10 weeks old - Looking for signs of dominant rooster?

[whitenack]

Hey all, this is our first flock and trying to learn as much as we can.

At what age can you start to see the signs of the rooster pecking order? And, what are those signs?

Our flock is young (10 weeks) and of the twelve birds we have, 4 are roosters. One is a bantam, so I'm not paying much attention to him right now. Of the other three, one is a Barred Rock and the other two are Black Star sex link.

Size:
The two black stars are nearly identical in size, and a little beefier than the BR, but not by much.

Behavior:
1. All three seem to be on pretty equal footing in terms of chest bumps, giving/receiving pecks, breaking up other fights, etc.

2. One of the black stars will free range far away from the rest of the flock. In fact, spends probably half the time by himself. The other BS and the BR stay near the flock.

3. The BR does 90% of the crowing.

Is there enough information here to know? Or is it even too early to tell?

 

[igorsMistress]

Hi there. It's still a bit early to tell. Sometimes the crower will be dominant but I've had the strong, silent type come in and woo the girls while the crower was busy crowing and the others were busy bumping chests. The girls aren't always interested in the dominant roo either. The one who gets to mate is who is dominant but it'll be a couple to a few months before that happens and things will change between now and then. You just need to take your time and observe without interacting. Chicken TV is fun, but it's also very educational. It can teach you the nuances of how your flock interacts with each other.

 

[Chickenhappy8708]

Probobly not your "Outcast" crowing probably is your dominent. Again, probably, it will take a while.

 

[Ebony Rose]

Unless your hens are going to be gigantic, please don't discount your bantam rooster. A smaller rooster will NOT affect the size of the eggs produced unless you intend to hatch those eggs as replacement stock for your spent hens... his daughter *may* lay smaller eggs. His small size means he'll be easier and gentler with the hens, but incredibly fierce when it comes to defending them. Bantam roosters have what I call 'the little big man syndrome'... some call it 'Napoleonism'. It's a rare bantam rooster that will back down from a fight, to the death if necessary, to defend what is his.
Please, consider him for the job. See how your pullets treat him. If they're impressed, then you should be too; that goes for all of your candidates for the job. Your hens know, and should be allowed a popularity vote. Happy wife (wives), happy life.

 

[abosman]

Hi there. It's still a bit early to tell. Sometimes the crower will be dominant but I've had the strong, silent type come in and woo the girls while the crower was busy crowing and the others were busy bumping chests. The girls aren't always interested in the dominant roo either. The one who gets to mate is who is dominant but it'll be a couple to a few months before that happens and things will change between now and then. You just need to take your time and observe without interacting. Chicken TV is fun, but it's also very educational. It can teach you the nuances of how your flock interacts with each other.

Oh wow! We have two 17 week old roosters and two pullets, one who started laying not too long ago. One of our roos crows every morning, and i have caught him beating our other rooster in a fight, so we always figured he was the dominant rooster. But the other roo is the one who mates with our pullet who lays eggs.. So that would mean the rooster who doesn’t crow, and always looses in the fights, but mates with our lady is the dominant one?

 

[donddon]

You've probably got at least a month before you'll know for sure. We just narrowed it down and picked our new rooster

. He's just over 15 weeks. Lotsa chicken tv over the last month or so to help make the choice. BTW, Toby is a RIR x Barred Rock.

 

[hysop]

The girls don’t always like the dominant one. They like the one that treats them like ladies giving them treats and such

 

[igorsMistress]

Oh wow! We have two 17 week old roosters and two pullets, one who started laying not too long ago. One of our roos crows every morning, and i have caught him beating our other rooster in a fight, so we always figured he was the dominant rooster. But the other roo is the one who mates with our pullet who lays eggs.. So that would mean the rooster who doesn’t crow, and always looses in the fights, but mates with our lady is the dominant one?

Maybe. They could end up each having a few girls too. Despite the fact that the boys think they're in charge it's really not the case. The pullets will decide who their man is if the boys don't kill each other first. It could be that the others are too busy crowing and fighting to notice the mating. Or they aren't quite ready to fight over the girls yet. It's just the beginning and they'll work it out over time.

 

[igorsMistress]

I would choose the roo that the girls like. They'll show you by spending time with him, letting him treat them, etc. Dominance between boys is about who gets to pass on their genes but he winner isn't always the nicest guy.