Help me choose which rooster to keep!

ChickyWhicky

Crowing
Premium Feather Member
May 19, 2022
638
3,120
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Iowa, USA
I will need to get rid of rooster(s) before too long. I currently have 3 roosters and 15 hens, everybody is about 5 months old. Help me choose which roo to keep!

Mayweather

Australorp
Not shown any human-aggression (not mean but not willing to be your friend)
Breeds the hens, a little rough for my liking but nothing out-of-line
Doesn't show strong desire to protect or take care of flock, mostly does his own thing
Wants to fight/chase one of the other roos
Ugly-ish (not a criteria to make a decision on, just letting you know 😅)

Canelo
Rhode island red
Shown human-aggression once but has since become relatively friendly (always hanging out with me, wanting to follow/be near me but not in a menacing way)
Does not breed the hens
Shows desire to protect and take care of flock, chases off birds/cats/dogs & will call the flock over/share snacks
Doesnt want to fight/chase, will run away/avoid conflict with other roo
Has basically been exiled to hang out by himself (or with me) because Mayweather wants to knock his socks off
Handsome (again, not a criteria I am basing decisions on)

McGregor

Little red roo (maybe a production red?)
Smallest of the roos
Not shown any human aggression
Does not breed the hens
Doesnt show desire to protect or take care of flock, 100% a follower
Does not fight/chase the other roos
Hang out with the other roos with zero problems....is this even a roo? JK- Yes, I am nearly positive he is
Not my favorite guy, sorry dude (he's at the bottom of my list)
Can I keep this guy forever, if he continues to get along with the other roos? Why or why not?
 
I will need to get rid of rooster(s) before too long. I currently have 3 roosters and 15 hens, everybody is about 5 months old. Help me choose which roo to keep!

Mayweather
Australorp
Not shown any human-aggression (not mean but not willing to be your friend)
Breeds the hens, a little rough for my liking but nothing out-of-line
Doesn't show strong desire to protect or take care of flock, mostly does his own thing
Wants to fight/chase one of the other roos
Ugly-ish (not a criteria to make a decision on, just letting you know 😅)

Canelo
Rhode island red
Shown human-aggression once but has since become relatively friendly (always hanging out with me, wanting to follow/be near me but not in a menacing way)
Does not breed the hens
Shows desire to protect and take care of flock, chases off birds/cats/dogs & will call the flock over/share snacks
Doesnt want to fight/chase, will run away/avoid conflict with other roo
Has basically been exiled to hang out by himself (or with me) because Mayweather wants to knock his socks off
Handsome (again, not a criteria I am basing decisions on)

McGregor
Little red roo (maybe a production red?)
Smallest of the roos
Not shown any human aggression
Does not breed the hens
Doesnt show desire to protect or take care of flock, 100% a follower
Does not fight/chase the other roos
Hang out with the other roos with zero problems....is this even a roo? JK- Yes, I am nearly positive he is
Not my favorite guy, sorry dude (he's at the bottom of my list)
Can I keep this guy forever, if he continues to get along with the other roos? Why or why not?
I love Australorps, but my choice is Canelo based on personality. Friendly, protective of flock, but doesn’t want confrontation.
 
No human-aggression would be my #1.

What breeds are your hens?

Do you plan to hatch chicks? If yes, what traits do you want to pass on to those chicks -- the rooster is half the flock.

The hens are a little bit of everything, huge layer variety. I may hatch chicks in the future, but not something I was going to be doing a lot of. Great point with the rooster being 1/2 of the flock. Will keep that in mind.
 
The hens are a little bit of everything, huge layer variety. I may hatch chicks in the future, but not something I was going to be doing a lot of. Great point with the rooster being 1/2 of the flock. Will keep that in mind.

To repeat a question I've seen many times here,

What are your goals for having a rooster?

Which of your goals do each of these roosters meet? Which do they fail at?
 
I will need to get rid of rooster(s) before too long. I currently have 3 roosters and 15 hens, everybody is about 5 months old. Help me choose which roo to keep!

Mayweather
Australorp
Not shown any human-aggression (not mean but not willing to be your friend)
Breeds the hens, a little rough for my liking but nothing out-of-line
Doesn't show strong desire to protect or take care of flock, mostly does his own thing
Wants to fight/chase one of the other roos
Ugly-ish (not a criteria to make a decision on, just letting you know 😅)

Canelo
Rhode island red
Shown human-aggression once but has since become relatively friendly (always hanging out with me, wanting to follow/be near me but not in a menacing way)
Does not breed the hens
Shows desire to protect and take care of flock, chases off birds/cats/dogs & will call the flock over/share snacks
Doesnt want to fight/chase, will run away/avoid conflict with other roo
Has basically been exiled to hang out by himself (or with me) because Mayweather wants to knock his socks off
Handsome (again, not a criteria I am basing decisions on)

McGregor
Little red roo (maybe a production red?)
Smallest of the roos
Not shown any human aggression
Does not breed the hens
Doesnt show desire to protect or take care of flock, 100% a follower
Does not fight/chase the other roos
Hang out with the other roos with zero problems....is this even a roo? JK- Yes, I am nearly positive he is
Not my favorite guy, sorry dude (he's at the bottom of my list)
Can I keep this guy forever, if he continues to get along with the other roos? Why or why not?
I vote canelo, if mayweather is gone he would take his place as dominant rooster. He has shown that he is willing to protect the flock but is not mating the hens because of mayweather. Mayweather sounds like he may be to confrontational and aggressive. McGregor is definitely out.
 
Ugly-ish (not a criteria to make a decision on, just letting you know 😅)

P.S. If "ugly" means he's in an awkward stage that he might grow through, that's one thing.

If "ugly" means that he's got bad conformation^ and that his physical traits are things that you wouldn't want to see in future generations then eliminate him.

Note: Bad conformation does not necessarily equal bad type, though it could. This winter when I was choosing from 5 Blue Australorp cockerels to pick my flock sire I had one, Yellow (his band color), who was very bad type -- narrow and lanky where an Australorp should be solidly-built. He was also absolutely beautiful, just not a very good Australorp.
 

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