Breeds of rooster

[Coolbreeze89]

So I started with a nice flock of ten straight-run Lavender Ameracauna chicks this Spring. But then I found some adorable black copper marans... and some speckled Sussex... and some other color americauna, and TSC had $1 clearance RIR and golden comet chicks, and then an elementary class needed a home for their 5 white leghorn chicks... so yeah, I have 60-odd chickens, all 10-14 weeks (chicken math is TOO real!). They have a huge coop and covered run for night and 4 acres of high-fenced fields to forage during the day (Anatolian dog watches over them 24/7).

I am keeping chickens for eggs and for my general (retired) amusement. I’d
like to have some chicks in the spring, as well.

I’ve read all about the preferred behavior traits in roosters, and that there is not a breed that always has good/bad temperaments. I am monitoring their behaviors, but other than the Leghorns chasing some other cockerels, no fighting.

Of the breeds above, are there pairings that would be bad? Size concerns that would make one breed better to cull or to keep? Are RIR consistently aggressive such that I should start with those?

Thanks for any guidance. Already watching videos on butchering, as I’ve not done before (DH’s job is to cull, mine is to butcher...). So much to learn. Love BYC!

 

[sylviethecochin]

It's nearly impossible to know their behaviours until they're well past butchering age (18 weeks is the latest I butcher laying cockerels. After that, they're hard to cook) so if you keep them, you're stuck with a bunch of immature teenage cockerels fighting, crowing, and chasing around your pullets until you've settled on the ones you want. And then the remainder need to be butchered.

Personally, I'd knock off all of the cockerels and butcher them, wait six months, and then get a couple free/cheap roosters (not cockerels) off of a local farm. The roosters should know how to behave themselves around both hens and people, and you won't have to put up with the garbage. Further, a good rooster will help raise up the next generation to have better manners than a bunch of unsupervised cockerels would have.

 

[aart]

First thing to do would be to set up a separate bachelor coop/run...so when they start getting randy the girls can get a break. You should know by now how many males you have.

I’d
like to have some chicks in the spring, as well.

Will you incubate or hope for a broody hen?

Are there any of those breeds you'd especially like to have reproduce?
Want to make olive eggers with the Marans and the Ameraucana(if they really are Ameraucanas, if from farm store they are probably not pure but Easter Eggers)?
You could separate whatever 'parents' you want into the former bachelor coop in spring to collect eggs for hatching.

Eating all these cockerels and getting a mature cockbird can be a good idea, except for the risk of bringing in pests and disease.

I slaughter cockerels at 13-16 weeks, before they start causing chaos and while still tender enough to grill for that crispy skinned deliciousness. Not much meat but the grilled bones make for some excellent stock. Anything older than that I pressure cook until meat is done and is saved aside then a couple more hours to get that bone broth.

Resting the cleaned carcass in fridge for 48-72 hours for rigor to pass is essential for chewable meat from any bird(except maybe CX?). Tho no homegrown bird I've eaten, layer or meat breed, is as soft as a grocery bird, they are more 'toothsome'.

This is one of the best tutorials I found when I was researching slaughtering.
It clearly shows where to slit jugular/carotid for the kill, and how to cut the vent out without piercing intestines...which were my 2 biggest concerns.

Best of cLuck!
Happy Retirement!

 

[Ridgerunner]

So your overall goals are eggs, general amusement, and hatching eggs. How important is meat to you? One of my goals is meat but since there are only two of us we can make a meal or two out of a fairly small chicken. Figure out what you are going to do with a lot of eggs. You are going to be buried in them in a few months. I generally give mine away to a friends, relatives, or a food bank. Some people sell them.

We all have our own preferences in about everything. That can be how we feed or manage them, what breeds or colors/patterns we prefer, or how we cook them. As chickens age the meat gets more flavorful and the texture changes, cockerels especially when the hormones hit. Some of us like that, some don't. You have to cook them in an appropriate way for their age. I personally like to butcher a cockerel at 23 weeks or so, but I don't fry or grill them. The meat would be too tough. Sometimes the best way to figure out what works best for you is trial and error. How much freezer space do you have? That may determine how many you can butcher at a time. All kinds of variables that make us unique.

