Which rooster to keep??

[Sassafras_Tea]

just read the original post though. 6 hens is not really enough for an RIR maybe you could give them your RIR and two hens that you are willing to part with

This is very helpful as I definitely do not want to harm her hens in any way! Thank you so much I appreciate this

 

[Sassafras_Tea]

I think he definitely has blue, especially obvious on the flight feathers of the wings.

So he should give the Blue gene to half of his chicks.

Thank you!!

 

[LaFleche]

Which one do your hens/pullets like best?

If each has a rather equal amount of female fans, I would keep Chowder as he will provide more interesting variety with his offspring.

 

[Sassafras_Tea]

Which one do your hens/pullets like best?

If each has a rather equal amount of female fans, I would keep Chowder as he will provide more interesting variety with his offspring.

Well, with the pullets, the clear winner is Chowder hands down. With my original 14 hens, they’re all still equally annoyed with both young bloods lol but I’m thinking that will change with a little more time. TBH, they don’t pay them any attention at all really, but Chowder has recently started dragging his feathers around near them on the ground and they chase him off so.. he’s snowing interest

 

[LaFleche]

Well, with the pullets, the clear winner is Chowder hands down.

Well, that sounds nice. I would keep him then, as the females will be the ones that have to live with him.

And usually the remaining male will calm down a bit as soon as the competition is gone.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The 1st set is 4 months old, and the 2nd is 3.

Two immature cockerels. It sounds like at least one is hitting puberty. It is still a long way from being able to determine how either will act as a mature rooster. Each individual chicken (male and female) has its own personality. Each flock has its own dynamics. That dynamic can change as you add or subtract individuals or as chicks mature into adult members. The personality difference between an immature cockerel and a mature rooster can be huge.

Your flock has mature hens. There are several different things that could possibly happen as a cockerel matures in your flock.

As he matures everything could be calm and peaceful. Not much drama. After he reaches a certain level of maturity he takes over as flock master and the dominant hen lets him. No drama is unlikely though. He may try to mate the pullets his age and leave the adults alone. He may try to mate the adults. Some may let him, some might run away. Some may fight him and chase him to beat him up. Some, especially your dominant hen, may knock him off if he tries to mate a pullet or another hen in her presence, even if that pullet or hen squats for him.

I think having more room helps improve your odds of things being more peaceful but it is certainly not a guarantee. Sometimes there is very little drama, sometimes a chicken gets injured or killed, most of the time what I see is some drama but no one really gets hurt.

I typically raise 20 or so cockerels with my flock every year, along with a similar bunch of pullets. With that many cockerels there is some drama every year but after I thin them to one that will become the flock master there is usually very little. One year though the fighting between the one cockerel left and the head hen was vicious. I have over 2,000 square feet available for them during the day, which I think helps. Most years the drama is not enough to bother me. But every three or four years it reaches a level that I isolate several cockerels in a special grow-out area to keep relative peace in the flock.

You only have two cockerels and you plan on getting rid of one this weekend. You need to pay attention as he goes through puberty and becomes a mature rooster. If you have as much room as I think you do things may work out well but you may need to isolate him for a while.

People really get hung up on breeds. I don't put any faith in breeds as a guide to personality, especially from hatchery birds. Some breeders but certainly not all breeders may breed for personality. Many breeders are breeding for appearance instead. Hatcheries are not known to breed that much for the personality a breed is supposed to have. Some might some, every hatchery has its own person who decides which chickens get to breed, but from what I've seen personality is usually way down on that priority list. If you read enough stories on here you will find a rooster of any breed that is a terror and one that is a saint.

You will find that the ratio of boys to girls is pretty meaningless too. You can find a flock with one rooster and over 25 hens where some hens are over-mated and barebacked. You can find flocks of one rooster and two or three hens where they don't have any of these problems. The key word here is "rooster". Immature cockerels and mature roosters usually act very different. Most of the horror stories you read about on here involve immature cockerels, not mature roosters. But with living animals you can always find an exception. I don't expect the exception to be the norm. I'll also repeat the space component. You will find a lot more bad behaviors when they are in tight spaces than when they have room to spread out.

