Which rooster(s) to keep?

[SegiDream]

I've been debating this. I have a whole bunch of straight run chicks different colors/breeds/ages and their genders are starting to become apparent. The intention is to have 6 chickens, mostly for eggs (hopefully year round) but also for meat. They will be free range once they are grown so I would like to keep at least one rooster to help protect the flock and to produce future generations. I was thinking to keep 5 hens (1 of each breed & color) and 1 rooster. I would like to have more color than what I currently have cause a lot of them are going to be white! If one of the buffs turn out to be a roo, will that one's offspring help bring more color to the flock? Does it make sense to keep one of the other roos around until that youngest one matures? Thoughts?

1. The oldest chicks are 3 white leghorns about 5 weeks old about to move outside. 1 hen and 2 roosters. All are fairly calm but 1 roo is pretty bold will come right up and peck my hand (not sure if that's going to be a good/bad thing in adulthood, might be smarter & protective? Or dumb and mean?).
2. The next oldest are 2 light brahmas 1 hen 1 rooster. Both birds seem a little flighty
3. 4 dark brahmas 1 hen 3 roosters. Similar flighty/scaredy cat attitude so far.
4. 1 columbian wyandotte hen
5. Then 2 buff brahmas too young for me to tell gender yet. I'm thinking maybe 1 of each as they're already developing at different rates.

 

[Trevorusn]

Ever consider making a bachelor pad coop?

 

[Swilso3]

Ever consider making a bachelor pad coop?

I would love to make one for myself for sure!

 

[Ridgerunner]

So your goals are egg-laying, keep one rooster since they free range, and hatch chicks that have color.

I don't see any advantage as far as free ranging. What benefit there may be, if any, is an individual thing, not a breed thing. One is as good a guess as another.

Leghorns should be best for egg laying. But that would probably mean white chicks, not much color. Your Light Brahma, Dark Brahma, and Columbian Wyandotte roosters aren't a lot better as far as colorful chicks go. They all pretty much eliminate red in the future chicks. They all have silver and silver is dominant over gold.

Your best bet would be the Buff if you have one. Buff over a White Leghorn will probably give you white. Theoretically it's possible you can get something else, there are always exceptions, but plan on white. Buff over buff gives you buff.

But the gold/silver gene is sex linked. A Buff rooster over a Light Brahma, Dark Brahma, or Columbian Wyandotte will give you sex linked chicks. The boys will be white. The girls will be some shade of red or buff. Oh, there will be other colors like black mixed in but you will get colorful pullets.

 

[Folly's place]

First, be aware that none of these cockerels might be keepers, and if one is, that's great. Especially as a first year chicken keeper, with all youngsters, raising cockerels can be tricky as far as temperament goes.
Then, prioritize your goals. If you want to have birds that will produce more meat, your leghorns aren't it. they are great egg layers, and small thin birds as meat. And your Leghorn cockerels aren't behaving well already.
Your Brahmas are the ones to pick! For meat, the largest, fastest growing cockerels, without structural faults, are the ones to consider. Then, good temperament, the most important thing IMO. Then, lastly, if color matters that much, the buff.
Having only five pullets, keeping two roosters will be too much. However, keep those boys around and evaluate them as long as possible, eliminating some as you go along this summer. There's always next year!
Mary

 

[grnidone]

I keep the roosters that are the “natural leaders” that are kind to people and their girls.


Squat down with your flock and get to know them. Feed raisins or some other treat. Observe them.

You’ll start to notice that one rooster becomes the leader of the others. In my experience, these have also been the friendliest to me. Not so for others, but I work a LOT with my Roos.

You want a rooster that is a benevolent leader. Not a tyrant.

 

[SegiDream]

Thanks for all the info! I've raised chickens before but it was years ago, completely different circumstance, this time there's the internet and I still have lots to learn and refresh my memory lol! I did have a 20 count bachelor pad once. Every one of them had a name oh my gosh I miss them. We will watch and judge their personalities when they have graduated out of the brooders. And separate them as needed until it's time.

Ok so I will keep a buff roo if I have one, with temperament permitting. The buffs are the ones I got from a breeder so could be good stock. Out of pure curiosity is blue/lavender/black also a silvering gene? Super excited about sex linking the offspring, that is pretty cool!! Will the sex-linking turn inconsistent on the grandkids though? Or can I consider the coloration of the parents to determine the ability to sex link the chicks?

I'm not super eager to keep a leghorn rooster because they are so gangly. Oh well. I really liked the sound of the qualities of the brahma breed for both egg and meat which is why I wound up with so many. Plus their feathered feet remind me of my old silkie mixes.

 

[Folly's place]

Sex-linked color in chicks is good for that F1 generation, and doesn't breed on. Some breeds can be sexed pretty well at hatching; Welsummers, at least.
Mary

 

[Ridgerunner]

Out of pure curiosity is blue/lavender/black also a silvering gene?

Could be either silver or gold. But the black would dominate over the red so you'd get a lot of black chicks with those breeds, leghorns probably excepted. Those should be white. Blue and Lavender modify what would otherwise be black feathers so if a bird is solid blue or Lavender it's based on solid black.

Will the sex-linking turn inconsistent on the grandkids though? Or can I consider the coloration of the parents to determine the ability to sex link the chicks?

Like Mary said, no. For sex linking to work the parents have to be set up a certain way genetically. The way the genes mix allows sex linking. Once they mix that next generation is no longer set up correctly. I'll link a very long thread. The first post, itself pretty long, explains about how sex linking works.

Tadkerson’s Sex Link Thread

http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=261208

 

[Mrs. K]

I personally do not like roosters raised with flock mates. I get much better results with roosters raised in a mule-generational flock. They get bigger than the pullets much faster, and often times become bullies. In a multi-generational flock, the bigger birds thump some manners into them. They often fight amongst each other, creating strife in the flock. I would separate them out out as soon as they start acting up.

Your goals for color are going to be poorly met with the groups you have. I am suggesting culling all the roosters. Wait until your pullets are close to laying, and get a rooster from someone else multi-generational flock. People always have extra roosters. Get one that is nearly a year old, and so nice, he didn't get culled.

Contact your feed store, your extension office, or a local poultry club for other chicken people. Then you could get a nicely colored rooster, one that has experience free ranging with other experienced free ranging flocks. In a new flock, none of the birds have any experience with predators. You do want a rooster that is the first to see you, when you approach the flock, who naturally moves away from you for a distance about 5 feet. Tidbits for the girls.

Good luck. Not all roosters work out, a lot of them don't. They take more space than hens. If asked, I recommend no roosters for the first year, I think roosters take experience, and a rotten rooster can ruin the whole chicken experience.

Mrs K