Picking A Cockerel

[April0617]

I know this question has been asked, but I just want opinions on if I should give these boys a little longer to show more personality or eliminate the rest sooner rather than later. A friend gave us hatching eggs this spring, and my broody hatched four little boys in the beginning of May. She was a great mom 3/4 were fathered by a wonderful sweet, mellow Delaware rooster. One was fathered by a not as sweet silkie roo (he's very clearly half silkie). The half silkie is absolutely adorable, he's lowest in the pecking order, other than the 3 pullets we got in June. My gut is telling me he has to go just based on genetics, he's been really good but because of his status, he may just not be showing us that attitude. The other three are 2 straight Delawares and one beautiful Delaware cross. One of the straight Delawares is clearly top dog of the boys. He's the one dancing for and mating with the hens and crowing, I've even seen him correct the other boys for crowing. None of the three have given our family any attitude at all, yet. So, right now I'm planning to keep him and let the others go, but should I do it now or give them another month or two to see if any bad behaviors pop up with him? They are just about 4 months old currently. I have no serious breeding intentions, other than letting a hatch happen once in a while as some of the girls slow down in laying. He's needed more just to be a watch dog as we free range the majority of the day.

 

[CluckerFamily]

I would keep the one your gut is saying to keep and get rid of the others.
I would get rid of them as soon as possible so there won’t be any injuries.

 

[Mrs. K]

With four, I would remove 1-2, wait, then decide.

 

[McChooky]

The people I got my Delaware from liked him a lot but for sentimental reasons re-homed him.(Their Alpha rooster whipped him all his life)I removed the pop up door on my coop after bringing him home because he couldn't get in the chicken door .I made it bigger. He's also too big for all of them to fit on the same roosting bar so I'm rebuilding them too!

 

[McChooky]

I know this question has been asked, but I just want opinions on if I should give these boys a little longer to show more personality or eliminate the rest sooner rather than later. A friend gave us hatching eggs this spring, and my broody hatched four little boys in the beginning of May. She was a great mom 3/4 were fathered by a wonderful sweet, mellow Delaware rooster. One was fathered by a not as sweet silkie roo (he's very clearly half silkie). The half silkie is absolutely adorable, he's lowest in the pecking order, other than the 3 pullets we got in June. My gut is telling me he has to go just based on genetics, he's been really good but because of his status, he may just not be showing us that attitude. The other three are 2 straight Delawares and one beautiful Delaware cross. One of the straight Delawares is clearly top dog of the boys. He's the one dancing for and mating with the hens and crowing, I've even seen him correct the other boys for crowing. None of the three have given our family any attitude at all, yet. So, right now I'm planning to keep him and let the others go, but should I do it now or give them another month or two to see if any bad behaviors pop up with him? They are just about 4 months old currently. I have no serious breeding intentions, other than letting a hatch happen once in a while as some of the girls slow down in laying. He's needed more just to be a watch dog as we free range the majority of the day.

I would keep the straight Delaware who's "clearly top dog"( keeping the others in line) Re-home the ones you don't need or they'll fight!! YouTube has a great video on training roosters not to be aggressive (uploaded by SSLFamilyDad) Do a search for "Dealing With An Aggressive Rooster- How To Train A Rooster"

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[April0617]

I would keep the straight Delaware who's "clearly top dog"( keeping the others in line) Re-home the ones you don't need or they'll fight!! YouTube has a great video on training roosters not to be aggressive (uploaded by SSLFamilyDad) Do a search for "Dealing With An Aggressive Rooster- How To Train A Rooster"

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We ended up finding

I would keep the straight Delaware who's "clearly top dog"( keeping the others in line) Re-home the ones you don't need or they'll fight!! YouTube has a great video on training roosters not to be aggressive (uploaded by SSLFamilyDad) Do a search for "Dealing With An Aggressive Rooster- How To Train A Rooster"

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We didn't end up keeping top dog, he got way too persistent with one of our girls. But we kept Mumble here. It was actually the hens who made the decision, I knew we weren't keeping boss man by then, but then noticed that the girls were all very willing to let this guy have his way with them, even my top girl. Best decision, he's the sweetest and most polite boy to his girls and to our family He was also my personal favorite, so I was happy!

 

[Cryss]

Well done! He’s beautiful. Such a good story too. Being aware enough to see who the ladies chose is a credit to you!
Kudos!!

 

[McChooky]

Best of luck to you!

 

[Folly's place]

It's early times yet, and I agree with @Mrs. K that removing one or two is a good idea.
Early maturity is a plus genetically, especially because you may raise offspring in the future.
Eliminate any who have obvious structural problems, like wry tail, funky beaks, or deformed anything. Any human aggression is a cull point here, although your cockerels certainly can change over at least the next few months.
Your big Delaware sounds great right now! Maybe keep him and one other, and see how it goes. Do you want Silkie cross chicks? They are likely to be small, and worse egg layers than any of the Delawares. Cute as he is, maybe another flock would suit him better.
Mary