If you're looking for a rooster to protect your girls, I suggest a mid-sized breed. Birds such as the Rhode Island Red, Barred Rock, and even the widely available commercial Easter Eggers make great protectors.
If you are looking for a breed that is quick enough to escape predator attacks in a free range situation, you will probably be looking for a smaller "flighty" chicken breed like a Hamburg, Leghorn, Campine, Ancona or various game bantams.
The Thai Game Fowl is considered to be the most aggressive breed of chicken. This bird originated in Thailand and was originally bred for cockfighting. Thai Game Fowl are known for their large muscular bodies and sharp claws.
Guard Goose
They will keep predators at bay by flapping their wings, squawking and hissing. To make a guard goose effective, raise him with the chicks, and he will develop a strong instinct to guard and protect your chickens. Geese are territorial and can train to protect your flock, like guard dogs.
#1. Wheaten Ameraucana. Wheaten Ameraucana roosters are known to be docile when they are handled a lot from a young age. They make good flock protectors and are cold hardy since they have short pea combs and no wattles.
The Thai Game Fowl is considered to be the most aggressive breed of chicken. This bird originated in Thailand and was originally bred for cockfighting.
Asil or Aseel Roosters
Asil, often called Aseel, chickens pretty much take the cake for being the most combative chickens EVER. Seriously! It's said that they start fighting within a few weeks of hatching, and males must be separated no later than three months old or they will battle to the death.
Ideally you should have at least 10 hens for each rooster in your flock. Having a proper hen to rooster ratio in your flock will prevent rooster fights and keep the hens from becoming stressed out by too much rooster attention.
Use Secure Fencing to Protect Your Flock
A 6-foot high fence (180cm), ideally with an outward sloping top, is a good start. The slope will prevent foxes from climbing over. If you dig it in, then that makes it much harder for foxes to create holes and burrow under. Make sure the fencing itself is up to the job too.
Raccoons and domestic dogs probably kill more chickens than any other animals and live in both rural and urban areas. Raccoons are surprisingly abundant even in New York City! Often the first reaction a flockowner has when birds are killed is to seek revenge.
Head Hen. The head hen is at the top of the pecking order. This is the dominant hen in the flock. The head hen is not only the boss of the flock, but she is also responsible for the safety of the flock, finding food for the flock, and keeping order within the flock.
1. Ayam Cemani. This breed is nicknamed the Lamborghini of all chicken breeds because of their price, rarity and prestige. The Ayam Cemani chicken comes from Java (Indonesia) and is considered an extremely rare breed.
On March 16, 1978, the NRC's 10-inch bore bird cannon fired a 1 kilogram (2.2 pound) chicken projectile at a speed of Mach 1.36, equivalent to 1,040 miles per hour or 1,674 kilometres per hour—as fast as a 7.62mm round of ammunition. This made it the fastest chicken in the world.
Roosters Are a Good Flock Guardian
The classic chicken defender is a rooster and many people that free-range keep one for this purpose! Part of their natural job is to protect hens from predators, and many will protect their ladies with their lives.
Protector of the Flock
A protective rooster will also approach predators (and often people), and pretend to peck around while keeping his eye trained on suspicious activity. Depending on his size and temperament, a protective rooster will also fend off attackers or sacrifice himself for the flock.
Silkies, Speckled Sussex, Cochins, Orpingtons, and Australorps may have made the top five list for friendly chickens, but there are plenty of other chicken breeds out there that are also known to have friendly and affectionate individuals!
I recommend having a rooster. Though they can't fight off a predator, they keep watch over the hens and will rush them to safety when they sense a predator is close by. Mow grass regularly and keep brush cut back to reduce the cover that foxes can use to sneak up on domestic livestock.
A great way to ensure maximum protection for your chickens is to choose a coop with a wire mesh floor. If you are placing your hen house on grass or dirt, a wire mesh coop floor will prevent digging predators such as foxes and dogs. It can also stop snakes from slithering in underneath.
It's not unheard of for a fox to take upwards of 20 chickens in a single day. If you happen to be outside, the fox will not come around the chickens until you've left or gone inside, leaving the chickens unattended.
So while the answer to the question of "Do you need a Rooster to lay eggs?" is no, you can certainly have a happier flock with a rooster. Although uncrowded hens generally get along with each other, a flock with a rooster is usually more peaceful. There is less fighting for the top spot by the hens.
If you decide to keep multiple roosters in a flock, you will want to double or triple your coop/run space. The general rule for space per hen is 3 square feet of coop space and 10 sq feet of outside run space. Of course the more space the better, but if your space is limited, these are the guidelines for happy birds.
A rooster may mate from 10 to 30 or more times per day, depending on the availability of hens and competition from other roosters. However, the number of sperm per ejaculate is seldom less than 100 million which is the minimum required to maintain high fertility.
Orpingtons. Orpingtons can be the sweetest chickens! This is generally true for both the hens and roosters! This heavy, docile, breed has friendly personalities.
The Ayam Cemani is often associated with a group of breeds known as Kedu, from the central plains of Java. It is believed to be an offshoot of the Ayam Bekisar chicken which lives on a small group of islands in Indonesia. They are thought to be the result of crosses between domestic chickens and green jungle fowl.
One of the most intelligent chicken breeds is the Leghorn (initially called the Italian). Even though Leghorns are super intelligent, resourceful, and easy to train, they don't make good pets, as they can be pretty skittish and unpredictable. They also don't enjoy cuddles or attention from their owners.