What kind of cockerels and which one to keep?

[vins0010]

We started raising a small flock of chickens and got a straight run of chicks from Murray McMurray last October. So, a bunch of cockerels. We want to keep one of our roosters to a) provide some protection/alert for the hens (we have hawks in our area) and b) have a few more chicks/hens (with an emphasis on eventual egg production). In essence, we want to pick a rooster that will look out for the hens, not get ornery with us, and have babies that are more likely to have babies that will have more eggs.

We have three front-runner cockerels. One is a barred rock (not pictured), and the two below. I suspect 'Big Guy' (the red/orange one) is a New Hampshire Red but am unsure. We call the whiter one, unimaginatively, 'Leghorn' but I don't think he is a Leghorn. These pictures are a few weeks old but they are all about 14 weeks now.

Currently, Big Guy does the best job looking out for the flock, I've seen him call over hens and let them eat food/worms and what not...and he seems to be the most alert. I'd like him the best but am unsure if he really is from a good egg production breed or not and/or if he is simply developing faster than the others or just more in charge. The Barred Rock is the second most protective of the flock and will call out alarms...but I haven't seen him do much more than that. I'm mostly curious about Leghorn, what breed he is...but, honestly, he seems a bit more like a bully to the other chickens. Maybe he currently isn't just high ranking and just frustrated.

Any thoughts on what we are looking for in an eventual rooster?

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

What you have are sex-link roosters... Red sexlink, and cinnamon queen. The boys babies egg production depends on the hen too... And despite that all your males are egg production breeds, so just choose who you like best! And No, breeding a sexlink hen and rooster doesn't make the chicks sexlinked. It only works for the first generation.

 

[sylviethecochin]

What you have are sex-link roosters... Red sexlink, and cinnamon queen. The boys babies egg production depends on the hen too... And despite that all your males are egg production breeds, so just choose who you like best! And No, breeding a sexlink hen and rooster doesn't make the chicks sexlinked. It only works for the first generation.

The red sexlink rooster (Leghorn) is probably actually a Red Star, not a CQ, because that's the name of the sexlinks Murray Hatchery sells. Not that there's really any functional difference.

I'm going to agree with the OP on the identity of the "orange" rooster. He definitely isn't a sexlink, (In chickens, gold is mostly recessive, so even though it's sexlinked, no sexlinked rooster is going to show that much gold) and is probably a NH.

Agree with everything else.

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

The red sexlink rooster (Leghorn) is probably actually a Red Star, not a CQ, because that's the name of the sexlinks Murray Hatchery sells. Not that there's really any functional difference.

I'm going to agree with the OP on the identity of the "orange" rooster. He definitely isn't a sexlink, (In chickens, gold is mostly recessive, so even though it's sexlinked, no sexlinked rooster is going to show that much gold) and is probably a NH.

Agree with everything else.

you are probably right... I got what some hatchery quality birds looked like!

 

[WVduckchick]

I'm not good with the breeds, but if the boys are together now, you might try pulling all except one you might want to keep (rotate each boy for a few days) to see how he behaves without the others around, before you actually rehome the others. Flock dynamics makes a huge difference in how they act, so even the best ones can turn terrible when he becomes top dog. Lock all except one at a time in a crate, or another space, where they can't interact with the rest of the flock. If possible.

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

Red Sex Link
New Hampshire Red

 

[Gray Farms]

Protecting his hens and not getting ornery with you are never a guarantee. These aren't traits that are specific to any breed nor absent from any specific breed. It depends on the individual. So that's going to be a "wait and see" kinda thing. As far as producing chicks they all should do that. The best thing to do is to pick the one that is the least tame but not aggressive. These typically are the best flock protectors and if they are use to you being around they don't think of you as a threat to their females and will leave you alone.

 

[drumstick diva]

x2 Gray Farms

 

[vins0010]

Thanks for all the feedback. It has been awhile. As an update, Big Guy is pretty much out of the running at this point. He's already getting a bit bold/aggressive at this point. When I went to close up the coop the other day in the evening, he ran out and attacked my legs! No harm or anything...just surprise. I guess he's got a couple more weeks. The others, still pondering...

 

[Doggomatix]

I’m not sure if I would want that trait in my roo, hope you don’t have children around as he’ll probably do the same with them. Him being wary and giving ground would be acceptable. That’s just my thoughts