Hatched 7 cockerels and 3 hens

[eighthens525]

I hatched my first clutch of eggs this year and disappointed that 7 of them are cockerels and only 3 hens. Is there anything different I can do next year? Is this a fluke or pretty common? Also I am going to keep one for future hatching - any suggestion of how to determine which one to keep? Most aggressive vs least aggressive? Doesn't matter? They are 11 weeks old and I am going to process the others.

 

[artbykarenehaley]

It happens. If you were to do a lot of hatches, it would average out to 50/50 but you can get an imbalance every now and then.

As for roosters to keep, what are your goals?
If you want a breeder and you only have one breed, you can read the breeds Standard of Perfection and select for his body type and feather quality.

Human aggression I believe can be hereditary so I would select for non human agression.

If you're going for dual purpose, select the rooster that has the best bodyweight or grew the fastest.

If you're going for egg production and know which hen was the mother of which egg, pick the boy that came from your best layer.

 

[eighthens525]

I have many breeds so I will opt for the least aggressive. The father of this hatch had to go because he was very aggressive towards humans. Maybe I will have better luck second time around. Thank you for your reply!