Which one do you keep? That is purely your choice, not mine. They are too young to go by personality so what traits do you want in the offspring? They are both red which means the hen's genetics will have a lot to say about what the chicks look like. I'd put them about even on that.

Murray McMurray hatchery says they select Ameraucana breeders based in egg color, not feather color. Their Ameraucana flock was established before Ameraucana were even accepted in the US as a breed with breed standards. I find it refreshing that a hatchery is honest about that, many are not. So I would expect the Ameraucana's pullets to lay blue or green eggs. The Rhode Island Red's pullets should lay brown. Murray McMurray did say that occasionally one of their Ameraucana pullets do lay brown eggs so there is always a chance but I think your odds of getting blue or green eggs are really high.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I've gotten quite attached to my Roosters & love them so much, I've kept them. I have divided sections so each Roo has his own hens. My set up is coop with sections & each section has predator proof pens because I can only free range everyone when I am there doing gardening or yard work, or just outside nearby, too. I can let all groups out at the same time & they pretty much meander around in their own groups. Spring is when hormones can stir up a few jump up & spur occasions but only in their youth did I need to intervene. Once mature, they won't carry on as much & I am fortunate to have harmony here, with several Roos of various breeds, Guineas & Pigeons, with a few resident foxes often hunting mice, moles, voles or any rat that dares show up & they have never shown interest in my flock or even numerous wild rabbits. Don't ask me why, I have no clue, foxes were here before I even moved in & they sunbathed peacefully in my yard watching me garden & build the coops. They've never attempted to dig into the pens, but I do believe the Roosters project an authoritative & protective presence for the hens. Roosters are really cool when I want to get everyone back inside...they will gather & lead their hens in when I make a certain call, it's really amazing, surprise training really. The only critters here that I really need to watch out for are hawks. We have numerous types zooming around daily, & they are not congenial, they're hungry. My Roosters make a unique sound when hawks are nearby or fly over. It is definitely instrumental in keeping the flock safe & making Everyone aware, a predator is flying nearby. I can pick up, hold, fuss over, check over & pet or carry my Roos around. They'll sit on my lap & actually enjoy being tended to. They know my voice. They do not like strangers, but have never gone after anyone or tried to attack. My original Roo, a Barred Rock, was a bit feisty & he would kick a spur, but not serious damage. He calmed down alot in his old age. I've also had a Bachelor coop for awhile, & Roos raised together remained friends. Once you let them have some hens, though, that does not work anymore. It is a difficult decision, figuring out who goes or who stays, for me anyway, so I kept mine.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

If Chowder respects people and isn’t too rough with the ladies (as much as you could expect for being a young cockerel still learning) then I would choose him. Those are always my top two criteria for choosing a rooster. I will be 100% honest as say I would choose him also because he has that jewel toned fall color palette down perfectly. If I had to pick a chicken to represent the season fall I would pick Chowder I have had no desire to own Ameracaunas in the past, but after seeing Chowder I have McMurray pulled up looking at ordering a few

 

[Happydots]

They found out that we eat chicken so they tried some human!

Rhode Islands can be monsters

I am so glad I didn't get any RIR. I had a feeling they were more than just pretty to look at lol. I had a beautiful big white roo (some kind of big boy mix) who was incredible but he lost a fight with something big and deadly. Lost four more hens before we moved so we've taken extra steps to keep my girls safe. Man I miss him

 

[GlicksChicks]

I am so glad I didn't get any RIR. I had a feeling they were more than just pretty to look at lol. I had a beautiful big white roo (some kind of big boy mix) who was incredible but he lost a fight with something big and deadly. Lost four more hens before we moved so we've taken extra steps to keep my girls safe. Man I miss him

It is so sad to lose a rooster that you get attached to. Those ones are really special. RIP Big White Roo!

RIR have been, and may still be, used for cockfighting, so they have been bred to be pretty aggressive.

I have had some before, and if I do get some again, it will be when I have my huge chicken area done so I don't have to be as close to them .

I do have two RIR and RIW golden sexlink pullets. Those are very sweet, but they are not pure RIR, so that could be why!