Choosing a rooster

[Finnie]

I guess when dealing with roosters that isn't always possible lol

Yeah. I don’t know about Marans, but a lot of the breeds I like need 18 months or more to develop their full maturity. Getting rid of them sooner might mean getting rid of the best one.

 

[LaFleche]

Because I would suggest keeping them both as long as possible. Not only will you see how they mature, which could reveal which is the better one for breeding, but also gives you a backup rooster in case something happens to your favorite one. That is a very real possibility.

This exactly. And I would not separate them from each other, but remove them both out of sight from the females for some time in case your hens/pullets need some peace.

How many hens/pullets do you have?

 

[Gavintheduckman]

Can we see them

 

[McChooky]

I raised 2 cockerels last year and the most dominant one wasn't the first to mature or mate the hens. He came up in rank later and was always the most aggressive with the hens.I kept them both over a year and rehomed the more dominant one this week.What a relief lol

 

[Ridgerunner]

At 14 weeks you have two immature cockerels. I'm not sure how hard the hormones have hit yet; that can vary a lot by age. Cockerels tend to mature faster than pullets. Their hormones can control them so they can be total terrors around the pullets. They can act like sex crazed fiends. It is not that they are trying to fertilize eggs, the pullets are not laying. The sex act is all about dominance. Not all cockerels are that bad but many are. A lot of cockerels literally lose their heads (are eaten) during that hormonal sex fiend phase.

Sometimes having two cockerels in the flock will egg each other on, make them even worse than they would be without the competition. Sometimes a dominant one will suppress the actions of the less dominant cockerel. He may be perfectly behaved until the dominant one is gone, then he becomes a terror. Or he may remain perfectly behaved when on his own. You never know how a cockerel will turn out.

If you can get through the hormonal phase most cockerels mature into a decent rooster, a good flock master. I want one that has a strong personality so he can win over the girls with his self-confidence and swagger and not have to rely on brute force. That is hard to tell when they are immature cockerels. I try to choose one that matures early but that doesn't always work. I've made less than perfect decisions in this.

One thing I will not accept is a human aggressive rooster. To me that is an instant removal. They are a danger to family members and visitors.

The personality of the girls has a part to lay in flock dynamics. At 14 weeks you don't have a clue what their personality will be like when they are hens. They may all be fairly docile and accepting of a male flock master or you may have one or two that want to be flock master themselves. My worst situation was an iron-willed hen and a fairly weak spirited male. That took two days of serious fighting to sort out and he never was a good flock master.

I can't tell you how to choose right now, I think your odds are about as good with one as the other. The way I do it is to leave them with the flock and make any decisions about separating them from each other or from the girls based on what I see, not what some stranger over the internet like me tells you that you will see. Because I don't know what you will see. Each year my flock is different.

It is very possible either boy will work out great. It is also possible neither one will. To me the best thing to do is base your decisions on what you see. Good luck!

 

[LaFleche]

My cockerels of this year are 14,5 weeks old today and one of them stands out as he is calling the others to the feed and will feed them the best pieces without eating anything himself until the others have had enough and wander off.

He is constantly watching out for them observing the sky and bushes and immediately gives warning calls when aerial predators appear, and then herds the others to safety while staying out himself to defend them.

In the evenings he herds everyone into the coop and sits in the doorway to prevent anyone from wandering out again until I come to close the door.

He is very respectful of me giving me space whenever I enter the run to refill the water dispenser or do some maintenance work.

All this very social and responsible behaviour started very early at around 8 weeks and he will be the one I will keep for sure.
He is the son of my favourite old French BCM hen which since February is still laying every other day at already 5,5 years old.

 

[Mrs. K]

Ah LaFleche - sounds like a good one in the making. Probably going to ruin other roosters for years to come, haha. I had Bye, and I still miss him.

 

[Cluck Noris]

Can we see them

 

[Cluck Noris]

How many hens/pullets do you have?

I have 8 hens and 6 pullets, plan on keeping it around 9 or 10 through winter

 

[Mrs. K]

Very pretty eye candy. A couple of other things to look for on a more physical aspect:

• check their feet - toes straight? toe nails? Sometimes a crooked toe can grow a funky toenail because it wears unevenly that later can cause more damage to the hens
• beaks - beaks need to be perfectly symetrical
• breast - feel them - feathers cover a lot of sins
• weigh them - they should both have access to the same food, which one is heavier?
• Look at the standards for the breed. Check head shape, wing length, comb, angle of tail and back, and leg color.

Mrs K