Choosing a Rooster

[Aquira]

So, we have four roosters in a flock of 23 (11 'adult' ladies) How do you go about which roosters to keep? Two of the boys are more dominant. One seems to be quite rough with the ladies. The two submissive boys try to stay out of the way of the other males.
The biggest of the dominant males seems to be /very/ dumb. Very slow to react to things.
I'm doubting all of the boys will get along as there is already chasing going on.
Will the trouble maker calm down or do I need to remove him?
Looking to have someone to breed with my ladies but two of the roosters are bantams and I'm not really looking to keep that going in my flock. We do have some bantam hens so I'm not sure if that's okay having a larger male.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

For me the process goes like this;

Physical requirements; I choose the rooster that has the basic traits I need for my flock. In my case, that means breed, general size and colors. For you it may mean not bantam. But this is the bare minimum can't be budged on traits.

Bad Attitude; This is the second most important. Is he a jerk to the hens? That's no good. Is he a jerk to me? Right out. But this assessment is going to be more accurate the later it's done. Chickens change their attitudes as they age. I won't keep and overly aggressive rooster.

Good health; Has he been consistently healthy? His parents? His chicks? Do his feathers and body look good?

Nitpickier physical traits; This is because I'm breed to standard. Does he have good legs, eyes, feathers, etc? If I wasn't breeding to standard this would be last.

Good attitude; If he doesn't have a bad attitude, does he have a good attitude? Does he call the hens to eat? Is he observant? Does he keep a respectful distance from me? If someone in the flock is upset, does he go running to try to fix it? Do the ladies listen to him?

Noisy; Is he noisy as all heck? If there's one that's just as good that isn't I take the quieter one...

You needs are gonna be different than mine, but this is what I looks for, and I pick based off of this. You may have different priorities than I do.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I personally wouldn't mix a standard rooster with bantams.

I remove the worse offenders first. Generally the ones that are running about mating and chasing everyone, and than I work my way down. I usually end up with the better calmer roosters that way.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Personally i wouldn't have bantam hens with a standard male unless he's a small standard. I had a heavy male mount my Japanese hen and he broke her tail.

 

[Folly's place]

I've had both bantams and standard birds for 20+ years, and never had a bantam hen injured by one of the big guys. For two years our big Chantecler rooster had two EE bantam hens in his group, and was mating with them, no problem. This is no guarantee, but it's been fine here.
x2 everything @ChocolateMouse said!
Are you planning to raise chicks from these birds? Then breed type matters. BUT temperament should still be #1! I don't wait for an obnoxious cockerel to grow into Mr. Wonderful, he's already gone.
Eliminate one or two, and see how the others behave. Realize that none of these boys may be the bird you need, and be ready to plan for more chicks, this year or next year. It's a long term project, not so much about instant gratification.
Mary

 

[Mrs. K]

When you pull one, the others may change. Personally, anything I don't like for whatever reason goes first. Then wait and see how the others settle down. Re-evaluate.

Feathers hide a lot of sins, check feet and toes - crooked ones can cause problems for hens. Check beaks and skull shape, needs to be aligned and symetrical. Check weight, may as well go for an easy keeper.

MRs K

 

[Aquira]

Alright, thank you everyone. We removed the trouble maker.