Wonderings about choosing a rooster.

[Ridgerunner]

Hey! These chickens will be bred for eggs and for new layers.
The roosters will be slaughtered and used for meat.
My mother in law runs a huge company, restaurants, hotels and mini markets where we sell the meat from our sheep and chickens as well as eggs.
So getting roos is not a problem.


The family has been dealing with chickens for ages, but i want to make sure im doing everything as absoloutly well as i can, thus all the questions

I see you posted while I was typing. A lot of new info. And I missed that breed for eggs in the earlier post. Read right over it.

I don't know what experiences you personally have had with your family dealing with chickens for ages but my suggestion stands. Decide on your goals and do the best you can. With living animals you don't get guarantees but it's hard to do better than you can. Good luck!

 

[Folly's place]

I second all the good advice already here!
Having good roosters is great, and bad boys need to be gone...
Mary

 

[sciencegrrrrl]

It's ideal to have 10 or so hens per roo. Less than that and even a single roo can get feisty. You may be able to choose one that fits in well with the ladies and create a bachelor pad for the other guys, if you're looking to keep expanding your flock. They will fight but will establish their own pecking order like hens do. Not always awesome to watch but they will make it work. A "bad" roo will stand out quickly with the behaviors others have posted- no respect for you, pecking at hands, flogging.

 

[Josie_G]

What a great thread. I have been pondering the rooster question myself so very timely. I live in a suburban area where roosters are not permitted, but one of the three chicks that hatched in September turned out to be the best-looking rooster Ive ever seen (Im probably biased) and I couldnt bear to get rid of him. He was raised in a flock that was only his mum and one other hen (this hen had chicks soon after), and he had his 2 sisters. He was gentle from the start although not friendly to me - doenst like being picked up but enjoys the cuddled once you have got him - and he started calling his sisters over for treats very early, even when his mum was still doing the same for him. As he has grown his mum has become the first of his 'ladies' and his crowing has increased. He has a rooster collar but it muffles him by about 5% at best. I now get up at 4am each morning to bring him into the house where we snooze on the sofa together until its a decent hour to let him crow - about 6.15am to 6.30am usually - Summertime in Oz, everyone is up by then. The other hen has now become his other lady and they spend all day together in a happy 2-some wandering the garden (his mum / lover is broody again!)
Unfortunately 3 of the 5 chicks raised by my second hen are boys and in the last week have started crowing. They are all lovely in different ways and Im agonising about giving them away. They are currently 11 weeks old (my roo is 18 weeks) and clear personality differences. The largest of them seems very gentle, he is cleary bottom of the pecking order between the 3 of them and still hangs out with his sisters while the other 2 boys have started going off together on Rooster Adventures.
Im thinking to myself - surely I could keep him too? If I have to get up to cuddle one rooster in the morning I may as well cuddle 2....
Any thoughts on my chances of them both co-existing happily in a small flock? Would my roo take all the ladies (the 2 he currently has, his 2 sisters who are not yet laying, and the 2 young chicks) or is there a chance the other guy (Pecker, cos he has one and is one) would have his sisters as his ladies?
I dont need even one roo but I love their little cock a doodles and the way they look after the ladies, a flock doesnt seem like a propper flock without one. My neighbours dont care about the crowing during the day as its very minimal, so as long as I can keep them both quiet in the mornings all would be good.
But would they try and out-crow each other and the amount of noise would be more than double the current amount???

 

[FLChickens]

(Sorry accidentally replied while not seeing later pages)

If you get more hens ...

Our coop housed around 100 with at least 5 mature roosters With lots of space to free range, they would take their own girls (or whoever they could entice) and separate into different areas. Also with free-ranging flocks there is a good chance some roosters will be lost as they try to protect the hens, so you will need extras. You're definitely going to need more than a 1:1 ratio though. At least 4-5 hens for each rooster is better, though they could handle more.

 

[Double Yolked]

I'm thinking to myself - surely I could keep him too? If I have to get up to cuddle one rooster in the morning I may as well cuddle 2....
Any thoughts on my chances of them both co-existing happily in a small flock? Would my roo take all the ladies (the 2 he currently has, his 2 sisters who are not yet laying, and the 2 young chicks) or is there a chance the other guy (Pecker, cos he has one and is one) would have his sisters as his ladies?
.
But would they try and out-crow each other and the amount of noise would be more than double the current amount???

Yes they very well may try to compete in crowing. By the way.
You have a unique rooster if he'll cuddle with you. You may find # 2 to be so very different you'll seriously regret ever getting him. Just as a warning. I once and only once in 10 years have had a cuddly rooster. So cherish the one you have.

 

[aart]

It's ideal to have 10 or so hens per roo. Less than that and even a single roo can get feisty.

Nah....
The 'rooster' to hen ratio of 1:10 that is often cited is primarily for fertility efficiency in commercial breeding facilities.

It doesn't mean that if a cockbird has 10 hens that he won't abuse or over mate them.

Many breeders keep pairs, trios, quads, etc

It all depends on the temperaments of the cock and hens and sometimes housing provided.

Backyard flocks can achieve good fertility with a larger ratio.

 

[Josie_G]

Yes they very well may try to compete in crowing. By the way.
You have a unique rooster if he'll cuddle with you. You may find # 2 to be so very different you'll seriously regret ever getting him. Just as a warning. I once and only once in 10 years have had a cuddly rooster. So cherish the one you have.

He is a d'Uccle - Millie in the US. They seem to be an incredibly friendly breed -the hens all love cuddles and are happy to be picked up, the boys avoid being picked up but enjoy the contact once they are caught. Pecker, the little 'un I would love to keep, comes and sits on my lap voluntarily and is happy to stay there until I push him off...of course that may change as he gets older. Boy Chook, the roo, is happy snuggling when caught. Ive also had one previous round of chicks and the roo that came from that batch was also incredible friendly, would come to me when called and step onto my hand to be picked up and cuddled. I had to give him away as it didnt occur to me at that stage to do the 4am cuddle on the sofa....

 

[Mrs. K]

@Josie - you are in the romantic mode of roosters....maybe it will stay like that, but the odds are against you. If they all will just get along, is a frequent wish. The reality mode can come on in what seems like an instant. Generally the roosters have been giving out signals, but often inexperienced people do not recognize them. Roosters can get very, very ugly. Most people vastly underestimate the violence of roosters until they have seen them. This forum is full of posts where the darling became the nightmare in an instant.

Beware of the one sitting on your lap, he has no fear of you. In puppies and kittens, that is a good sign. In the chicken world fear equals respect, and while he is on your lap, you are in the subordinate position. These birds often have no fear of humans, and no respect of boundaries.

In my opinion, roosters take more room than chickens, and MORE roosters take MORE room than one rooster. If you were living on a farm, with fields next to you, it is slightly more possible. In your situation, of limited space (and a back yard is limited space) the odds increase against the idea of two roosters.

Whatever you try, do have a dog crate or some other way of separating fighting or attacking roosters set up and ready to use. Some roosters will fight to the death. Some roosters will attack people violently. IMO roosters need an experienced keeper. If this is the first year and asked I always say a hen only flock.

Mrs K

 

[centrarchid]

I have a suggestion I have never used before....... Get a couple drop pens to house roosters of interest in those. They are tight, yet big enough for the birds to stretch wings. They are really easy to move even when birds inside.

They make managing the roosters real easy and are easy to get them come into with a little scratch. I am using two at moment to house a couple of hens. A stick is pushed through to serve as a roost. The chickens are real easy to extract from top for handling so you have assess birds in hand.