no rooster aggression

[motorman]

Hi everyone,

I have 6 silver penciled Plymouth rocks. 3 are hens and 3 are roosters. All are about 16-17 weeks old. So far they have been a wonderful flock. I realize I will need to thin the flock to have only one rooster. All 6 birds have very good dispositions. Even the 3 roosters get along well. At this point I can't decide which rooster is the best to keep because all three are equally non-aggressive.

My two questions are

At what age should I expect the roosters to get crazy and need separating? I plan to process 2 of them and I want to be well prepared since this will be my first time.

All 3 roosters can and will crow, but not very often. It's not a big issue where I live, but I'm curious what to expect as they get older. Do they all get loud eventually, or are some roosters just calmer and quieter?

thanks

 

[12 gauge]

you need to get rid of 2 of them just pick 1 out to keep and get rid of the other 2

 

[aldarita]

I am in the same situation you are right now. I have 9 chicks that are 14 weeks old, there are 4 cockerels in the flock (maybe 5, there is one that I am not sure what it is yet). I plan to keep one of the cockerels so the rest will have to be re home. I have read a lot about cockerels and asked for advice. Mrs. K who is a very frequent poster, experienced and with knowledge advised me to pick one of the cockerels that is not the alpha, nor the one at the bottom of the pecking order.
Your cockerels are peaceful now for what you wrote in your post which tells me that their hormones have not kicked in yet but they will some time soon, mine are the same. I am planning to wait longer before I make any selection because at this point I cannot tell much about their personalities, so selecting one right now might not be wise. As long as they do not fight much and do not bother the pullets, I think you should let them be and watch them very carefully. Pay attention for humane aggression, you certainly don't want a cockerel that can hurt you later on.
I wish you luck in your selection, roosters are lovely animals but very troublesome when you have to select one and hope it is the best.