Choosing a cockerel

[Wild Iris]

This is my first year with chickens. I have a mama hen who, seven weeks ago, hatched six chicks. She is a good mama and all six chicks are healthy. They free range all day and, like mama, roost in a holly tree at night. I feel certain that three of the chicks are males; two are females; and one is questionable. Besides the females, I want to keep one out of the 3 that are definitely male, but I'm not sure how to choose. Right now I have no rooster at all.

I have an idea how a good flock rooster should behave, but I don't know how to identify the signs of those good traits in a very young cockerel. These three have a history of fighting amongst themselves, but are currently behaving well. (They have never attempted to fight with the females.) I could not identify one as more inclined to fight than the others, though one is a bit bolder when it comes to seeking out food and solving problems.

How do you choose which cockerel to keep? Are there specific signs, or traits you can identify when they are young? What is considered ideal behavior in a 7-week old chick? Since they have a history of fighting each other, I'd rather not leave the decision until they are full grown.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I don’t have direct experience with this - I want to get this out there first.

But from everything I’ve read, and it makes sense! not just folks repeating the same old stuff, here’s what works best for getting a good roo:

Year 1: don’t keep any cockerels. Any. Period. You don’t seem to have any mature hens now to knock some sense into them? And it takes a long time for cockerels to get their brains up and running in their hormonal storms.

Year 2: look on community message boards, local 4H, etc for someone with a MATURE rooster (one year or older; no cockerels) who is just the coolest guy ever, but they can’t have a(nother) rooster for whatever reason, and they desperately want to keep him from the soup pot. Great guy in need of a new happy home. Get him, quarantine for appropriate period, introduce to current hens through see-no touch, and let him strut into his new happy life.

If you can get rid of two, you can get rid of three.

Keep it simple your first year!

 

[FrostRanger]

Agree with @Mother of Chaos. If you do want to try and keep one though, here's what I'd do

1. Cull any that are human aggressive
2. Cull any that are aggressive towards the hens
3. Cull any over a year old that are brutes when mating
4. Cull or rehome with full disclosure any with significant health issues
5. Cull or rehome any that you don't like for whatever reason
6. Cull or rehome any the girls don't like for whatever reason but is otherwise still pleasant
7. If you're stuck between 2 or more good boys pick whomever the girls like better as they're the ones who have to live with him
8. Know that none of them may end up working out as roos are a gamble. Try again next year either by getting a good mature rooster or by hatching and having your now mature flock help teach him manners

Also know it may take a year or 2 for a roo's true temperament to show

 

[Wild Iris]

Well, yes. I appreciate the input.

Regarding a rooster the first year: I have actually already had two different roosters. That's why my hen could hatch six fertilized eggs; she had to have a rooster to help her out with that. The first rooster was mean to the ladies and so I rehomed him (with full disclosure, of course). The second rooster was very polite and kind & everyone loved him, but he died suddenly.

I know what characteristics I want in a grown rooster--but I don't want to wait until my cockerels are grown before I separate them. I would rather not wait until puberty if there is any way to identify positive traits before then. That's what I'm asking about.

I have seven hens who roost in the coop and one game hen who roosts in the holly tree. All of them free range all day long, with access to the coop, food, and water all day. They return on their own in the evening.

I will be keeping one of my three cockerels, and rehoming two of them. I could just draw straws, or keep the prettiest, but I thought I would ask whether there are any clues I should look for, early on, that might point towards one with a better personality.

Thanks.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I don't think you can tell much of anything about future temperament in a cockerel the age yours are. But if I needed answers, I know whom I would ask; our resident expert on roosters.

@Shadrach, help the OP out?