Which Barred Plymouth Rock roo should I keep?

[slaird61]

I have three 7 month old Barred Plymouth Rock roosters and I have thirteen 16 week old pullets (RIRs, BOs, BSLs, EEs and 2 silkies). I have not mixed the roos with the pullets yet but I need to soon so the pullets will have access to their nest boxes. I've decided to get rid of two of the roos since that many roos on half grown pullets would be dangerous. My dilemma is I can't decide which roo to keep. Here is a description of each roo:

Biggie Smalls: Largest, calmest, friendliest and possibly the most dominant though he had a cut on the back of his head from fighting one day.

Kidd Rock: Medium sized, not extremely friendly but not aggressive or wild either. He seems to squawk and fluff up at the others alot.

Frank: Smallest, not aggressive but not friendly, kind of flighty. I think he is the most submissive because he always comes out of the coop last and stays away from the other two a good bit.

I don't know how each roo will behave with the girls but I'm wondering if it would be better to keep a smaller one since the pullets are kind of small now.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What are your goals? Does anything about the color or conformation of any of them strike you as something you prefer? I'll use an easy example, although it could be anything. One of my goals is meat, so I eat the smaller and breed the larger, although some behavior things factor into that decision too. But that is one of my goals, not yours. You are obviously not trying to breed for showing or pure breeds, so the Standards of Perfection probably don't enter into the discussion.

You really can't tell how a rooster will behave when he is the single dominant rooster. Their personality and behavior can change when they assume that responsibility and don't have another dominant rooster keeping them in line.

Roosters are usually heavier than the hens, even the same breed. When they mate, the hen squats down on the ground and spreads the rooster's weight, so it is not as bad as it looks. However, the more weight difference the more chance of a problem. If meat is not a goal and with your silkies, I'd tend toward the smaller one if all else is equal.

Good luck!

 

[slaird61]

Thank you for your reply. My main goal for my chickens is egg production. I want to keep a rooster so I will have some fertile eggs for hatching. My favorite rooster is the biggest one because he is the one who always comes up to me and he is the prettiest in my opinion but I don't want to make it hard on my girls so I'm thinking about keeping the smallest. I have 2 great homes lined up for 2 of the roos and they will each have their own ladies so I don't feel bad about that. I just want to make the right decision.