Which two roosters look the most promising?

[Ridgerunner]

People breeding show chickens often wait until they are two years old before deciding which ones to breed. Thankfully you are not nearly that complicated if all you want is a body shape. Just do the best you can when you decide it is time. I don't wait that long either.

Those different colors and patterns of hens is interesting. The Mottled gene is a recessive gene, unless both parents have that gene you will not see it in any of the chicks. Barring is a dominant gene. If it is present you will see barring. I can't remember what happens if a chicken has the barring gene and also two copies of the Mottled gene. They kind of cancel each other but I can't remember the results.

In general, black will be very dominant. If you have a black rooster you often get almost all black chicks. With a red rooster the coloring of the hen often dominates. Buff is interesting. In theory it is like red but in practice you often get some interesting patches or individual feathers on the offspring. Imagine a black bird with an orange splotch on it or a black bird with a clump of yellow feathers.

Do these boys have mixed color/pattern parents? The black ones easily could, not so much the buffs. If they have mixed color/pattern parents then you could have about anything from their chicks.

I believe you want to keep two. I'd be tempted to keep a black one and a buff one for a multicolored flock. But personality or other things may come into play.

They are nine weeks old. Chonky Boy is going through his first juvenile molt. They will all go through another juvenile molt before they get their adult feathers. It is way too early to have anything solid to go on other than basic feather colors.

Good luck. I've been there, though I wait until a little later. It's more of a guess so do the best you can.

 

[Cheekychook12]

SOP - read them, and look at your boys.

But really look at their feet, crooked feet can cause breeding problems. Can be hard on feathers. Look at their beaks, wings things need to be symmetrical, even on each side. Crossbeaks can get worse with inbreeding.

I also go with the vote - 1st, get rid of anything you don't like for any reason, do that as soon as you can as in this week. So you have three, wait for a while, again, get rid of the one you like least. Wait again, but just a week or so.

When you are down to two, it is not so much as picking the best rooster to keep that is important, it is more about getting rid of a rooster so that you only have one. Either will more than likely be fine. Shoot for a final decision around 5-6 months of age, but let your flock indicate this. If the tension in the flock is rising, get rid of one sooner.

I have even pulled one out, and kept him separately, to see how the one left was liked by the ladies. Then made a final decision.

However, also be realistic, there is a strong possibility that none of these roosters will work. Cockerels are a crap shoot. The best way to get a flock master for your flock, is to NOT KEEP a rotten one.

Roosters are easy to come by, reach out to your community, find like minded people and help each other out.

Mrs K

Their feet are all perfect, no signs of crossbeak, wings are symmetrical as far as I can tell but I will have another look

There is very little tension at the moment but I will start looking for places to rehome them

I know that it’s risky keeping one but I would like to try, and I can just keep the Roos in a separate pen to the girls if they are being little jerks, which they aren’t yet

And if it doesn’t work out I can always rehome them

 

[Cheekychook12]

That's another reason I chose bantam roos. They require less hens per roo.

They are bantams

 

[Cheekychook12]

I agree with others here. If you plan on breeding, you want the healthiest. Personalities in roos change as they mature, I think we all prefer gentlemen.

A large roo can be a problem for hens, especially if the hens are small, as you mentioned bantams. There's a lot of variables selecting the best roo, attitude, physical, colors, if you want egg or meat producers and etc. As others have said, roos are easy to come by, it's better to search for what you desire, than tolerance for something you don't. Especially aggression.

I settled for bantam (Milles and Porcelain), for color and temperament, plus easier on then hens, even full sized.and they do get the job done. Out of 4 only one is kinda an arse, but it's more cute than anything. The other 3 are sweet.

So it all boils down to what you want and expect from your flock.

The main thing I want is a flock of good looking healthy birds that I can breed from in the future, I also want to have friendly birds, which they are at the moment but I know that will likely change

 

[Cheekychook12]

I am curious about that ratio of hen to roo, I know someone who keeps Belgian duccles, he has thirty hens and at least 4 Roos, his hens look content and aren’t missing feathers, and I’ve never seen his Roos so much as squabble so is it a bantam thing? The birds are very small

 

[Cheekychook12]

People breeding show chickens often wait until they are two years old before deciding which ones to breed. Thankfully you are not nearly that complicated if all you want is a body shape. Just do the best you can when you decide it is time. I don't wait that long either.

