Should I get a rooster?

[bluegreenegg]

I've had five beautiful hens for about seven months now. I lost one to a neighbor's dog when she went over the fence....but I figured out their routines and now its smooth sailing.

They are gorgeous, healthy, fully feathered girls who are so happy...I let them roam all over the yard and behind the fence near the levee in a huge compost area. We were getting five eggs a day and now it averages 3-5; I think they are a bit broody.

I never knew chickens could be so sweet and charming...when I go outside they run to me and squat! Then they make little noises; little growls and peeps and purrs around me...they are adorable.

I want to expand my flock, my coop holds eight and I have a large 12x12 fully enclosed pen around the coop.

But instead of buying chickens, I want them to make their own!

I'm not supposed to have a rooster...but I'm only supposed to have three hens and so far no one's complained, even though the neighbors all know full well I have more than three...and darned if the girls aren't pretty loud themselves. Lots of squawking and talking, I don't see how a rooster could be that much louder. Our neighbors dog barks all the time, I'd like to know how that's better? Sometimes his dogs bark all night. We don't complain...and he doesn't complain about my hens.


I want a well-behaved, quiet rooster. (haha) and I want to raise him so he knows me.

Also: can't chicks be raised right in the coop by the hens themselves? Why do people feel they need to bring them inside...doesn't a hen know what its doing with her own chick; as long as you provide a nice warm secluded and safe place?

I know...long post! Thanks for reading!

 

[countrygoddess]

Sounds like you've got a great set-up going there--your girls sound like a pleasure. =) The squatting, by the way, is a submissive/mating thing. They do that when approached by a rooster to prepare to be mounted. It's one of the ways you can tell if a pullet is getting ready to start laying for the first time, when she starts doing that.

As for getting a rooster, I think I would definitely ask your neighbors first what they think because their crow carries, for sure. Hens can be noisy, but their sounds likely can't be heard on the next block. Their loud periods are usually short-lived, compared to crowing, too. I have 5 roosters (4 Dorkings and 1 Mille Fleur d'Uccle bantam) and they sometimes start up in the middle of the night. 10 minutes later I'm thinking, come on, guys, learn when enough is enough, already! There's a rooster half a mile from us and his crow carries up to our house. When our roosters hear him, they answer back, then he answers our roosters, and that can go on for quite a while. Our neighbors, even the ones, two "blocks" (we don't actually have blocks where I live, but they live about the same distance as two city blocks) away, tell us they can hear our roosters.

All that being said, my family and I are not bothered by our roosters crowing. Oh, except the night I had an injured one in "hospital" in our bedroom and he answered 3 a.m. crowing from outside. THAT'S not an alarm with a snooze button! LOL He went out to the porch in his hospital box. =) Anyway, we actually like the sounds roosters make and our neighbors, although they say they can hear it, tell us they like it, too. Roosters are allowed here, too. The Dorkings are for breeding so they need to be kept. The bantam was one we kept just because and he's the darling of our children. Such a sweet little guy.

I definitely would recommend raising one from a chick, but be aware that that doesn't necessarily mean that he won't turn out mean. Temperament is generally dependent on breed, but even among breeds known for having non-aggressive roosters you'll find them. We had two bantam roosters that we raised from chicks together. One has turned out to be the best little guy, as I mentioned above and one (different breed) was so aggressive that we finally had to cull him. Our 4 Dorkings are great with people, but if any of them became aggressive they would be culled and would not be bred.

Roosters really can be a great addition to a flock. They're protective of their girls and you may even notice that when he finds a goody, he'll make "come and get it" sounds and won't eat until the girls have had their fill. 5 hens to one rooster is a good ratio--he likely won't "overbreed" individual hens (dig their backs bald and bloody from constant mounting) when he's got several to choose from. And then there are the fertilized eggs. You wouldn't know it to eat them (it's a myth that nutrition and flavor are different in fertile eggs) because they don't start developing until a hen is sitting on them, keeping them warm and humid.

If you have hens that want to go broody, that's an easy way to raise chicks, but keep in mind that the chicks will be more fearful of humans if you don't spend a lot of time out there with them. Even that may not be an easy task with a hen who herds them away from "dangers" and teaches them to run off. If that's okay with you, then great--it's much less work not having to incubate and brood them yourself. If that's something you decide to do, I'd read a book that has a section about letting broodies raise chicks because you'll find advice about how to keep adult chickens from eating the chick food, chick safety, etc.

