And You?

[black_cat]

Yes 0f course. Maybe one day. Town rules?

Actually parents, neighbors, and lack of space.

 

[Trisseh]

If the primary purpose for whoever you choose is protection, that would be your first criteria. Then everything else in descending order. Does one show better instinct in warning and watching over the hens? Do his other traits fall in line with what you want from a rooster? What you need in a rooster is going to be different than what others may want or need in their own. Some are better suited to specific management styles over others.

I have lots of cockerels to choose from right now, 2 are definitely going, they’re completely useless as guardians. Lol. The Icelandic I have is pretty alert, good with me, good with the girls, even good with the younger cockerels. Unfortunately for him, he’s the only Icelandic in the flock and I have a Hedemora project I’m working on so he probably won’t stay, unless I set him up in a separate coop. (I might).

 

[SueT]

I have to choose between the beautiful one and the tamer one.

Can we see pics? Describe them---what do you mean by 'tamer' and how is the less tame one? I've learned on BYC that tamer isn't necessarily better in roosters. Respectful, yes. But keeping his distance can be a good thing. My 'tame' cockerel ended up being human aggressive as he got older, so was culled. My 2 yr old rooster has always been polite to humans, and keeps his distance.
Which one is dominant over the other?

 

[Mimi13]

I have though about this a lot.... I'd have kept them both, but one of my 'Guinea-hens' was not a hen. Also, Because of chicken lockdown, there is no longer space for both. I love them both.... but that's life.

I have to choose between the beautiful one and the tamer one.

Go with whichever one you feel will be the least aggressive to humans. I can’t stress that trait/quality enough!

 

[SulkyBantam]

Can we see pics? Describe them---what do you mean by 'tamer' and how is the less tame one? I've learned on BYC that tamer isn't necessarily better in roosters. Respectful, yes. But keeping his distance can be a good thing. My 'tame' cockerel ended up being human aggressive as he got older, so was culled. My 2 yr old rooster has always been polite to humans, and keeps his distance.
Which one is dominant over the other?

The more pretty one.

'tamer'= fine with being handled.

 

[black_cat]

If either one is aggressive, then that one should go. Fine with being handled can be worked on, so if the pretty one is a better protector, better with the flock, etc, I'd keep him. IF they're still both young, you should let them mature for a bit.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

What I look for isn't what you're looking for. All but one of my boys need to be purebred to even be considered. For most of my flocks, I couldn't care if they're protective since they're enclosed 24/7/365. They have to be respectful to me at the least and nice to me at most. I won't tolerate a male that I can't look away from or bend down near. They have to treat their hens good since most of my groups are less that 5 girls. The bigger the better for me. They have to look nice too. They can be colors not recongized, but I won't keep ratty looking ones

 

[JadeFarms]

Post pics. I’d choose the more dominant one since they are usually better protectors.

 

[3KillerBs]

I'm in the rooster-studying phase, having decided which breeds I'll order straight-run in hopes of raising one or two good candidates.

Not aggressive is critical. I will not have a dangerous animal. Period.

Pure-bred isn't so much a factor as being of a breed that has characteristics I want for 50% of my future flock. When my chicks were 6-8 weeks old we suspected that one of the Brahmas and one of the Wyandottes might be males (they weren't), and after thinking about it in depth I decided that, as nice as my in-town, Light Brahma rooster had been, I didn't want late maturity and reduced egg numbers established in the genetics of my entire flock. A few Brahmas, yes. But not an entire flock of Brahmas and Brahma crosses.

Same with the late maturity of the Wyandottes.

I'm terribly impressed with the Welp Blue Australorp pullets I have so I'll give those a try. Also, I had Delawares in my in-town flock and loved them so I'll have some straight-run of those too.

I want a blue layer that fits my aesthetic preference for black, white, and black-and-white birds and Murray McMurray's White Sapphires only come straight-run so I'll see what comes of that.

When it gets down to individuals, in addition to not aggressive:

Rampant good health without any physical defects. No need of health-related intervention during early growth.

Active, curious, and vigorous -- also signs of good health.

Early rather than late maturity.

Tolerates steamy North Carolina summers under my management routine without special intervention.

Appropriate size and weight for the breed.

Good behavior toward the hens.

Calm disposition in general.

Attractive color and pattern according to the breed and my aesthetic preferences.

So, to summarize, I will want a rooster that's not human-aggressive, healthy, and good-looking.

 

[SulkyBantam]

Thank you ALL!

I'm thinking of going with the tamer one. One is a little more dominant but there's not much between them.

The prettier is not exactly LOVED by my silkie hen.