I got 5 roos of 8 on a straight run of Black Australorps this spring.
I had my heart absolutely set on one, with a second possible, and they were the only 2 who got names.
I also had 6 year-old BA hens who were much maligned by the 5 of them coming of age at once.
I finally resorted to seperating them all, but for one roo at a time, so I could watch their behavior with the hens and with us, as we interacted with the changes to habit and environment. The one I loved passionately, Russell Crowes was aggressive towards the hens, and began to show signs of wanting to "think he was BIG" around me. I won't have it, so he made up my mind for me. The largest and most beautiful, Roux (after Johnny Depp's character in Chocolat) was agressive with everyone, including all the other chickens. He, too, made up my mind for me.
In the end, the #3 roo behaved very respectfully with the hens, dipping his wing, and doing his little 'mating dance' to impress them. He has always taken me very seriously, but also gives me a wide berth. He is fully aware I am the large and in charge Mistress of this flock.
The other remaining roo was so underdeveloped, if it weren't for his tail feathers, and obvious interest in mating with the hens (who laughed hysterically, and chased him off), I would have been sure he was a hen.
I kept both of them. The Big Daddy flocked-up with the 6 big girls, who find him quite charming and are so cute together, he is called Maximus Decimus Meridius. The little roo, flocked up with the 3 little girls from his own batch of babies, and we have named him Rex. They have not had any roo issues because they have a suitable number of hens in their own harems, and have been all through the pecking order of this flock, and understand their places, beautifully.
It was a bit of a hair-pulling time for me, until we figured out who needed to stay and father my future fuzzy-butts, and who wasn't going to make the permanent roster. We had overbreeding (my ladies have bald spots on the backs of their poor little heads
), space issues, it cost a fortune to keep all those boys in feed while they matured to eating size, and was a madcap melee every day while they all tried to be the boss/run as fast as possible from danger. But it has been totally worth it to have the right fit for our flock. If you are building a flock from scratch, pick a roo or roos who are of a good disposition.
That is my super-long story, short!
best of luck and brightest blessings!
