Which rooster to keep?

[cluckaway]

I have 4, 6 month old Orpington hens ,or, so I thought until one crowed last week. Now it is obvious to me that two of the four are roosters. One is a giant and somewhat aggressive with me. He pecks at me and I backhand him. Then he backs away. He is an absolutely beautiful boy. So, he has a smaller brother and I have to decide which to send back to the farm they came from.
.I understand I cant have 2 roosters. I also don't want to raise baby chicks. Can fertilized eggs be eaten? Any idea when the girls might start laying? THANKS for your help!!

 

[AK Baha]

I would get rid of the mean rooster.Chances are he will get more aggressive and may even hurt someone or put an eye out. Yes you can eat fertile eggs. BO hens should start laying around 22 weeks give or take.

 

[Mary Coleman]

With an aggressive rooster the worst thing you can do is be aggressive back. I know this sounds crazy, but the more you backhand him, the more he sees you as a threatand therefor the more aggressive he will be. So try to give him some treats now and then. Feed him with your hand. He may peck you, but don't let that anger you. Pets generally reflect the attitude that you give them. So if your aggressive to them, they will be aggressive. If you are pacient and peaceful usually they will do the same. And you said that you know that you can't have more than one rooster correct? Well you actually can! I have about 12 in my flock right now! they will fight at first (that is a given) but once they create a pecking order they will mellow down. Now you don't want to be like me and have too many roosters that you know what to do with, buy just know that you can have more than one at a time. Just be sure to have 4-6 hens per rooster or you will have hens with bare backs and necks. And if you have Orpingtons, you dont have to do anything that has to do with the raising of chicks! They are a very broody breed and will keep them warm as well as show them what to eat and drink. In fact, i have a girl that i hatched last spring( a mix of a golden sex link and rhoad island red roo) that has been on about a dozen eggs for about 10 days. I didnt even know that she was capable of laying yet! She is extremely young so hopefully she does well. She found a randome box in the very back corner of my storage shed. I found out today and cravked an egg open and an undeveloped chick was in there!!! I felt so horible afterwerds. It seemed to be about 10 days into developing. But she helped me ALOT! Kmow i know jer eggs are fertile and she has been on the eggs a while so it was worth it. Also, fertile eggs are edible. Not to seem gross or anything, but I think that they actually tast better! Sorry I'm rambling on hehehe anyways, hope I helped!

 

[cluckaway]

Thank you for the info. It makes all kinds of sence.

 

[RoostersCrow HensDeliver!]

First of all, do not tolerate ANY sort of aggression in roosters. Secondly, NEVER feed them by hand or make pets of them. They can turn on you in a second.

The post about not being aggressive back is hogwash. If the rooster is acting aggressive, he needs to be put in his place NOW. before he hurts someone. He is not seeing you as a threat to his girls, he is seeing if he can be the top Roo. A good solid kick or holding him on the ground should do. My parents have a Roo that they coddled as a young fella and he is horribly aggressive yet the wonder why he stops attacking them after I kicked the snot out of him. He gets the message loud and clear but they don't reinforce the "human is top Roo and doesn't tolerate crap" idea.
Good luck with your roos, but if it was me I'd save myself a lot of trouble and just eat the offender and keep the mellow guy.

 

[donrae]

Get rid of both of them! You don't want chicks, or fertile eggs, so just don't keep any rooster. Problem solved. You don't have to keep one forever just cause you got a male by mistake.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Get rid of both of them! You don't want chicks, or fertile eggs, so just don't keep any rooster. Problem solved. You don't have to keep one forever just cause you got a male by mistake.

 

[shmccarthy]

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I agree! Have a rooster if you have a specific purpose for him. otherwise you could have to put up with agressive behavior, especially if they're already showing it towards you. I would not keep either of them if I were in your shoes right now.

 

[Phoenixxx]

I have the same question as to which roo to keep. However, NONE of mine are aggressive, except occasionally to each other. Obviously I don't want a "mean" roo but I do want one that will attack invaders. From some articles and whatnot I've read here about roos, the aggressive ones are more desirable in the area of flock protection.

Anyway, I have 3 that I'm keeping for sure but I'm trying to decide which 2 of the other 3 I should eat. One of the candidates is the head honcho and, even though he's a bit obnoxious as the most avid crower, he is good at keeping the peace and order. If I eat him, will one of the others step up and do his job equally well? or would that just throw a nasty wrench into the order? The BA boys are kinda like a gang and hang out together more often than not. The potential chicken dinners as well as the head honcho "Mullethead" (named after his neck feathering when he was a bit younger, ha ha!) are all members of this gang.

As for the multiple roo question, the 10:1 ratio must only be a guideline. I have 6 active boys and 13 girls, 8 of which are tiny little things. I've seen a bit of blood on 2 phoenix hens' combs but other than that, I have no bare backs or other issues. The phoenix boy is comical to watch, though... The other day he mounted a BA hen who wanted none of his business... so, she books it, running down the yard, with the little guy STILL ON HER BACK DOING HIS THING!!!