 

[bluegreenegg]

Wow, great response. Thank you!

"now there's an alarm with no snooze button." LOL! That makes me go hmmm....

Everything about it sounds perfect except the crowing. I would find it a cool sound myself, but I know it would be too much for where I live.

At least it seems like a cool sound right now, in theory; when its not 3am and there's a rooster crowing in my backyard.

I do spend a lot of time with my chickens...all of it would work, except for that part.

Looks like there may be certain parts of chicken-keeping that are better left to living in more rural areas.

 

[countrygoddess]

You could always obtain fertile hatching eggs and put them under a broody chicken...

 

[gg706]

I would not get a rooster. He crows starting at 4:30 in the morning and crows randomly throughout the day. My hens would also be much more happy without him around. They spend alot time running from him and avoiding his attention. I love my rooster but now after a year and everything being fine, he has decided to start getting aggressive. So now I need to cull him. Not going to be easy as I have gotten attached to him. But roosters can be very dangerous and I have children so I do not feel it is worth the risk!

 

[bluegreenegg]

Seems to be a common thread with roosters, that they seem to usually get aggressive....maybe if i had a larger property I'd consider it.

Thanks for the input!

 

[roostersandhens]

Get a rooster! They are very good to the hens. My hens just love having a rooster around. Most roosters are very nice. If you want an extra nice one get a Black Australorp! Oh and gg706 not all roosters start crowng at 4:30 in the morning. Some start crowing at 7:00 some only crow like twice a day. Each rooster is differnt. I really think you should get a rooster. They are great! They always protect the hens! You are way more likely to lose a hen with no rooster.
Good Luck!

 

[bluegreenegg]

I love black australorps; I've been looking seriously at them when expanding my flock.

Hmm...so the thing is, I am *actually* a backyard farmer, as in just a regular suburban backyard. I do have a big organic garden behind the fence but still: just a backyard. Some folks here seem to live on quite a bit more property than I do. So I would need to guarantee that my rooster was especially well-behaved If I knew he'd only crow twice a day that would be perfect. Btu I don't know that.

So once you do get a rooster...and your hens lay fertilized eggs, how soon are there chicks? (I feel silly, like I should go read my six year old's "life of a chicken" book with pictures. I'd probably learn what I'm asking.

 

[bj taylor]

i'm in the unenviable position of wishing I didn't have a rooster. I have a black australorp I raised from a few days old. he is a magnificent specimen. he belongs in a rooster calendar

. he's a year old & my beautiful four girls all have bare backs. I also have a new hen that I've been trying to integrate for two weeks w/complete failure. he isn't satisfied w/mating her - he tries to hurt her. he refuses to let her be part of the flock. she is doomed to live in isolation until I find a solution.

I loved Charlie. he is so protective & not aggressive (but very wary) of humans. btw, he crows off & on all day & some of the night. his voice carries a long way.

he's making things miserable around here. I don't mind the crowing, but I do mind the aggressive breeding & the treatment of this other hen.

 

[gryeyes]

So once you do get a rooster...and your hens lay fertilized eggs, how soon are there chicks?  (I feel silly, like I should go read my six year old's "life of a chicken" book with pictures.  I'd probably learn what I'm asking.

Don't feel at all silly, that was one of the first things I wondered when I realized I had an accidental rooster. The answer may surprise you:

There may never be any chicks. Most hatchery birds are bred for egg production, not for hatching chicks and raising families. They have far more efficient incubators to produce more stock. As a result, the majority of hens do not go broody, but just lay their eggs and go off on their merry ways. No setting to hatch. Although some breeds are known to be more apt to go broody, some never do.

If, however, you are lucky enough to have a hen go broody, she will need to incubate the eggs for 21 days on average. That's on the nest full-time, with one or two "potty breaks" and a bit of a drink of water, a snatch of feed, and maybe a short dust bath, then she's back on the nest. After the chicks hatch, she will raise them for anywhere between 3 to 8 or 9 weeks. That means no eggs from her for a minimum of six weeks; you can see why egg farms -and, it follows - the hatcheries which provide the chicks, don't want broody hens.

I've kinda glossed it over, but that's the main thing. You need a broody hen, unless you artificially incubate the fertile eggs. 21 days WITH a broody hen.