller didn't reply to my e-mails asking for the tracking number and if it was sent Express Post
-the eggs were filthy with dried on droppings
-only 5 of the 24 eggs weighed 57 grams or more
-the eggs were sitting loose in egg cartons, not wrapped to keep them from moving or drying out
-the two egg cartons were sitting loose in a box (no packing between or around them), with some air bags laying on the top of them
-discovered afterward that the first entry in this list was a complete lie
I never put any of them in my incubator.

[Jaye]

Re: hatching egg disaster: Oh dear. That's just awful! Yep, definitely can't top that. Any of it. The end result of my hatched eggs via CPC was tragic for my broody and for the chicks that didn't make it. But ... the eggs were well wrapped and viable when they were shipped, so nothing wrong at the source at all. Just CPC, and bad luck.

[Killerbunny]

I really hope they make it right for you.

[Jaye]

Ditto. That's just shameful on the seller's part.

[windwalkingwolf]

Wheaten would definitely make stunning crosses. Anything with partridge pattern, but wheaten is extra pretty :). But if the rooster in question is a terror, I'd be hesitant to use him. Does he come at you with his feet, or is he trying to mate your legs and feet?

[Shnookie]

He hit my legs with his feet a couple of times when he was with the hens. I had rubber boots on and he doesn't have big spurs so no damage, just annoyance on my part. He was kind of rough with the hens, not just when he was breeding them. He'd grab them and pull feathers out for no obvious (to me) reason. Now that he is in a pen alone he runs at the wire when I get near. I don't think he's a terror, maybe a medium terror :).

RE the hatching eggs. The seller offered to send me more and I said no. I couldn't imagine the second scenario being any better than the first.

[Killerbunny]

I had a rooster that was nasty to hens and attacked some chicks. My neighbour took him for stew but his friend was passing by and asked for him because he was so big and handsome. He was losing hens to predators and Charlie settled right down and he hasn't lost anything since. This chap doesn't hatch. just has egg layers. He'll turn 6 this year (Little Mamas brother Jan). I guess he just needed the right home.