Cockerel Breeding Aggressively

[aart]

The hardest thing about picking a cockerel out of more than 2 is when together the competition factor brings out the worst of the behaviors in all of them...and they might act totally different when they are the only 'cock on the block'.

 

[Folly's place]

Part of the fun decision making process...
They may also develop worse behaviors as they mature.
Sometimes rolling dice would be easier, but that's not a good way to decide at all.
Mary

 

[chickens really]

They are Cockerels and definitely will not get along until they figure things out if they ever do? The one is definitely more dominant and the other takes his chances and quickly breeds the Hens . The Hens always pick a Cockerel/ Rooster that is a great provider and looks after them. The other two you have are trying to win Hens in a fruitless battle. Separate and keep only one Cockerel.

 

[Chwicks]

Most of Sven's behavior is hormones right now. He probably will... maybe... most likely... become more gentle with the ladies once he gets past the teenage hormones, but there's no absolute guarantee. It sounds like the other two cockerels are already a little more mellow and better with the girls.
You could always just keep him separated until he's a little more mature and see how he does.

That’s true. He’s been separated for so long already. I feel bad for him, but worse for the ladies. I may just keep him on his own until I make my definitive decision. It’s changing by the day at this point. Lol

 

[Chwicks]

Cochins aren't known to be great egg layers, so using Sven may add size, and diminish egg production. Is this a good trade-off for your flock?
I want peace and good behavior, and it's a cull point (major) in my flock. Sven wouldn't be a winner here...
If nobody is being injured, maybe he's fine, but still.
Have you looked at Chanteclers? Putting in a plug here for the big white guys, like my avatar. Cold hardy, big, good layers.
I do understand your problem making this decision. I've picked the right ones, and the 'what was I thinking' individuals, and also am not interested in having a separate bachelor coop to put these decisions off.
Mary

It’s just the two of us, so the amount of eggs our 14 ladies would produce would be more than enough to meet our needs. I would like to get to point where we can have a more equitable balance between meat and eggs. So, he may be our best bet in that arena. I’m really leaning towards getting rid of Jon because he was never really meant to fit into this equation of casting lots (which is a bit of what it feels like at this point) from the start. He just turned out to be an awesome boy and I think I’ve become attached to him because he is such a good boy. But, I can’t let that sway me too much when it comes to our longer term goals.

In this moment, I’m thinking Jon will go and I’ll keep Sven and Utred. I fear Sven may become aggressive since I’ve had to handle him to treat his tail feathers, and I’ve learned that familiarity with cockerels in my flock hasn’t worked out well. I had to cull my favorite one because he was a little too familiar and became increasingly aggressive. He was a sweet boy until he started cutting a wing at me, then biting my shoe, then ran over and bit my hand when I was picking up a feather off the coop floor. He dang near broke the skin he bit me so dang hard. That was his last full day.

I figure if Sven does turn into a jerk because of how I’ve had to handle him to tend to his tail I’ll just put him in a pot and have good ol’ Utred. He’s a gorgeous boy, well tempered, and keeps his distance from me... unless I have food or he’s just being curious... like chickens tend to be naturally. He could turn out to be a jerk too, but I’d only need him around long enough to get a broody hen and a new set of chicks from which to select a new male. I don’t particularly care for the personalities of my Wyandottes, but I could deal with it... if that’s what I have to do.

As for additional breeds, I definitely don’t want to go through the raising of chicks again. Lol. We’ll work with what we have until that is no longer a viable option. If/when that becomes the case, I’ll definitely keep Chanteclers on my list of breeds. I’m not sure why I wouldn’t have picked them previously.

Thanks for being such a great sounding board for me.

 

[Chwicks]

The hardest thing about picking a cockerel out of more than 2 is when together the competition factor brings out the worst of the behaviors in all of them...and they might act totally different when they are the only 'cock on the block'.

That’s what I’m thinking. I need to get to gettin’. It’s not fair to my girls to keep prolonging the inevitable.

 

[Chwicks]

They are Cockerels and definitely will not get along until they figure things out if they ever do? The one is definitely more dominant and the other takes his chances and quickly breeds the Hens . The Hens always pick a Cockerel/ Rooster that is a great provider and looks after them. The other two you have are trying to win Hens in a fruitless battle. Separate and keep only one Cockerel.

I’m definitely working to get there. Do you think getting rid of my dominant one and keeping the 2nd and 3rd would be ok until I see if my 2nd (Sven) turns out to be a jerk? My 3rd is low key and doesn’t try to breed any of the girls... yet. If/when he matures more and starts trying, I’m hoping I’ll have figured out 100% if Sven is the boy for the job... or not. I didn’t anticipate this decision being so difficult. <sigh>

 

[chickens really]

I’m definitely working to get there. Do you think getting rid of my dominant one and keeping the 2nd and 3rd would be ok until I see if my 2nd (Sven) turns out to be a jerk? My 3rd is low key and doesn’t try to breed any of the girls... yet. If/when he matures more and starts trying, I’m hoping I’ll have figured out 100% if Sven is the boy for the job... or not. I didn’t anticipate this decision being so difficult. <sigh>

Once you remove one it changes the Flock dynamics so you really don't know what one will be the better Rooster in the end..
The more aggressive one will probably calm down once he is king of his castle. Behaviour changes as far as the Cockerels go. Definitely a tough decision..