Help me choose which rooster to keep.

[Willar1]

Hello all. I'm currently trying to choose which rooster I should keep because I currently have 5 roos and only 9 hens. Of the roos I have 2 columbian wyandottes and 3 golden comets. My goals are to eventually breed my flock to one that is a good producer of large eggs that does well in foraging in chicken tractors in the summer and handles the coop in the winter, along with other goals to work towards later. I thought I had a the roo that would best help me towards my goals picked out but he has one big flaw that is making it hard to decide. The one I picked was was a golden comet that has the best temperament towards me and the hens, grew the fastest and forages well. The problem is he is the noisiest of all them by a long shot I can hear him now while sitting in the house 100 yards away from the coop. I know that if it bothers me it has to bother the neighbors who are actually closer to the coop than I am. The problems with the others are that they are very aggressive with the hens and the wyandottes lay very small eggs. So do you guys think that getting rid of the other roos might quiet him down or that getting rid of with some of the others will make them less aggressive? all opinions are welcome thank you for the help.

 

[Willar1]

If more info would help let me know and I can post it. What traits help you decide?

 

[Evadig]

! I'm not an expert but it seems to me it would be best to pick the one that is nicest to you and the hens. If you get rid of the other roosters, his crowing might decrease since he's aggravated by their presence (crowing is a sign of dominance). Hope this helps!

 

[aribubbs]

Fully agree re keeping the kindest roo!

 

[fluffycrow]

Pick the one who's the best with you and the females. All your males will crow, and you don't know their crowing potential, since they are not the head males. Don't let his crowing affect your choice

 

[Willar1]

Thank you all for the advice. I had heard that sometimes getting rid of competing roosters will help with aggression but never heard that will help with crowing but it does make sense. Its also seems like the better gamble to make to stick with him than be stuck with a roo that is a bully to the hens.

 

[Thepoopsmiths]

Roosters will always crow. But, in my experience, every time you add another, you double the crowing. They are constantly communicating their territory with the others. And it changes as the lead rooster wants to move about.

Worst situation is when they are near each other but separated. They can't establish their pecking order physically...so they do a never ending crowing competition...

 

[Mrs. K]

Ok, get rid of any roosters you don't like, thin the trees. If someone calls you and complains about the rooster noise - well then you are rather honor bound (IMO) to let him go, but if they haven't - well you have a bit of grace.

Thing is - there really is no telling how things will be when you move out roosters - other than they will change. Getting rid of extra roosters will calm things down, and you might be able to live with the one you want.

But it would be good to consider this idea... NONE of these roosters might work for one reason or another. Roosters are a crap shoot, and while it seems a bit counter intuitive, there is a real possibility, that none of these will really fit your needs and goals.

So my advice is - immedately get rid of any of them that you don't like for any reason, keeping the crowing nice one. Wait and see. If he does not work out, let him go too.

Check 4-H clubs, poultry clubs, feed stores, very often there is a perfect rooster out there, that needs a place. Don't keep a rotten rooster, get a nice one.

Mrs K

 

[Willar1]

Thank you, as it stands right now I'm going to keep the crower and hope he quiets down a little and as @Mrs. K said its entirely possible none of them will work out in the long run. Luckily it is really easy to acquire a new rooster if that turns out to be the case. thank you all again.

 

[McChooky]

I raised 2 roosters together from chicks and they're still pals but putting one on each side of a divided run stopped the competition for hens and quietened both down.