Roosters Pros and Cons

[Stiggy]

On this theme of traits of different roosters, I'd love to hear more from people with years of experience about how you choose a rooster. I have asked this before and gotten a few responses, but would love to hear more of what to look for.

When you have several maturing roosters that you need to cull and choose one, what do you look for? My18 wk old top rooster is not nearly as aggressive toward pullets or other roosters as the 3 I already culled, but I've seen him mount hens twice now and he does take a few neck feathers in the process. I've read to give him time, as he is inexperienced - he's only been top rooster for about a week. Culling sometimes has to come before you see each rooster's traits develop. I see most of the pullets moving away from the top rooster when he moves close. Is this good or not? The mellow rooster is a bit subordinate to the top rooster, but not afraid of him generally. He is friendlier to me and the pullets, but is that just because he's in second place and not as mature as the other? How would you choose between these two, since the subordinate's behavior could change if he were the only rooster?

As one person advised me, it is a bit of a crap shoot, but any experience or suggestions for what to look for would be welcome.

I cant speak for everyone, only myself. Personally I keep the best rooster genetically ( eg a solid black rather than a mixed colour) as well as one that isn't over friendly but isn't a d*** to the hens. Usually I run about 4-5 on until maturity and then decide on who I want to keep. Because at this stage I usually have about 40 pullets and hens of my own and often a few of my mothers I can watch how each rooster treats them and acts. Based on this I put them in different pens so they have their own girls and watch this too. This shows me who is submissive and well behaved as a group boy but who is either aggressive by himself or is still mellow and good to the girls.

This season I plan to keep 2 roosters that I have bred and have 2 pens running in breeding time, thus I will have 3 roosters altogether so they must get on. ( the third is a different breed who is extremely mellow and submissive) .

I never keep aggressive roosters, human, hen or other pet wise ( dog) they tend to breed aggressive babies which I don't want. by eliminating them I have a mellow happy flock. That being said I have no problem with friendly roosters as long as they realise im the hand that feeds them and im the top hen/ roo ( I don know how that works since im female but you get the idea)

When I brought my faverolles mix boy he was the submissive roo, and so he fitted in quite well with my other roo that I had at the time. he wasn't overly friendly but was good to the girls and well mannered so he has a forever home unlike some of the other roos ive delt with.

If you have a separate pen then maybe putting them into a bacheloer pad would work then you could see which roo really is best, otherwise I would go with the submissive one.

 

[debp]

"Based on this I put them in different pens so they have their own girls and watch this too. This shows me who is submissive and well behaved as a group boy but who is either aggressive by himself or is still mellow and good to the girls."
...

"If you have a separate pen then maybe putting them into a bacheloer pad would work then you could see which roo really is best, otherwise I would go with the submissive one."

So, let me make sure I understand what you're saying, Stiggy. You do care about the looks of the rooster, but you also look for a submissive, non-aggressive rooster, one that gets along with another rooster? Can you explain what you mean in the first quote above? Are you avoiding roosters that are submissive and well behaved in a group and also avoiding a rooster that is aggressive when he is by himself with the pullets? And if you had them in a bachelor pad, what do you mean by the roo that is the "best?" I found that whatever cockerel was top, suppressed the natural behavior of the others until he was removed.

And would a mellow rooster, one that is "good to the girls" let the hens eat next to him? Would the hens be relaxed around him, or still a bit wary? How does a good rooster exert his authority with the flock?

 

[blucoondawg]

I think the crap shoot advice you got was probably the best. Rooster can easily change with age or flock status which makes it impossible to pick a personable one during adolescence as far as I'm concerned.

 

[broche]

Done. Now we have 5 hens and 1 rooster. Hopefully he turns out to be nice, otherwise we'll eat him too. Thank you for your input everyone!