Those different colors and patterns of hens is interesting. The Mottled gene is a recessive gene, unless both parents have that gene you will not see it in any of the chicks. Barring is a dominant gene. If it is present you will see barring. I can't remember what happens if a chicken has the barring gene and also two copies of the Mottled gene. They kind of cancel each other but I can't remember the results.

In general, black will be very dominant. If you have a black rooster you often get almost all black chicks. With a red rooster the coloring of the hen often dominates. Buff is interesting. In theory it is like red but in practice you often get some interesting patches or individual feathers on the offspring. Imagine a black bird with an orange splotch on it or a black bird with a clump of yellow feathers.

Do these boys have mixed color/pattern parents? The black ones easily could, not so much the buffs. If they have mixed color/pattern parents then you could have about anything from their chicks.

I believe you want to keep two. I'd be tempted to keep a black one and a buff one for a multicolored flock. But personality or other things may come into play.

They are nine weeks old. Chonky Boy is going through his first juvenile molt. They will all go through another juvenile molt before they get their adult feathers. It is way too early to have anything solid to go on other than basic feather colors.

Good luck. I've been there, though I wait until a little later. It's more of a guess so do the best you can.

They for sure could have mixed colour parents, as the eggs were sold as mixed colour, but I didn’t actually see the parents so I can’t know

I’m fascinated by genetics and I want to keep Chonky boy because he is the only one with barring

I have only one black mottled roo and I don’t plan on keeping him because he’s very small and flighty

 

[Ridgerunner]

I am curious about that ratio of hen to roo, I know someone who keeps Belgian duccles, he has thirty hens and at least 4 Roos, his hens look content and aren’t missing feathers, and I’ve never seen his Roos so much as squabble so is it a bantam thing? The birds are very small

It's not a bantam thing. It is not a breed thing. Some people keep roosters of all sizes and breeds with a ratio of 2 or 3 hens per rooster and don't have any issues with barebacked hens, over-mating or anything else. Others may have a ratio of 1 to 20 and still have issues. Each individual chicken has its own personality and each flock has its own dynamics. We keep them in different types of facilities with different chicken density ratios and use different management techniques. My typical laying/breeding flock consists of one rooster and six to eight hens. My hens are not over-mated or barebacked.

The 1 to 10 ratio you often see on this forum is a myth. It is supposed to stop roosters fighting and hens from being over-mated or going barebacked. It does n ot work. It comes from the ratios the hatcheries use. It's not a bad average for what they hatcheries use but it is not correct for many of their flocks.

The hatchery goals are fertile eggs. They want 100% of their eggs to be fertile. They typically keep their flocks in pens of several roosters and several hens. Think in terms of 20 roosters in a large pen with 200 hens. They monitor fertility. If some eggs are not fertile they add another rooster, a young one as they are more sexually active than older ones. If the fertility rate is perfect they may try removing a rooster to cut down on costs. Several years ago Cackle Hatchery posted the ratios they use. It varied from 1 to 7 to over 1 to 15. In general, bantams were more likely to be closer to 1 to 15 and larger breeds closer to 1 to 7 but the results were all over the place.

I'll tell a story. When I started my flock I was down to 1 rooster and 8 hens. Technically cockerel and pullets as they were about 8 months old. Two of the hens became seriously barebacked so I ate them. I was down to a 1 to 6 ratio. No further problems with barebacked hens or with their daughters going barebacked. Sometimes the rooster is the problem but sometimes it can be the hen. (it can be genetic.) Reality is not always as simple as these magic ratios would make you think.

Different things can happen if you keep two males. As they mature they will decide which one is the boss. That could involve a fight to the death. They may reach an accommodation on how to take care of the flock together. Often this involves some fighting, maybe serious, maybe not so much. The more room you have the better.

