Pros and Cons of Roosters...

[Mac14]

Every rooster is different, plain and simple. Beware of people giving ones away, but that being said I took one off a woman who had 3 including him. He was low roo and my White Rock died of a heart attack. I was in search of a of roo and put an add on CL. Got a bunch of hits but wasn't going to pay for one and being June people are usually looking to dump them. While his romantic side needed some work, just a tad rough although he has gotten better. Going from no hens to 16 well who can blame him. He always has an eye to danger he hasn't got an aggressive bone in his body, lets say he is a big chicken. He has never squared off to me or anyone and doesn't even raise his feathers if you corner him. Maybe because he was #3 where he came from. He doesn't try to get away once you catch him and is comfortable being there. Growls a little once you put him down. Any way what caught my eye on this thread was Buffcauna roo which is what mine is. Buff father Auracana mother. Roosters are somewhat of a crap shoot.

He is one beautiful boy!!!

 

[philc814]

For what it's worth i would definitely try getting a roo. when i got chickens i did so just because i wanted a roo. that being said don't name him for about two months lol. what i mean by that is it may take several to find the one that's the best fit for your flock and your family. fortunately for me the second one i got was just the perfect roo for me. he basically crows only in the morning, protects the girls and is not at all aggressive toward people. good luck and tell your mom they can go just as fast as they came so just give it a chance. just my opinion.

 

[Mac14]

For what it's worth i would definitely try getting a roo. when i got chickens i did so just because i wanted a roo. that being said don't name him for about two months lol. what i mean by that is it may take several to find the one that's the best fit for your flock and your family. fortunately for me the second one i got was just the perfect roo for me. he basically crows only in the morning, protects the girls and is not at all aggressive toward people. good luck and tell your mom they can go just as fast as they came so just give it a chance. just my opinion.

Thank you for the advice. Ya, I think this will just take some time to work out. I did ask my dad about having a rooster, and he said there is no point in having a roo. But there is still a little chance. Thanks again.

 

[Mac14]

Update: We are getting 3-4 chicks in the spring from our feed store, so if one is a rooster then we will decide if it is okay.

 

[Mrs. K]

I agree with the poster that said, getting a roo is a crap shoot, and can go bad at any time.

A couple of points though:

*roos' do not become their best until about a year old, give or take a few months. They get better or worse with age. At this age you will see the calling over for treats, the beautiful wing dance, good predator awareness, better mating skills, but not really before this age.

*Once a roo is human aggressive to ANYONE - he needs to be culled. He has that temperament, and you don't want those genes in your new chicks anyway.

* Roos should never be trusted around children, and children have a right to be afraid of roo.

*Don't make pets of them, they lose their fear/warriness of humans, and will try to be the dominant roo.

I think they work best for people that like the flock, and the flock dynamics, verse people that fall in love with each chicken as a pet. I have had a flock for several years, different chickens, different roos, and that is the part I like.

Right now, I have a 6 month old BA, I call him Darth Vador..... so far so good.

MrsK

 

[ChickenGirl 19]

I agree with the poster that said, getting a roo is a crap shoot, and can go bad at any time.

A couple of points though:

*roos' do not become their best until about a year old, give or take a few months. They get better or worse with age. At this age you will see the calling over for treats, the beautiful wing dance, good predator awareness, better mating skills, but not really before this age.

*Once a roo is human aggressive to ANYONE - he needs to be culled. He has that temperament, and you don't want those genes in your new chicks anyway.

* Roos should never be trusted around children, and children have a right to be afraid of roo.

*Don't make pets of them, they lose their fear/warriness of humans, and will try to be the dominant roo.

I think they work best for people that like the flock, and the flock dynamics, verse people that fall in love with each chicken as a pet. I have had a flock for several years, different chickens, different roos, and that is the part I like.

Right now, I have a 6 month old BA, I call him Darth Vador..... so far so good.

MrsK

I have a mutt rooster. He's about 7 1/2 months old, has five hens, calls them for food, used to be third rooster in his old home, and isn't aggressive. When he was in his old home, the other roosters bullied him, and he tried to hide his head under the door. When we got him, he also seemed to have slight eye problems. (hard, uncoordinated pecks, slow at pecking, when you fed him by hand, you had to put the food at the bottom of his neck, otherwise he missed. Now, a few months later, he's a lot better. His hens don't even have bald backs!

