Rooster: Buff Orpington vs Brown Laced Wyandotte

[Iivingmybestlife]

I have a flock of 14 chickens, 4 of which are roosters: 2 Buff Orpington, 1 Brown Laced Wyandotte, 1 Bantam. I don’t have enough ladies to support that many roos, but I’m struggling to decide whether to keep the current dominant rooster, one of the Buff Orpingtons, or the Brown Laced Wyandotte. The Buff is not aggressive, seems to be good at watching for predators, and I’ve seen him come between hens that were fronting each other up. The Wyandotte is just such a beautiful bird, but as the current non dominant doesn’t really do the above. Are one of these breeds typically better at managing the flock? Is a non dominant rooster likely to step up once he’s the only male? I don’t want to choose beauty over substance. The last time we had chickens we weren’t allowed to keep a rooster so I don’t have experience with this. Thanks for your help!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Do you mean a red laced wyandotte?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Usually when a submissive rooster is given his own flock, his attitude does change, for better or for worse.

Do you have the ability to cage the dominant one for a week or so to see how the submissive acts without another dominant male?

 

[Iivingmybestlife]

Do you mean a red laced wyandotte?

Sorry, Golden Laced Wyandotte. Been calling them the wrong thing since I got them

 

[Iivingmybestlife]

Usually when a submissive rooster is given his own flock, his attitude does change, for better or for worse.

Do you have the ability to cage the dominant one for a week or so to see how the submissive acts without another dominant male?

Probably, I have a large dog crate I could put him in and let him out to free range separately from the rest of the flock, but I’m guessing I should wait to do that until I’ve removed the other 2 roosters.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Sorry, Golden Laced Wyandotte. Been calling them the wrong thing since I got them

Okay. Is getting more hens at all an option? Female gold laced look pretty close to males.

With 14 hens, depending on how their feathers are (some hens have much more fragile feathers amd some have very sturdy feathers), you could very possibly keep 2 males. The 1 to 10is for efficient breeding in hatcheries, not a hard and fast law

 

[Iivingmybestlife]

Okay. Is getting more hens at all an option? Female gold laced look pretty close to males.

With 14 hens, depending on how their feathers are (some hens have much more fragile feathers amd some have very sturdy feathers), you could very possibly keep 2 males. The 1 to 10is for efficient breeding in hatcheries, not a hard and fast law

I have 10 pullets and 4 roosters, and really don’t want to add more until spring when I can increase the size of my coop and run. Also definitely don’t need more eggs than 10 hens will provide since we don’t have a large family. Our male and female gold laced are distinctly different (he has a waddle and large tail feathers), and he’s crowing, so I know he’s a male and she isn’t.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I have 10 pullets and 4 roosters, and really don’t want to add more until spring when I can increase the size of my coop and run. Also definitely don’t need more eggs than 10 hens will provide since we don’t have a large family. Our male and female gold laced are distinctly different (he has a waddle and large tail feathers), and he’s crowing, so I know he’s a male and she isn’t.

Oh, okay, I see. I wasn't sure what breeds your girls were. I mentioned the similar looks since you said he was pretty and if you wanted that pattern, the females would have it still.

If the dominant male isn't human aggressive, I would keep him personally. With subordinates, sometimes when they take over a flock, they can become over confident and start getting human agressive

 

[Iivingmybestlife]

Oh, okay, I see. I wasn't sure what breeds your girls were. I mentioned the similar looks since you said he was pretty and if you wanted that pattern, the females would have it still.

If the dominant male isn't human aggressive, I would keep him personally. With subordinates, sometimes when they take over a flock, they can become over confident and start getting human agressive

Thank you! I appreciate the help

 

[Folly's place]

How old are these cockerels?
Selecting 'keepers' can be hard, and it does take time. First, any physical defects, or human aggressive tendencies? What are your goals for this flock? Will you want your rooster to sire chicks? Are any actually harassing the pullets or hens?
Eliminate any that just aren't appealing to you for any reason. In a flock of standard females, I'd eliminate the one bantam cockerel, just because. After one or two are gone, the remaining cockerels will develop to fill in the space.
Early maturity is considered a good trait from an egg production standpoint, but it's only one thing to consider here. There's nothing wrong with picking the one that just look prettiest either.
Every year we go through this very process, and sometimes wish we'd picked some one else instead, if the one selected doesn't turn out well...
Not all that helpful, right?!
If Plan A fails, there's always next year...
Mary