 

[Stiggy]

So, let me make sure I understand what you're saying, Stiggy. You do care about the looks of the rooster, but you also look for a submissive, non-aggressive rooster, one that gets along with another rooster? Can you explain what you mean in the first quote above? Are you avoiding roosters that are submissive and well behaved in a group and also avoiding a rooster that is aggressive when he is by himself with the pullets? And if you had them in a bachelor pad, what do you mean by the roo that is the "best?" I found that whatever cockerel was top, suppressed the natural behavior of the others until he was removed.

And would a mellow rooster, one that is "good to the girls" let the hens eat next to him? Would the hens be relaxed around him, or still a bit wary? How does a good rooster exert his authority with the flock?

Because I breed pure bred Silkies and usually hatch around 100-200 chicks per season I have plenty of boys to choose from as to how many and what kind I want to keep for the next season. Yes I care about the roosters looks as far as the standard for them goes, as a well marked mild mannered boy is of more use to me then a mild mannered one with markings which I deem to be either incorrect or not as good as the pervious example. Since I bring in new blood lines each season sometimes funny things turn up like a redder than standard comb or 1 toe missing on one foot but the 5 on another, these ones I never breed from, if they are girls then they are sold as pets or boys they get the chop.

Yes I look for a non aggressive rooster, One who is good to his girls. If I can run 2 roosters together in my flock with no problems then all the better, they will be separated at breeding time but until then its easier if everyone can run together.
I am avoiding aggressive roosters who are aggressive in either context, group or single. The odd fight I understand since sometimes one will try to move up the rankings and a spat ensures, if it doesn't resolve in 5 mins then they are separated.

I mean the best roo for your wants and needs, everyone looks for different things in their roo depending on the situation at hand wether you want a friendly pet who is gentle with his girls or a roo that is stand offish toward you and roughter with his girls/ gentle, it really depends on what you want. for example, my roos are not aggressive, but they are not cuddly either, they stand at a distance when I feed out and let the girls eat first before they do.

I have also found that with roosters, I guess they just wanted to step up to the roll of being top rooster.

I'm not sure with your last question as the genetics, and breeds vary on how they treat the others, and of course everyone will be different . In my experience a good rooster will watch over his flock, treat them well and find them food etc, by doing this he gains their respect and thus they will follow him, if he calls them in then they will come. Just as if there is a tiff between hens he will break it up and keep everyone in line. Just like with humans you don't get respect by demanding it, you earn it.

I hope this helped to explain

 

[gimmie birdies]

Buster is 5 weeks old, Myrissa is 4 weeks old, Fowler and Fran are 1 1/2 weeks old and Fran is 5 days old. This is Buster's first time with the very little chicks, I got him from a lady who gave me Myrissa, she had funky legs at birth but got over it, she gave me Fowler and Fiona as eggs I hatched. Fran is from a diff farm and I hatched her too. Fowler and Buster are bro/sis, and Myrissa is their 1/2 sis. The farmer didn't want Buster because he is a roo. He is nice and when put in pen with babies lied down to be little like them. They like their mirror.

 

[debp]

Thanks very much for the detailed reply. I have yet to see any of my cockerels treat the pullets especially nicely or exert any influence over them that I can tell, for that matter. But, it is interesting watching them, and they are still young. And I do realize there are different situation and philosophies about what to look for in a rooster. Thanks for taking the time to address my questions.

 

[Stiggy]

That's ok, any time, I hope my reply provided the info/ insight that was needed. I hope you and your chicks are doing well

 

[cowhlb]

I have 3 roosters. 2 are seven weeks old. My eldest rooster is about three years. What should I do?

 

[Mallory8502]

I have 3 roosters. 2 are seven weeks old. My eldest rooster is about three years. What should I do?

It depends on your reasons for wanting to keep a rooster and what your setup is. You might be able to keep all of them if you have about 30 hens. Roosters usually fight when they are enclosed together or there are not a lot of hens to go around. Having a very large enclosure or free ranging could work out ok as long as your flock is big enough.