Which rooster is dominant?

[Gee-Dan]

I have a flock of six 16-week-old Easter Eggers. Four (2 cockerels, 2 pullets) were hatched at the same time (incubator) and brooded together. The other two pullets came into the flock from a relative because they were being bullied incessantly there. They get along fine for the most part.

Cockerel A is what I'd call a nice bird. He runs over to me when I approach, "talks" to me, clucks when he finds food, all that. I've never seen him take any interest in breeding any of the pullets, and from what I gather, it's early for that at his age anyway. His comb is a dark pinkish color. He is always the last one into the coop at night and the first one out in the morning. I can approach him in the run (actually, he follows me) and can touch him and most likely pick him up. He got locked out of the coop last night because of a "threat" just outside the run and ended up roosting on the top of the coop, and he easily let me pick him up and put him back into the coop, but he was half-asleep of course.

Cockerel B always seemed like a bit of an a$$, even when he was only 6 or 7 weeks old. Whenever there was a pecking incident, Cockerel B was the cause of it early on. He has never been aggressive toward me when I enter the (electric fenced) run, though. He isn't willing to be picked up and I can't get too close to him. He has a very dark red comb now and tries to mount the pullets every morning and evening if he can. However he and Cockerel A seem to be pals - they don't fight and often enough they lay down on the grass next to each other for a rest. He sometimes stays inside the coop much of the day, though he always comes out if there's "something going on" outside. The two "adopted" pullets and one of the ones from the same clutch rarely emerge from the coop during the day, though they do come out to eat and drink and are able to do that without being driven off. Cockerel B will chase the pullets right back into the coop if he's feeling amorous, and he spends quite a lot of time in there.

My intention is to have fertile eggs, so I do want to keep a roo. Would it likely be best to opt for Cockerel A, with a good disposition (and very handsome) but not (yet) so masculine, or Cockerel B who is a bit of an a$$ but obviously is going to be roostering right along? And in the meantime, which one is Cockerel Number One in the flock? Would culling Cockerel B make a better quality of life for everyone else?

 

[wrathsfarm]

B is the dominant. But it's too early to tell which one is going to be better than the other.

From your explanation you already like A better so depending on your goals, go with your gut feeling.

Edited to add..... B is controlling the pullets, that's the sign he's the dominate.

 

[Gee-Dan]

You're right, I sort of can't help but like Cockerel A better. But I'm not a chicken, so I don't want to do something based on projecting human thinking on them.

 

[wrathsfarm]

You're right, I sort of can't help but like Cockerel A better. But I'm not a chicken, so I don't want to do something based on projecting human thinking on them.

Also, you don't know how A will react and possibly change once B is gone. It could go good or bad, it's a roll of the dice.

Best of luck either way you decide.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Give it time, and see how things go. You’re fortunate that they get along with each other pretty well.

Be aware that when the dominant cockerel/ rooster is removed, the second suddenly steps up. I wouldn’t project A’s future behavior if B leaves.

 

[Mrs. K]

it's early for that at his age anyway.

That is really true for both roosters.

I would also recommend keeping A. B is a bit aggressive for my liking (and I think yours). IMO aggression gets worse, not better no matter what you do. However, at this age... all bets are off. B I would let go immediately, but I would not depend on A to turn out either - it is just way to early to tell. Today's behavior is not an indicator of behavior next week or next month.

You really have too many roosters for your flock, so ASAP would be a good time to remove at least one of your cockerels. The thing is, pullets are really not ready for cockerels until they start laying. Often times flock mate cockerels can be very, very rough on the girls, sometimes dangerously so.

So while everything is working out for the flock, now would be a good time to consider how you would handle the remaining rooster if he gets to be too much for the girls for the last 6-8 weeks until they start laying. If you have it ready and never use it, so be it. But if you need it, you will really need it at hand and ready to go.

Personally, I just don't like flock mate cockerels. In my experience, they get bigger much faster than the pullets, and without older birds in the flock to keep things in perspective, they tend to turn into bullies. So there is a good chance neither will work out.

Mrs. K

 

[Gee-Dan]

That is really true for both roosters.

I would also recommend keeping A. B is a bit aggressive for my liking (and I think yours). IMO aggression gets worse, not better no matter what you do. However, at this age... all bets are off. B I would let go immediately, but I would not depend on A to turn out either - it is just way to early to tell. Today's behavior is not an indicator of behavior next week or next month.

You really have too many roosters for your flock, so ASAP would be a good time to remove at least one of your cockerels. The thing is, pullets are really not ready for cockerels until they start laying. Often times flock mate cockerels can be very, very rough on the girls, sometimes dangerously so.

