Will the girls choose?

[CannedMonster]

I would choose based on behavior instead of breed.
And they may fight eventually to establish who gets to mate, etc.
Many have said that the dominant roo will not let the subordinate roo mate or even crow.
Also, please consider that your Wyandotte roo will be significantly larger and heavier than a leghorn roo.
How do they respond to you or any dogs you have?
I know you mentioned they both engage in positive behaviors with the hens, just not the same behaviors.
I know it’s hard to choose!
I’ll probably have to do the same at some point.
I can only have about 15 hens for the size of my coop and that’s really not enough for my 3 cockerels.

 

[llombardo]

Both are very respectful of my space. They both behaved well with two kids. The silver laced waits at the fence line for me and watches for me. They both crow when they hear me come home. They both allow me to check them out--I've learned that it's much easier to do once they go roost, otherwise I do have to chase them and I have without them turning on me.

Dogs--the dogs don't have access to them but both of the boys stay at the fence-line until they see the dogs coming, then they move about 3 ft back and continue to watch them. Before they would completely move away. I do notice they crow more when the dogs are out though.

 

[llombardo]

They back away and then come right back. This GSD stomps like a deer and the ground shakes, but they move away. I was going to stop her from doing that but then I think I want them to still have natural fear to some degree just in case. I'm pretty sure they can't distinguish between dogs that belong, coyotes and foxes that don't.

The dog has been sitting there for about 20 minutes just watching them. They are not bothered by her. I'm assuming they don't see her as a threat?

 

[GrannyHeeney]

They are both just beautiful...I don't envy the choice you have to make! Will you rehome the other roo or is he going into the soup pot?

 

[CannedMonster]

They back away and then come right back. This GSD stomps like a deer and the ground shakes, but they move away. I was going to stop her from doing that but then I think I want them to still have natural fear to some degree just in case. I'm pretty sure they can't distinguish between dogs that belong, coyotes and foxes that don't.

The dog has been sitting there for about 20 minutes just watching them. They are not bothered by her. I'm assuming they don't see her as a threat?

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They know she can’t get through the fence.
She sure seems to be staring hard.
Some dogs can be trusted around chickens but they must be introduced with extreme care and watched carefully.
You must understand how strong your dogs prey drive is.
I want my dog to ignore my chickens for the most part.
My dog is only 20 lbs and an adult LF (large fowl) rooster could hurt him.
So I want respect for each other by both roos and the dog.
My Charlie goes out into the yard while the chickens free range and we haven’t had any problems except for when I gave the chickens treats that Charlie likes (corn cobs, meat, cheese, fish, etc).
He can be food aggressive and almost got Loki one day.
So now he’s shut in the house until treats are finished or cleaned up.
Most chicken treats he ignores though like mealworms, oats, sunflower seeds, etc.

 

[Tesumph]

They back away and then come right back. This GSD stomps like a deer and the ground shakes, but they move away. I was going to stop her from doing that but then I think I want them to still have natural fear to some degree just in case. I'm pretty sure they can't distinguish between dogs that belong, coyotes and foxes that don't.

The dog has been sitting there for about 20 minutes just watching them. They are not bothered by her. I'm assuming they don't see her as a threat?

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I have no doubt that they can distinguish between the “good and bad” animals, or at least regulars vs. killers.
My chickens avoided my dogs but were never overly upset about them, even though the dogs would've lived to chew on a nice drumstick haha. Sometimes they were even curious, particularly with my sister’s puppy.

On the other hand, there were times a rat snake or rat (less dangerous than a dog) had disrupted the peace and was hiding in the coop. I could immediately tell because of how agitated and alert they acted.

 

[llombardo]

I have 7 dogs--3 are german shepherds. For the most part they do ignore them. Right now she is across the yard laying down. It's not often I have only one pup out and she is kind of enjoying the peace and quiet.

5 out of my 7 have very strong prey drive, that is why they will never have access to the chickens but they do a darn good job at night watching that enclosure. Plus there are rabbits in hutches in there so that movement catches the dogs eye.

Safe is number one priority. I don't need dogs attacking chickens and roosters attacking dogs.

 

[llombardo]

They are both just beautiful...I don't envy the choice you have to make! Will you rehome the other roo or is he going into the soup pot?

I have a rescue as plan b, but they are getting lots of boys right now.

 

[GrannyHeeney]

I have a rescue as plan b, but they are getting lots of boys right now.

I'm needing a roo, too bad I no longer live in Bolingbrook, I would take one off your hands!

 

[MickWithChicks]

If they're both well behaved and take care of their girls, give you space/respect, and you can still only keep one, think about which one will be easiest to move. Also consider that once they're out of your hands, you have no control over what happens to them and whether their destination is in freezer camp.

Leghorns are a dime a dozen. If you list him on Craigslist, he's probably more likely to end up in a pot. There's heaps of them and nobody is really looking for Leghorns for ornamental or breeding purposes. Wyandottes are prettier birds, especially the roos, and there are far fewer of them. They're far more likely to end up as ornamental birds or to be used for breeding purposes. They're also (generally) a lot gentler.