I have a flock of 31 chickens at the moment. 21 hens nearly ready to start laying and 10 roos. we got 9 more than we planned on keeping just to have a good stock to choose a good one from and plan on butchering the rest. The butchering phase is next week and I wanted to get some opinions of what I should look for in a roster. We have a pretty solid idea of the one that we 'want' to keep... but I also what what's best for the flock. My daughter has a roster picked out that has been a real sweetheart so far, but as I watch them on a daily basis im noticing that hes not quite as dominant as the others. Will this matter when the other 9 are in my freezer? I plan on hatching a few chicks every now and then to start a few flocks for some friends. Any ideas and opinions whether amateur or pro will be greatly appreciated. Todd
pics you really dont need unless its just for true breeding..i myself did not keep the dominate one of the 7 i butchered...i choose the one that followed the hens and the hens followed when allowed by the dominate one...he always was nice to the hens and even broke up fights the other roosters started to other roosters or hens... he was the best flock tender in other words..now he filled out real nice and is the best roo i have ever had...i had to wait till about 16 or 17 weeks to find out and keep track..he flew over the 4 foot fence with the 6 hens that always do that and kept track of them...i dont choos roo for looks as i am not breeding ..i just want one...well i kept the favouralle roo also but favs are mentally challenged in my opinion..like they just go with the flow and not great foragers or tenders...jeff
Thanks Jeff. I would have to say that the roo my daughter has picked out (named Pecker) is probably about what you have described. Hes pretty laid back and more importantly he isn't a territorial terror like the others. they are gonna make some great fried chicken. Pecker will come right up to my daughter to be pet and will even eat out of her hand without trying to dig for bones. You made some great points about being a good flock tender. I think you helped me decide that hes the one that ill keep. Thanks again!! Todd
I often pick in the middle, seems like they are comfortable NOT being top dog. The most dominant roo, often times will eventually try and dominate his human keepers. But I think that I would keep 2-3 roosters for a while. It worries me just a bit, that your daughter's roo is such a pet. Sometimes, those have lost their fear of humans and when the hormones come into full force, they can be very aggressive. With 20 hens, you can easily keep 2-3 roosters for a couple of more months...... and really see how they come out. A mature rooster is not fully developed until a year old. By then, one knows pretty much how they will be. Mrs K
I agree with Mrs. K. While this rooster seems to be the "keeper" there is a concern about his friendliness with your dtr. Is your dtr old enough to be able to fend him off if his friendliness should progress to dominant aggression? She will be his obvious target. And, I'd also choose a middle of the pecking order sort of guy for my flock. UNLESS, the top dog was also a complete gentleman. You might want to search the threads regarding training a rooster to be human friendly. There are many different approaches out there, so you'll have to do a lot of sifting to find a training technique that works for you.
I understand what you are saying Ms K. But im out there with the kids when we handle the chickens and I already fend off 9 other ******** roos. I think there will be less of a chance of Pecker being the horrible one when it comes to being overly aggressive. I know they all have it in them to be that way, who knows. Im definitely ony keeping one roo though. they are the biggest feed bill and they dont contribute by laying. No room for slackers in my budget. lol. thanks for your insight.