My general suggestion is to keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. Additional males do not guarantee problems but the more you keep the more likely you are to have issues. The more room you have the better. With your goal of a multicolored flock two seems reasonable. I suggest you have a way to immediately separate them if it becomes necessary. It may not become necessary but if it does you will probably need it immediately.

Most of us learn things as we go along and have to change things to suit reality. That is true with anything we do, not just chicken keeping. You have started on an interesting journey. Try to have fun and stay flexible. Good luck!

 

[Dreamers Nook]

I am curious about that ratio of hen to roo, I know someone who keeps Belgian duccles, he has thirty hens and at least 4 Roos, his hens look content and aren’t missing feathers, and I’ve never seen his Roos so much as squabble so is it a bantam thing? The birds are very small

I have 4 (2 Mille and 2 Porcelain)roos to 25 full sized hens and 7 bantams. One is dominant, the other 3 more timid. I was lucky that there's never been any issues whatsoever, but Bantams don't need as many hens per as some other breeds. And as you said they are small. I was concerned about breeding, but the boys do get the job done, and the hens adore them. I should have some cool colored chicks next spring as an result. The full sized hens are different colors of Wyandottes and a few colored egg layers.

 

[Dreamers Nook]

It's not a bantam thing. It is not a breed thing. Some people keep roosters of all sizes and breeds with a ratio of 2 or 3 hens per rooster and don't have any issues with barebacked hens, over-mating or anything else. Others may have a ratio of 1 to 20 and still have issues. Each individual chicken has its own personality and each flock has its own dynamics. We keep them in different types of facilities with different chicken density ratios and use different management techniques. My typical laying/breeding flock consists of one rooster and six to eight hens. My hens are not over-mated or barebacked.

The 1 to 10 ratio you often see on this forum is a myth. It is supposed to stop roosters fighting and hens from being over-mated or going barebacked. It does n ot work. It comes from the ratios the hatcheries use. It's not a bad average for what they hatcheries use but it is not correct for many of their flocks.

The hatchery goals are fertile eggs. They want 100% of their eggs to be fertile. They typically keep their flocks in pens of several roosters and several hens. Think in terms of 20 roosters in a large pen with 200 hens. They monitor fertility. If some eggs are not fertile they add another rooster, a young one as they are more sexually active than older ones. If the fertility rate is perfect they may try removing a rooster to cut down on costs. Several years ago Cackle Hatchery posted the ratios they use. It varied from 1 to 7 to over 1 to 15. In general, bantams were more likely to be closer to 1 to 15 and larger breeds closer to 1 to 7 but the results were all over the place.

I'll tell a story. When I started my flock I was down to 1 rooster and 8 hens. Technically cockerel and pullets as they were about 8 months old. Two of the hens became seriously barebacked so I ate them. I was down to a 1 to 6 ratio. No further problems with barebacked hens or with their daughters going barebacked. Sometimes the rooster is the problem but sometimes it can be the hen. (it can be genetic.) Reality is not always as simple as these magic ratios would make you think.

Different things can happen if you keep two males. As they mature they will decide which one is the boss. That could involve a fight to the death. They may reach an accommodation on how to take care of the flock together. Often this involves some fighting, maybe serious, maybe not so much. The more room you have the better.

My general suggestion is to keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. Additional males do not guarantee problems but the more you keep the more likely you are to have issues. The more room you have the better. With your goal of a multicolored flock two seems reasonable. I suggest you have a way to immediately separate them if it becomes necessary. It may not become necessary but if it does you will probably need it immediately.

Most of us learn things as we go along and have to change things to suit reality. That is true with anything we do, not just chicken keeping. You have started on an interesting journey. Try to have fun and stay flexible. Good luck!

You're definitely right, as I have found this out with quail, as their lifespan is shorter, so main flock is always changing.
One thing that may work the first time, doesn't at all the next time....so it seems a constant pay attention and improvise for each situation. It definitely is a journey with many new things to learn as you go, you never know what surprises await you!

 

[Slothinc]

They are so cute! I love Chonky and Cornflake just based on the pics. Chonky has really cool coloring.