Decisions, decisions..

[Fallenone05]

Hello! I'm struggling between making the choice between my current dominant rooster, and one of his sons.

Pros of daddy rooster, Zamboni;
Large
Produces large children
Carries olive egg gene

CONS;
Barring
Can be juvenile aggressive (cockerels and pullets)
I've seen him chase hens trying to breed them
Does not stop fights between cockerels
Only stops sons from breeding hens because they're his flock

Oldest son;
Not barred
Has broken up fights between young cockerels
Keeps young cockerels from trying to breed hens when they're not ready
Curious, but friendly, but does keep his distance

CONS;
Unsure of egg genetics (olive egger over a brahma hen)
Not as large as dad (only 5 or 6 months though while dad is full size at 2 or 3 years old)
Has been kept in check by older hens and can sometimes be fearful of them.


I'm not a super big fan of barring. It's nice in small doses and I like the way his barring genes has effected his offspring. Only one has full body barring and he's Cuckoo while the others have barring on their necks, wings and tail feathers but nowhere else.

I'm leaning towards his son. He's been a good boy so far.

 

[cavemanrich]

I vote for Big Daddy.
The son may turn as aggressive as dad, when he mature fully.
Both are beautiful roos.

Final decision is in your hands,,
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Perris]

It's too soon to decide on the son: at 5 months he's still developing, in physique, in personality, and in resilience to whatever life throws at him.

As you don't know how old the dad is, I assume you bought him in full grown. So he's shown resilience to the bugs and diseases endemic on your property, which is a valuable 'pro'. And he's wise to stay out of cockerel spars: they need to establish their positions vis-à-vis one another, separately from with him. So that's another pro, not con.

How is being 'juvenile aggressive' different from simply being dominant? Has he actually drawn blood from any of them?

 

[Fallenone05]

It's too soon to decide on the son: at 5 months he's still developing, in physique, in personality, and in resilience to whatever life throws at him.

As you don't know how old the dad is, I assume you bought him in full grown. So he's shown resilience to the bugs and diseases endemic on your property, which is a valuable 'pro'. And he's wise to stay out of cockerel spars: they need to establish their positions vis-à-vis one another, separately from with him. So that's another pro, not con.

How is being 'juvenile aggressive' different from simply being dominant? Has he actually drawn blood from any of them?

The juvenile aggression hasn't drawn blood but he'll grab them by their head feathers and kick as if to spur at them. If it was just a peck or two I'd feel different, but the kicking is what gets me.

This is why I like asking questions like this - perspectives I didn't think of before. You've definitely brought up new sides and I appreciate it!

 

[AOrchard]

Curious, friendly, but keeps distance sounds like a good thing. This suggests he won't try to harass you the human, but also maintains a watchful, slightly wary demeanor, that probably makes him a better protector.

The sons behavior likely will change some when you remove the dad, for good or for bad.

I do find changing flock dynamics is always a bit disruptive, so if you aren't really leaning one way or another, I'd keep the father to avoid flock stress.

I don't like roos that bother youngins, a corrective peck on the head is fine, chasing them away or being aggressive towards them isn't great. I have a roo that won't allow little chicks within 5 feet of him, I'm not a fan of that, I refer a more nuturing roo. I live with it though, because that roo is otherwise exemplary and he doesn't really hurt them.

It sounds like neither roo really has the genetics you want. It may be worth thinking about picking up one that has the genetics you do want. It's often easy to find free or very cheap roosters. Picking up a blue egg roo in a color you like for example, would remove the barring and give you certainty of producing olives in your flock. And new blood is often healthy for the flock if you breed to replenish.

 

[3KillerBs]

Has broken up fights between young cockerels
Keeps young cockerels from trying to breed hens when they're not ready

Can be juvenile aggressive (cockerels and pullets)

My breeding experience is still limited, but these seem like significant traits to me.

That opinion may be colored by the fact that when my Ludwig was only about 4 months old he was "babysitting" my new chicks through their integration period and, rather than being aggressive to them, was actively protective once they were out of the integration pen. I'd seen those chicks and later batches using him as a pick -- running right under him with a hen in pursuit.

Another thing to think of is, how many generations do you have from your first rooster?

 

[Fallenone05]

My breeding experience is still limited, but these seem like significant traits to me.

That opinion may be colored by the fact that when my Ludwig was only about 4 months old he was "babysitting" my new chicks through their integration period and, rather than being aggressive to them, was actively protective once they were out of the integration pen. I'd seen those chicks and later batches using him as a pick -- running right under him with a hen in pursuit.

Another thing to think of is, how many generations do you have from your first rooster?

Currently, everyone is only first generation. He has been breeding his daughters but I haven't hatched from them due to infectious bronchitis being in my flock right now. I'm trying to wait past the 1 year mark to hopefully get it dispersed from my flock before I hatch more babies.

Every cockerel in my flock will be going in the stew pot so I'm really trying to make a good decision here! It's hard - lots of good candidates and things to consider. His youngest brood has 6 males out of 10, and three of them are really big for their age, but the majority have barring.

One bulky boy (the black with orange on his neck) is a full brother to the son mentioned in the post. These guys are almost 4 months old and are bigger than the hens I have now. I like the almost laced look the blue and red boy, but he's scrawny and gamey looking. I like them thicc boys

I'm sorry to ramble!

 

[Folly's place]

All really good points already mentioned.
You know how your older rooster behaves, but it's too soon to see how junior develops. Can you keep both a bit longer?
So many choices! I struggle every year too. Sometimes my decisions turn out well, and sometimes not. If barring really offends you, that's an issue. Is it more important than good size, structure, and behavior? Decisions!
Mary

 

[3KillerBs]

Currently, everyone is only first generation. He has been breeding his daughters but I haven't hatched from them due to infectious bronchitis being in my flock right now. I'm trying to wait past the 1 year mark to hopefully get it dispersed from my flock before I hatch more babies.

Every cockerel in my flock will be going in the stew pot so I'm really trying to make a good decision here! It's hard - lots of good candidates and things to consider. His youngest brood has 6 males out of 10, and three of them are really big for their age, but the majority have barring.

One bulky boy (the black with orange on his neck) is a full brother to the son mentioned in the post. These guys are almost 4 months old and are bigger than the hens I have now. I like the almost laced look the blue and red boy, but he's scrawny and gamey looking. I like them thicc boys

I'm sorry to ramble!

Can you get rid of maybe half of them as a start?

Cull out the ones you really don't like for whatever reason and see how the rest act as they grow?

Then weed down to half again. And see what you're looking at with the best of the remaining ones?

 

[Fallenone05]

Can you get rid of maybe half of them as a start?

Cull out the ones you really don't like for whatever reason and see how the rest act as they grow?

Then weed down to half again. And see what you're looking at with the best of the remaining ones?

This is a good idea!