Which rooster to keep

[littletonlee]

I have 2 roosters same age currently 7 weeks old. One is a black australorp the other welsummer. I have 19 hens which consist of welsummer black australorp barred rocks brown leghorns Easter Eggers and polish. Wonder which one should I keep. The black australorp comes right to me but from day one the welsummer has always kept his distance. i can only keep one bc I am keeping a polish rooster I have also. So only enough hens for 2. What are your thoughts.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I'd keep the one that stays back more. They tend to be more respectful as they mature. Forward cockeral often will try attacking the keeper at some point. Not all, but enough.

 

[littletonlee]

I'd keep the one that stays back more. They tend to be more respectful as they mature. Forward cockeral often will try attacking the keeper at some point. Not all, but enough.

That is what I was leaning towards also

 

[Mrs. K]

7 weeks is pretty young to make a decision, but if you have to make it now, I too, would go with the one that is giving respect. Are all the birds the same age? I have better luck with roosters raised up in an established flock. When raised with just flock mates, they tend to out grow them, and become aggressive and bully like.

My point, is, neither may work. Always have a plan B... and C with roosters.

Mrs K

 

[gimmie birdies]

I like to introduce a young rooster to older hens. Especially if he just starts to get cocky. They teach him a thing or two. I am one of those that sticks with a friendly rooster. If he comes near I pick him up, soon he will stay away or come over to be held.

 

[littletonlee]

They are all the same age. I will keep all of them until at least 5-6 months old before I make my final decision. I was just wondering what signs I should look for on a good one to keep

 

[Folly's place]

If you have one that's polite, that will be wonderful. I agree that keeping them as long as possible will make decisions easier. Any that behave badly, or who have physical defects, can leave any time. If this group all turn out well, how nice! Then rehome one or two so your pullets are also happy and not being harassed.
If none of them turn out well, that's not the end of the world, just plan on raising cockerels next year, and select then. Your hens will help raise them, not a bad thing.
Mary

 

[gimmie birdies]

All my hens and roosters I have kept have been friendly. If not, they go to a farm that doesn't care if they are friendly or not.

 

[Ridgerunner]

To me that is a hard choice, especially if your only criteria is behaviors. At some point they will determine which one is dominant. That may be by serious fighting or you may not even notice the process. What I typically see is a few skirmishes where one decides that they are better off running away than fighting. Part of that is that they have to have enough room to run away and get away. If they don't have room to get away the winner doesn't know he won and keeps attacking. Or if the loser hunkers down and tries to protect his head the winner seems to think I have him beat, I better finish him off now. Lots of room does not mean they will reach an accommodation but the more room they have the better your chances.

Once they determine which one is dominant the dominant one suppresses the behaviors of the submissive one if they are kept together. The dominant one has certain duties and privileges in taking care of his flock. If the other one tries to do too much the flock master may not be happy. There is nothing consistent with this. Each chicken has its own personality and each flock has its own dynamics. You might see different results one year to the next as you keep different birds. Sometimes they may work out a power-sharing agreement.

Sometimes the presence of a rival stirs up the dominate one to behave in ways you don't want with the girls, even if they are not fighting. If you remove the rival he may calm down some, may not though. If you remove the dominant one the behaviors of the one that is left will change since he is no longer suppressed. Could be for the better, could be worse. And behaviors can change as they mature. I consider the maturity of the pullets have a part in flock behavior too. They have a part to play in flock dynamics.

This is the type of things why I say it's not always an easy choice. Personally I like an early maturing cockerel, not just because that helps with my raising them for meat goals. In my opinion (all this is opinion) early maturing ones tend to have stronger personalities so they can eventually win over the flock by personality rather than having to rely on brute strength when they mature enough to do so. They can be pretty rough on the pullets going through puberty though.

My suggestion is to observe and do the best you can. To me human aggression is a disqualification. During puberty they will probably be pretty rough on the pullets. To me that's just them being chickens and growing up in the flock. That can be really hard for some people to watch and a lot of cockerels literally lose their heads because of that behavior. Typically they grow out of that behavior, but not always. But if one seriously injures a pullet, well that's another disqualification to me.

Good luck. Odds are you'll be OK with whichever one you choose, most turn out OK once they get past puberty.

 

[littletonlee]

To me that is a hard choice, especially if your only criteria is behaviors. At some point they will determine which one is dominant. That may be by serious fighting or you may not even notice the process. What I typically see is a few skirmishes where one decides that they are better off running away than fighting. Part of that is that they have to have enough room to run away and get away. If they don't have room to get away the winner doesn't know he won and keeps attacking. Or if the loser hunkers down and tries to protect his head the winner seems to think I have him beat, I better finish him off now. Lots of room does not mean they will reach an accommodation but the more room they have the better your chances.

Once they determine which one is dominant the dominant one suppresses the behaviors of the submissive one if they are kept together. The dominant one has certain duties and privileges in taking care of his flock. If the other one tries to do too much the flock master may not be happy. There is nothing consistent with this. Each chicken has its own personality and each flock has its own dynamics. You might see different results one year to the next as you keep different birds. Sometimes they may work out a power-sharing agreement.

Sometimes the presence of a rival stirs up the dominate one to behave in ways you don't want with the girls, even if they are not fighting. If you remove the rival he may calm down some, may not though. If you remove the dominant one the behaviors of the one that is left will change since he is no longer suppressed. Could be for the better, could be worse. And behaviors can change as they mature. I consider the maturity of the pullets have a part in flock behavior too. They have a part to play in flock dynamics.

This is the type of things why I say it's not always an easy choice. Personally I like an early maturing cockerel, not just because that helps with my raising them for meat goals. In my opinion (all this is opinion) early maturing ones tend to have stronger personalities so they can eventually win over the flock by personality rather than having to rely on brute strength when they mature enough to do so. They can be pretty rough on the pullets going through puberty though.

My suggestion is to observe and do the best you can. To me human aggression is a disqualification. During puberty they will probably be pretty rough on the pullets. To me that's just them being chickens and growing up in the flock. That can be really hard for some people to watch and a lot of cockerels literally lose their heads because of that behavior. Typically they grow out of that behavior, but not always. But if one seriously injures a pullet, well that's another disqualification to me.

Good luck. Odds are you'll be OK with whichever one you choose, most turn out OK once they get past puberty.

Thank you for the advise. I have had chickens my whole life but only ever had one rooster which was one my sons class hatched out. And he would flog anyone or anything he saw I put up with it for about 3 months and then enough was enough. We recently just bought 10 acres so room won’t be a problem they will be cooped up at night but run free during the day. I was getting tired of buying new chickens every couple of years so wanted to move to hatching my own when I need to. Plus have some protection for the flock. My main concern is human aggression and excessive force with the ladies. That won’t be tolerated. When do cockerels tend to get over the puberty stage?