You don't have hens and roosters yet, you have pullets and cockerels, totally different critters as far as behaviors. It sounds like puberty has not hit most yet, at those ages it soon will. It is really challenging to tell what the behaviors will be when they mature as maturity can bring a calming effect. To make it a lot more difficult the dominant males suppress the behaviors of the less dominant. Behaviors can totally change if you remove one that was restraining others or as they mature.

When the hormones start flowing in the cockerels as they go through puberty it can get really rough down there. They usually fight each other a lot to establish dominance. If you have a lot of room they usually don't hurt each other that badly but one can get seriously injured or even die. Having the room you do really helps. The cockerels also tend to try to mate the pullets or sometimes be rough with them to establish dominance. The pullets have not matured enough to accept a mate and don't want to be dominated, so they usually try to escape. It can get really rough when they go through puberty. If you can make it through this stage it will eventually calm down as they mature, but some people can't make it through, it can be that rough.

I usually let my cockerels and pullets grow up with the flock until my 23 week butcher age. I don't separate them, even when I may have more than 3 times as many cockerels as pullets. But sometimes the cockerels are so bad I do isolate them in a bachelor pad/grow out pen until butcher time. That can happen when I have a lot more pullets than cockerels. I don't believe in specific male-female ratios, from what I've seen they don't mean much. Still I suggest you keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. You are not guaranteed problems with more roosters but problems are more likely the more you have. I agree, having a pen ready so you can isolate cockerels (or other chickens) if the need rises is a great thing. The more flexibility you have the less stressful for you.

If you read enough threads and posts on here you will find that no matter the breed (Silkie, Orpington, Sussex, RIR or anything else) you will find some individuals that are pure brutes, some that have great personalities. I personally don't believe that breed is that much of an indicator of how any will behave or how productive they will be, especially if you don't have enough for averages to mean much. Some people seem to think that RIR's are the devil incarnate, others are extremely happy to have them in their flock. If you want to avoid RIR because some people don't like them, fine, that's your choice. It may be a good one. Or you can take the trial and error approach and see how you feel about it. You can eat pullets and hens too if you have a need.

I don't know enough of what might be important to you as far as color/pattern of the feathers, egg shell color, size for butchering, or other traits that might point you in a certain direction as far as which males and females to keep. Without knowing your goals better, I don't see any good or bad pairings. My general suggestion is to see which ones you are happiest with and breed those. When we know the color/pattern of the parents and which is the mother, which the father we can often tell you what color chicks to expect in the first generation. For example, a Lavender Ameraucana rooster over a Speckled Sussex hen should give you solid black chicks where the pullets lay green eggs. But when you cross the offspring of mixes, the second generation can give you all kinds of surprises.

Welcome to the adventure. Chicken TV can be better than anything on cable, satellite, or antenna. So observe them, enjoy them, and draw your own conclusions on what works best for you.

 

[Coolbreeze89]

First thing to do would be to set up a separate bachelor coop/run...so when they start getting randy the girls can get a break. You should know by now how many males you have...]

Thank you for the insight and the link on butchering. My husband and I are working on bachelor coop now so we can give ourselves time to sort these things out!

I suspect one group of “ameraucauna” are Easter Eggers, but the lavenders are from a reputable breeder. Ultimately, I’m fine either way, though, as I’m not looking to breed/sell, but instead just enjoy. I love the variety running all around!

I really appreciate you taking the time to share your knowledge and experience.

 

[Coolbreeze89]

So your overall goals are eggs, general amusement, and hatching eggs. How important is meat to you? One of my goals is meat but since there are only two of us we can make a meal or two out of a fairly small chicken. Figure out what you are going to do with a lot of eggs. You are going to be buried in them in a few months. I generally give mine away to a friends, relatives, or a food bank. Some people sell them.

