To Rooster or not to Rooster?

[Mom4ever]

The right roosters are great to have, and there's that 'learning curve' as you figure out how to keep the good ones and eliminate the bad boys.
Mary

I would love advice on how to know which boy to keep. What signs and behaviors that will tell me who in the long run will be a better protector. I have two and need some help.

 

[3KillerBs]

I would love advice on how to know which boy to keep. What signs and behaviors that will tell me who in the long run will be a better protector. I have two and need some help.

Welcome to BYC. If you put your general location into your profile people will be better able to give targeted advice when climate matters.

I'm still learning this, having gone through the weeding-down process only once so far, but I started by deciding that any aggression at all was a hard NO. Then I looked at their type for their breed, immediately weeding out a boy who, though very pretty, was an extremely poor representative of an Australorp.

Then I compared size, growth rate, type again, coloration, and behavior -- getting feedback from more knowledgeable people here.

The gentleman in my avatar was the winner, being the second largest, the fastest-maturing, the broadest in the chest and back, and having a certain "it" quality that his slightly larger brother lacked.

I'm hoping to do this again since I've got eggs in the incubator and want to keep one of this fellow's sons as second male for the flock.