Which cockerel to choose?

[trudyg]

My good rooster passed 2 years ago and, this past spring, I bought straight run Barred Rock chicks hoping to get a few males. I ended up with 2, who are now crowing and paying attention to the girls. I have 4 hens who put them in their place and have not squatted for either of them yet. I have 4 pullets who are getting redder by the day, who run as often as not from the boys but do not yet squat for them. And I have a younger pullet who is odd man out and stays close to mom. Unfortunately, as posted in another thread, mama of this young pullet has prolapsed and, after a full day of treating, seems to not be improving. Tomorrow will be decision day for her, as I work during the week and am having surgery in 2 weeks, so can't have a longer-term treatment plan. If/when I cull her, I may cull the one hen who has bumble foot as well.

So, which of these boys to keep and which to cull. One does seem dominant to the other but they're not fighting, just some sparring and the lesser one often just turns and walks away. They both watch me but have not made any move toward me at all. I have no preference, neither has more positive or negative traits, but the day is coming when one will need to go. Is there any way to tell which would be a better protector? Should I pen one apart and maybe switch them every week, taking turns with the flock until I see who is better? I have a grow-out pen that I used for chicks before putting them in the big coop, it's a covered single car carport surrounded w/ wire and there's a defunct well-house for shelter in there, concrete floor is cool all day in this heat. They're at 15 weeks, give or take since I don't know how long they were at the store. I don't want to cull before I can tell the real personality if possible. Any signs I should look for? If I don't cull within the next 2 weeks, it'll be end of August before I'm able to because of the surgery.

 

[Folly's place]

It's just hard, every year. Your boys have so far not offended in any way, which is great. Can you keep both a bit longer? Another month might show something not yet obvious.
Goals? Here I tend to keep the larger birds, looking for dual purpose, not only egg laying.
Size certainly isn't the only thing to consider!
Not very helpful, sorry.
If there's an emergency coop available, consider keeping them both and see how it goes over the next month. Will you have someone who can intervene if necessary while you are out of commission?
Mary

 

[trudyg]

I have the grow-out coop that they were in as new chicks. I can put them in there, if need be, for as long as I need to. I may just put both boys in the separate pen just before my surgery and leave them there until I get back from the funeral, so maybe 2 weeks. That would give the girls a chance to adapt to each other without running from the male. Then, I could do one boy at a time and watch how they behave. They are still young, so the hormones are wacky anyway, and I hate to cull before seeing what they turn into. I have had cockerels before who flew at me and they ended up soup very fast. (One scared the granddaughter, that was his fatal mistake). I can still see her smile as, with every bite, she said 'that's what we do with mean roosters, they get invited to dinner'.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Is there any way to tell which would be a better protector? ......... I don't want to cull before I can tell the real personality if possible. Any signs I should look for?

I wish there were some way to tell how a cockerel will turn out but I don't know of any. Immature cockerels cranked up on hormones are usually totally different from mature roosters and I'm not sure yours have both gotten to that cranked up on hormones phase. Sometimes that phase is really calm, but often not. If one shows human aggression the decision is easy. If one shows brutality toward the pullets or hens he is probably out. That becomes a judgment call. The transition from a hen being the dominant chicken to the boy becoming dominant can sometimes be brutal. I don't cull a hen for being brutal to an immature cockerel going through this phase, I also give the boy some slack.

Your problem is made worse because the dominant cockerel can inhibit the actions of the submissive one, sometimes a lot more than others. In some flocks the dominant cockerel is the one that gets to harass the girls while the submissive one mainly watches. In some flocks that is a lot more balanced. The submissive one may act more in ambush mode because the dominant one will beat him up if he tries anything within sight. Sometimes they gang rape a pullet. Often it is somewhere in between. Having a rival can influence the behavior of the other cockerel. You never know how that will play out and it can change as the hormones change. At 15 weeks I'm not sure what hormone levels yours are at.

This doesn't make your decision any easier. Even if you put one at a time with the flock, you are still dealing with immature cockerels. Those behaviors can change dramatically as they mature. Changing the pecking order/flock dominance as you take them in and out can lead to temporary violence as they resort the pecking order though yours may be too young to really influence that now.

I generally favor the one that is more dominant early on the theory that those tend to have more self-confidence. A late maturing cockerel can be a wimp. I want the boy to be able to dominate the girls by force of personality instead of having to rely on brute strength when they mature. When they are immature it will often be by force though. But I raise mine for meat so I tend toward the early maturing anyway, they are usually bigger earlier. To me size does matter some.

From what I've read it's probably a coin toss between the two. You seem to have the experience to tell the difference between normal behavior and problem behavior. Sometimes either one will work out, sometimes neither work out. If you have to make a decision now try it and see what happens. A lot of times it works out. If it doesn't, that does not mean you made a bad choice, you did the best you could with the information you had.

Good luck!

 

[Mrs. K]

I agree with Ridgerunner - 6 on one hand, half a dozen on the other.

You could physically handle them. Feathers can hide a lot of sins. Check out the SOP's and take a hard look. Check their beaks closely, their breasts, and their feet. Symmetrical feet often times makes for less damage to hens.

I am supposing that you have fed them both the same, the heaviest bird is the thriftiest bird, an important trait in a flock.

I am a believer in multi-flock raised roosters. And we all know it is a crap shoot. But it sound to me like you are doing some culling before you go, and I think I would pick one and get it done.

Mrs K