Do I need a rooster?

Hm. I am a fairly new chicken person myself but I have never heard of that. From my understanding certain breeds just are better egg layers then others. I have a rooster though but we didn't get him on purpose he came as a straight run. He is very loud, bossy and testy. Almost like a small child! So if you are up for the task of handling one like that then go for it.

I was always told that the hens will still lay the same amout of eggs, with or without a rooster. A rooster will make the eggs fertile, so you can hatch them. I would suggest a rooster, so that he can keep the hens safe, but if you live in a city, you may want to keep hens only, that way your neighbors don't complain about him crowing.

If free range, then rooster good.  May provide limited predator protection.  Otherwise, for me hearing rooster crowing periodically provides evidence all is well so rooster is like a barometer, especially at night.

haha - that is what I think, I tell my niece that he is calling out, "Alllllll is ok"

A rooster will not provide protection for a flock until they are nearly a year+ old. However, since Captain reached that age, I have not lost a hen to a daytime predator.

Eggs are inside the hen, they are there when the chick is hatched. The rooster has nothing to do with the number of eggs laid, only if the eggs are fertilized or not.

For layers and eggs not necessary, flock protection yes, but only after the roo is fully mature and big.

To me, hearing the crow of a rooster is like music to my ears. Of coarse, I don't have to worry about neighbors considering that the closest one is half a mile away, and even they had chickens (bear attacked theirs). I, myself would want to hatch my eggs, so a rooster would be nessecary. The hens also like to have a rooster around to protect them. The only bad thing is that sometimes they think they rule you and will attack you (I have a scar from one of those cases).

Egg production is not improved by the presence of a male. If you don't want to hatch eggs there's no reason to have one unless you enjoy the sound &/or appearance which in your case apparently isn't the case. At least your immediate supervisor doesn't want to  hear the sound of a male crowing.

As to the protection issue people who say they "haven't had a preditor problem since they got a male or their male turned whatever age" haven't really proven anything. For data to have meaning there needs to be a control group. They would need to have a paralell flock w/o a male in the same location that did have a preditor problem for their data to have ant meaning. Even then there are other variables to take into account including random chance. A male chicken that attempts to fight off a preditor will just be the first bird eaten.

If a rooster is bullying the hens a bit at 2 months will he get meaner or will he mellow out. He will peck at me sometimes but not hard and I can pick him up and hold him without a problem. Once I am holding him he is fine and doesn't try to peck.

Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by emberspapa 

I have 5 little hens that are 5 months old now, but I don't have a rooster. I am primarily interested in egg production and didn't think I need a rooster for my hens to be productive layers. I was recently told by an old timer that having a rooster would cause them to lay more eggs. Is this true? If so some of you experts tell me your opinion.

Your hens will be as productive as they are genetically predisposed to be, assuming you care for them properly, without a rooster.  Unless you simply want a rooster for the number of reasons mentioned below (e.g. you like crowing, you like chicken eye candy, you just like roosters), then there's no point unless you're breeding them.  Additionally, if you end up with a bad roo who roughs your girls up/causes stress, it could actually prove to be a detriment to egg production.

Quote:

Originally Posted by centrarchid 

If free range, then rooster good.  May provide limited predator protection.  Otherwise, for me hearing rooster crowing periodically provides evidence all is well so rooster is like a barometer, especially at night.

That's a really good point and use for our roo that I hadn't specifically thought about before.  If we hear ours in the middle of the night, we know it's time to pick up the shotgun and take a walk outside.