Question about "Which Rooster to Keep?"

[Ridgerunner]

I think others have said it all. The only reason you need a rooster is for fertile eggs. Everything else is personal preference.

The subordinate rooster's personality could easily change if he becomes the dominant rooster. There is no telling how he will change until he is in that position. He may or may not become louder. He may or may not become less friendly or more aggressive toward humans. The dominant one can change as he matures too, but at least you have a general idea of what you get with him.

A good rooster will give his life in protection of his flock. Not all roosters are good in this way. My current rooster leads his hens to safety instead of putting himself between the danger and the flock. Some are better flock protectors than others. And many times, if there is no rooster present, a hen assumes some of these flock protection duties.

So it is pure personal preference for you. Good luck!

 

[doop]

New to keeing chickens so ihad to have a roo too. thoughthe would protect flock but let them out to free range went in the house for a couple minutes and heard the my birds squaking i came running out too see what was going on and my rooster was running out of the trees leaving his hens in his dust. Lost a hen to a fox. Then my sisters husky got loose and same scenario so i dont have much faith in rooster protection unless im the one chasing his hens as hes flogged me several times.

 

[adgcountrygirl]

I'm in the middle of this process too. I have one roo that is really aggressive towards only one other roo and is already trying to breed the hens. I nearly got him ready for the supper table this evening because he jumped on me in effort to get to the roo in my arms. (Lucky for him, he didn't draw blood.) The thing is, I'm thinking he is more likely to charge a hawk to protect the girls than some of my other boys. Also, some of my girls are much smaller and I am thinking it may be better to keep only the rooster that is closest to their size so that their eggs aren't too big for them. (Is this even an issue?) Thor is my smallest roo and Beakman is the largest. Pepper is the most agressive and mid-sized. I like Pepper. He was the first to crow in front of me, and it doesn't matter to me that he crows more often than the others because my neighbors don't care (live in the country) and he often greets me when I come home from work, just as heartily as my dogs do. I guess I have a few more days to decide... I hope.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have one roo that is really aggressive towards only one other roo and is already trying to breed the hens.

You did not mention age but breeding hens is what they do. The fact that they are trying to breed is not a problem. The risk comes from them not having the technique down and the hens not cooperating. Often pullets the same age are not mature enough to know what to do and older hens don't respect a young rooster enough to cooperate. As an adolescent, his hormones are pretty much in control. He can get pretty rough. Usually they outgrow it, but not always.

It sounds like two of your roosters are determining which one will be flock master. The third one is not part of that equation right now. They may have already determined he is not a serious contender or he may not have matured enough to join the contest. I don't know enough about your flock to make any specific recommendations. But be aware that if you remove the dominant rooster the behavior of the one that takes his place and becomes dominant can change.

The thing is, I'm thinking he is more likely to charge a hawk to protect the girls than some of my other boys.

I just flat out don't know if there is any linkage. Maybe. He's fighting the other rooster for flock domination, not to protect his girls. I did not notice you mentioning a breed. That can make a difference in how they act. Not that they are consistent in anything they do, but certain breeds do have tendencies. Like Game roosters are more likely to fight a lot more seriously among themselves.

Also, some of my girls are much smaller and I am thinking it may be better to keep only the rooster that is closest to their size so that their eggs aren't too big for them. (Is this even an issue?)

It's not an issue. The rooster that fertilizes the egg has nothing to do with how big that egg is. He can influence how big his daughter's eggs are and how big his daughter is, but the hen will determine her own egg size.

One of the factors in hens becomning barebacked is size difference in the hen and the rooster. I don't think it is a big factor and have never worried about it, but a lot of size difference can have some efffect. When they mate, the hen squats on the ground and spreads the weight of the rooster into the ground, so the weight difference is not likely to cause any problems as far as the hen being able to support the weight. Roosters are usually a few pounds heavier than hens of the same breed anyway. But the smaller hens in the flock seem to be prone to losing a few more feathers during mating. Unless you are talking a lot of difference in size, I don't think it is enough of a factor to worry about. Many people keep full sized roosters with bantam hens and don't have a problem with this, but occasionally someone does if the size difference is really big.

My usualy recommendation is to keep as few roosters as you can and still meet your goals. And keep the one that you would want his children to be like, personality as well as looks. It's not always an easy choice.

 

[mpf]

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Thanks for the help, everyone. Learned a lot....

 

[mpf]

Well, I had a Dog try to eat the flock, but they are free-range 1/2 day every day, so have impressive flight/running abilities. They survived. The bird that traveled the farthest away, and it was by a considerable distance, 1/4 mile, was my big, tough Rooster.
Since I took that to be a less than ideal "flock protector", whatever that is....He was the marked man.
I 'took him out' tonight, it was pretty bad. Went into the coop at 9:30 pm, but he seemed to know what was going to happen,
and "peeped" like a baby, 'till the bitter end. I feel like I just killed a pet Dog, actually.
Cleaned up, he is in the fridge...darn it

 

[buckabucka]

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Don't be so hard on yourself. You did what you know you needed to do. Some of us (me, for instance) are too wimpy to do the job themselves, and bring the bird to the butcher instead, so you should be proud, even if it wasn't the best of experiences. Glad to hear your hens survived the attack!

 

[peepblessed]

Well, my rooster, a Delaware and smaller than my EE's will and has gone after a dog several times, but is gentle will humans. Also, my chicken feed bill has gone way down since he keeps the squirrels, blue jays and ravens out of the day area! Worth his weight in gold!

 

[mpf]

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Thanks for the kind words..Grilled the badboy tonite, it was actually delicious.
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Good to know, as I do still have a Roo left, it was the meekest one. I saw him try to mate a hen tonight though, his first time that I know of. I just hope he doesn't crow a lot like his 'brother' did. Too Urban here. Strangely, I just feel sorry for Roosters...