New to thinning of the flock, how to choose which roos to slaughter?!?!

[kkenney]

This is our first full year of keeping chickens and we love it! Originally we were going to get two pullets for eggs and pets for the backyard but instead ended up with 14. All together we had 5 roosters and 9 hens. This year we are adding 3 more pullets. One of the roos was getting out of control so we slaughtered him last spring. Since then surprisingly we have had very few and minor scuffles with them all. That was up until this past week. Most of the winter they have been cooped up inside their spacious coop due to it being -20's a lot with the wind-chill and some frostbite issues. Lately it's been warming up and they have all enjoyed getting out and getting fresh air. With the 4 remaining roos we have 3 very smart and aggressive "yard smart" birds and 1 large gumpy friendly slightly oblivious roo. All of them are penned up together in a very large pen with hawk netting over the top. My dilemma however is which 2 do I slaughter? We want to keep two of them. I know I want to keep our 1 banty roo seeing as he's so protective over the girls, if anything happened to make its way into the coop I know he'd offer himself up in an instant! Do I keep him and the gumpy nice one and slaughter the two other trouble makers that are yard smart or do I sacrifice having a nicer roo and keep one mean yard smart one and my mini jerk to protect the girls? I'm not sure what most people would do and would like to hear some ideas and opinions from others! Advice is much appreciated!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Why do you have roosters? What do you want out of your roosters? If you can answer this, you might have your answer.

If you are keeping them to hatch chicks, keep the ones that act and look like you want the chicks to act and look. If you want the pretty ones, keep the ones you consider pretty. It doesn’t matter what I consider pretty, what you think is what matters. If you like or don’t like the way one crows, let that help you decide.

I have no idea what your real goals, wants, or desires are. That’s up to you. I can’t make that decision for you.

 

[Cluckysnap123]

don't. Give them away to a loving home instead.

 

[bobbi-j]

As Ridgerunner said, it's a decision only you can make, based on what your goals for your flock are. Personally, if I had mean ones, they'd be the first to go. A couple of years ago, when I had about 20 roosters to choose from, I chose my Brahma over all the rest because of his personality. He was not the least bit aggressive toward humans. He would always keep a respectful distance, moving away with his hens. Just because he didn't show aggression to us, does not mean that he wouldn't protect his hens. He was one of several that got taken by what was suspect was coyotes last summer. Did he give himself up first? We'll never know.

Giving them to a "loving home" is a nice thought, but I wonder how many people take roosters to their "loving home" and lovingly put them in the stewpot. I know I would.

 

[Kadjain]

What does "aggressive "yard smart" birds" mean? I'd probably do those

Don't give them to a loving home, that's just so lame .. .

 

[brood mother]

Ok please don't get irritated because I know this is not the correct place to ask this but I didn't know how to start a new thread. We have had milder temps lately but tonight we are having a weird freeze. Freeze warning was issued. Do I need to put the heat lamp bck int coop with my four hens???? Or will they be ok. They are protected from drafts. Just curious. Ready for warm weather!

 

[bobbi-j]

Your hens will be fine. To start a new thread, go to the top of the page, on the left hand side there is a little box that says, "Start New Thread". Click on that.

 

[brood mother]

Ok now I won't worry about my girls! I went to the top if the page and I don't have that box. Is that just on the computer, because I always use my iPhone.

 

[cassmama]

We are beginning a semi-free ranging flock to breed for meat so In our case (and we will be doing this in a few weeks as well), we would choose for the following traits, in order of preference roughly:

+Meatiness/size
+Protectiveness over flock
+Least aggressive toward humans
+Other aesthetic traits like crowing sound and appearance

Because breeding and protection are the reasons we are keeping roosters, those come first.

 

[Folly's place]

I would eliminate any human aggressive rooster, no matter what. They only get worse, and will reproduce their behavior. After that, keep the birds that come closest to meeting your goals. Mary