Need help picking which rooster to keep... Breed advice please

[Kelly&Co]

We hatched 20 chicks this spring, pretty much a mix of different barnyard hybrids, in a 4-H classroom chick project. We've culled 3 out of the 10 roosters and it's time to get serious about the rest of them. We have small children, so won't keep any rooster that gets an attitude, but wouldn't mind keeping one if we have a nice one.

There's one rooster in particular that I'm interested in keeping if he's nice, so let's start with him. He's our largest rooster in addition to being the showiest, so not sure if that might work in our favor for a nice temperament. Unfortunately, he's been molting tail feathers recently! I think he's at the top of the pecking order, too, for what that's worth.

Thank you for your input!

 

[Chicken Girl1]

As for picking a rooster I would keep the nicest one, the roosters pictured above look like mixes, possibly Brahma mixes.

 

[itspebbl]

He looks like some sort of Brahma mix, and overall, I've heard Brahmas are great pets and our hen is very friendly. However, all roosters are different, so definitely keep watching for temperament. @speckledhen has had many good roosters, and she would be a great one to ask for advice

 

[speckledhen]

He does appear to have some Brahma in there, and the pea comb looks like perhaps he is crossed with a single combed breed. The lacing on the chest reminds me of Silver Laced Wyandotte hens, could be that cross,
or something he looks nothing like! Hard to tell with mixes, really, but I do believe there's Brahma in there.

If his temperament is like my own Brahma males, he will definitely be a keeper, but you'll have to watch that he has hens large enough, if he grows to the size a Brahma usually does, 12-15 lbs, sometimes more. Brahmas are great birds, usually gentle giants.

BUT, remember, really small children should NEVER be around a rooster! That's asking too much of even the gentlest rooster! Kids are too loud and make sudden movements and make them nervous!This guy below is 2 feet tall-think of how tall a toddler is. If he gets defensive, he may react out of fear of the child. If a rooster who has always been a gentle, easygoing male suddenly flogs a toddler who is running at him and grabbing him, that is not HIS mistake, that is the OWNER's mistake.
My guy who is 1 1/2 yrs old.

 

[Kelly&Co]

Thanks! We're new to this and don't know anything about the breeds really. The roosters are starting to mature to the point where they are starting to get interested in the hens and we don't need 7 roosters for 10 hens! It's so hard to get good pictures to distinguish the other roosters, though.

 

[Kelly&Co]

Some of our hens seem to be on the smaller side. Will that be a problem with a larger rooster?

 

[Kelly&Co]

We do keep the flock in the coop most of the time and let them out only with supervision. We know not to trust the combination of rooster and our toddler. We certainly don't want any injuries!

 

[Kelly&Co]

Okay, went out and tried to get pictures of all the other roosters. Easier said than done! All the rest are similar in size and noticeable smaller than the first one above.

This one started out as the prettiest little brown chick. The only brown chick we had

And there's this guy


This one is a lovely shiny green-black


And the guy behind him in that second picture

And one more shiny green-black one with some neat patterning who is extremely camera shy


And apparently I missed one! I guess I'll go back for more pictures...

 

[Kelly&Co]

And this is the last rooster. He has some shiny feathers, but they're not iridescent. They just look kind of oily, if that makes sense.


We're probably going to be giving a couple hens to a neighbor, leaving us with 8, so we only need one rooster. If one, such as the brahma mix, aka werechick or wolf chicken, is likely to have a mild temperament, we might try to keep one rooster. If we don't end up with any due to personality, that's fine. I think the roosters are starting to pick at each other though, so we need to cull the extras soon.

Thank you so much for your advice!

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

If they were my chickens, I would keep all of them.