So while everything is working out for the flock, now would be a good time to consider how you would handle the remaining rooster if he gets to be too much for the girls for the last 6-8 weeks until they start laying. If you have it ready and never use it, so be it. But if you need it, you will really need it at hand and ready to go.

Personally, I just don't like flock mate cockerels. In my experience, they get bigger much faster than the pullets, and without older birds in the flock to keep things in perspective, they tend to turn into bullies. So there is a good chance neither will work out.

Mrs. K

I think (from my vast <sarcasm here> experience, but a lot of reading too) you're absolutely right. I do know two roos to this many hens is insane, no question about it. I do have three 2-week-old Easter Eggers in the brooder, no telling whether I'll have a cockerel in there. I could cull both A and B easily enough. (Sorry, around here you behave or you're dinner; I'm not rehoming a problem to someone else, even if someone wanted a roo this time of year.) And relatives have chickens so I could certainly get a younger cockerel from them later on, no shortage of those. lol. Might be time to make Mel Giblets (Cockerel B) live up to his name.

 

[Gee-Dan]

OK, so FWIW, Mel Giblets took a trip this morning to the Bachelor Pad. For the time being, Cockerel A (aka Tom Crooster) is still in with the girls. The pullets who had not come out of the coop hardly ever were out this morning so there's some improvement at least for now.

Keeping an eye on both of them to see how this shakes out. Bachelor Pad is okay with me until snow flies, as it gives me more time to arrange things for dispatching or whatever, but it's not going to have any residents over the winter for sure.

My big takeaway, which I thank everyone for, is I am not naming or getting close to any cockerels among the brooding chicks or in the future. I band them as soon as I suspect they're cockerels, and they'll go to the Bachelor Pad when they start getting too big for their furry britches, no questions asked. I do particularly want a roo for those in the brooder now as they are all Buff Orps which I want for dual use, so better for them to keep their own population up, but might have to get a roo later when the hens are old enough to keep him in line.

 

[Mrs. K]

Really there are a lot of aspects to this hobby and you have years to try them.

The thing is, there is a world of difference between, a rooster would be good for my flock, let me get the right one…and I accidentally got this rooster and need to make it work…which it generally doesn’t.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Which 9th grade boy will make the best husband for your daughter based on his actions today? To me, that's equivalent to trying to choose a 16-week-old cockerel to be your flock master when he grows up. You don't have roosters, they are immature cockerels with different levels of hormones affecting them. You just can't tell what they will be like when they grow up. Some rambunctious boys and some mild-mannered nerds grow up to be model citizens, some of each go to prison. I'll admit there are occasional exceptions but I'm generally not ready to sentence a 9th grade boy to a life sentence or the chair.

I know chickens are not humans, I'm just trying to make a point. You don't know how they will turn out.

To me there are two kinds of aggression. If a cockerel shows human aggression he has forfeited his right to live. It is just not worth taking the chance. There are too many good ones out there to put up with a bad one.

The other aggression is toward other chickens. Chicken society has its own rules. What I would see as unacceptable aggression with humans is often just chickens being chickens. As long as no one is being injured I'm usually OK with it. That does not mean I haven't eaten cockerels or pullets, hens or rooster, that were disturbing the peace of the flock. No one being injured is only part of it. Behaviors do count.

What I see with your boys is that "B" has matured earlier than "A". B's hormones are driving him to establish flock dominance. He does that by mating the pullets, whether they want him to or not. They don't want to, that's why they are trying to hide from him. It's not about him trying to fertilize eggs, the girls are not laying yet. A has not matured to that point yet.

Different things can happen when A's hormones kick in. A and B may fight to the death. A and B may work together to take care of the girls. The girls may be over-mated or not, especially when the boys are immature cockerels controlled by hormones. I generally suggest you keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. That's not because you are guaranteed more problems with more boys but that you are more likely to have more problems with more boys.

I personally like a cockerel that matures earlier rather than later. They fit my goals better, not just behaviorwise. I also think they tend to have stronger personalities so when they finally mature to the point the hormones calm down they can win the girls over based on strength of personality while the weaker boys may have to rely more on physical strength. That's just personal preference. I think there is a good chance that once they reach maturity either of your boys will be a good choice. Or both may not work out. The problem is getting to that point. If you feel you need to make a decision now, I will not criticize you no matter which of the two you choose.

It can be disturbing watching pullets and cockerels go through puberty. It sounds like you will hatch chicks, how will you manage that? Typically if your girls are laying and you bring in a mature rooster the integration is very simple. He mates with one or two and the flock is his. Sometimes the dominant hen is not willing to accept him taking over the flock so there might be violence, when you deal with living animals you do not get guarantees as far as behaviors. But as long as he is mature that is usually not a problem.

Lots of people go through this type of decision every year. Usually it works out OK, but you just never know. Good luck!