We all have our own preferences in about everything. That can be how we feed or manage them, what breeds or colors/patterns we prefer, or how we cook them. As chickens age the meat gets more flavorful and the texture changes, cockerels especially when the hormones hit. Some of us like that, some don't. You have to cook them in an appropriate way for their age. I personally like to butcher a cockerel at 23 weeks or so, but I don't fry or grill them. The meat would be too tough. Sometimes the best way to figure out what works best for you is trial and error. How much freezer space do you have? That may determine how many you can butcher at a time. All kinds of variables that make us unique.

You don't have hens and roosters yet, you have pullets and cockerels, totally different critters as far as behaviors. It sounds like puberty has not hit most yet, at those ages it soon will. It is really challenging to tell what the behaviors will be when they mature as maturity can bring a calming effect. To make it a lot more difficult the dominant males suppress the behaviors of the less dominant. Behaviors can totally change if you remove one that was restraining others or as they mature.

When the hormones start flowing in the cockerels as they go through puberty it can get really rough down there. They usually fight each other a lot to establish dominance. If you have a lot of room they usually don't hurt each other that badly but one can get seriously injured or even die. Having the room you do really helps. The cockerels also tend to try to mate the pullets or sometimes be rough with them to establish dominance. The pullets have not matured enough to accept a mate and don't want to be dominated, so they usually try to escape. It can get really rough when they go through puberty. If you can make it through this stage it will eventually calm down as they mature, but some people can't make it through, it can be that rough.

I usually let my cockerels and pullets grow up with the flock until my 23 week butcher age. I don't separate them, even when I may have more than 3 times as many cockerels as pullets. But sometimes the cockerels are so bad I do isolate them in a bachelor pad/grow out pen until butcher time. That can happen when I have a lot more pullets than cockerels. I don't believe in specific male-female ratios, from what I've seen they don't mean much. Still I suggest you keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. You are not guaranteed problems with more roosters but problems are more likely the more you have. I agree, having a pen ready so you can isolate cockerels (or other chickens) if the need rises is a great thing. The more flexibility you have the less stressful for you.

If you read enough threads and posts on here you will find that no matter the breed (Silkie, Orpington, Sussex, RIR or anything else) you will find some individuals that are pure brutes, some that have great personalities. I personally don't believe that breed is that much of an indicator of how any will behave or how productive they will be, especially if you don't have enough for averages to mean much. Some people seem to think that RIR's are the devil incarnate, others are extremely happy to have them in their flock. If you want to avoid RIR because some people don't like them, fine, that's your choice. It may be a good one. Or you can take the trial and error approach and see how you feel about it. You can eat pullets and hens too if you have a need.

I don't know enough of what might be important to you as far as color/pattern of the feathers, egg shell color, size for butchering, or other traits that might point you in a certain direction as far as which males and females to keep. Without knowing your goals better, I don't see any good or bad pairings. My general suggestion is to see which ones you are happiest with and breed those. When we know the color/pattern of the parents and which is the mother, which the father we can often tell you what color chicks to expect in the first generation. For example, a Lavender Ameraucana rooster over a Speckled Sussex hen should give you solid black chicks where the pullets lay green eggs. But when you cross the offspring of mixes, the second generation can give you all kinds of surprises.

Welcome to the adventure. Chicken TV can be better than anything on cable, satellite, or antenna. So observe them, enjoy them, and draw your own conclusions on what works best for you.

I am thankful for the time and opportunity to be flexible, and see what happens. You’ve brought up many interesting things for me to consider, especially the evolution of cockerel behavior individually and as a group! We just bought a chest freezer, so I’ll try butchering at various ages. We do have many friends left from pre-retirement that are begging for eggs once we get them (they all still live in Houston, so no convenient fresh eggs there!).

I am excited about what offspring will look like, but for the curiosity. I got some second hand incubators, so will give that a try along with seeing if anyone goes broody. So much fun as I learn every day! Thanks for the thoughtful, detailed response!