 

[dirtsaver]

I'll add my two cents worth on the subject. As stated several times throughout the thread, getting a good rooster is a crapshoot. Our first was a Speckled Sussex that was nothing but trouble. He was rough on the girls but at the same time he managed to draw them away from us too. He challenged both of s a time or two and finally charged Eva one day. She is not afraid of roosters but has always been wary and watchful around them and was able to control him when he charged. Needless to say he went to freezer camp.

Now we have a Buff Brahma roo we raised from one day old and he is great.He is learning to be good with the girls and is a super look-out,warning the girls of trouble and standing up to give the girls a chance to get back to the coop. He gives humans plenty of room but can be picked up and checked out or treated if need be. He does crow a lot but it's not something that bothers us and being in the country it does not bother any neighbors either.

We are lucky it only took two tries to get a good rooster but I really think the breed had a lot to do with it also!

 

[Mrs. K]

@Chickengirl 19
I wish you the very best, but 7 .5 months is very young to say that your rooster is a good one. I hope he is! However, if you read very many posts about roosters, you will find, that rooster's very often go from being grand to absolute terror, nearly in a heartbeat, and that it can happen at 7 months, a year, or even 2 years old. Always be aware. Roosters are unpredictable.

MrsK

 

[Nancygardens]

When I got some hens there were only two in the batch. Kept a couple and one we will keep for the 11 hens in the back yard but having
two is one too many. The loudest one was going to be in freezer camp but he got away to live another day.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

We've had a bunch of roos of various breeds over the years. Right now we have three--a three year old RIR, a 10-month old Ameraucana, and a 10 month old feather-legged Marans. We like having them, and I'd like to do my own pro/con list for you:

Con:
Can be aggressive
Eat without producing eggs
Noisy
Don't really do that much for predator protection (let's just say that I've lost MANY hens to hawks, but never ever even one rooster.)

Pro:
Pretty (if he's ugly, why keep him?)
Fertile eggs for hatching/selling
Better flock dynamics
Fun to watch, if they're nice to the ladies

Of all the cons, the aggression is the most serious. DON"T keep an aggressive roo. Cull immediately. They can be dangerous. However, if you've got a rooster and he's over a year old and never shown any aggression to any human, you're probably going to be OK on that score. The other cons? Not really a big deal.

Of all the pros, the most important is better flock dynamics. We used to have a LOT more pecked hens before we had roosters. Now, the big boy intervenes in chicken fights and protects picked-on hens before there's real blood drawn. This aspect alone is enough to guarantee a spot for a rooster in our flock. This is how he earns his feed. Our flock is just calmer with one rooster for each 10-15 hens.

For what it's worth, I don't recommend making friends with your rooster. No cuddles, no lap time, no treating him like a pet. He's the flock boss, and dangerous. Treat him with respect and ensure that he treats you with respect--and a sign of that respect is that the bird moves away from you when you move toward him. He doesn't have to flap off in terror, but simply moving away shows that he respects your space. It's purely anecdotal evidence, but I've read so many sad accounts of people whose beloved roosters started attacking, and all those stories had in common the fact that the rooster was a lap pet before he became aggressive.

This has been posted before, but here are the rules our roosters live by:

Red Wicket Rules for Roosters
1. You shall look pretty. If you don't look pretty, you go to the stew pot.
2. You shall be nice to hens. Rough up the hens, you go to the stew pot.
3. You shall not breed hens in front of me. If you try to breed a hen while I'm around, I will kick you. Hard. Those are MY hens, buster.
4. You belong to me. Therefore, I will pick you up off the roost any time I feel like it. I will carry you upside down, I will tickle your toes, I will look at your feathers, I will call you "Itsy Bitsy Cutie Wooty Widdle Rooster Baby."
5. You shall not take one single offensive action towards any human. The first offensive action, no matter how small (like looking at me mean with feathers puffed up) will result in you immediately being chased around the pasture as fast as I can go while I scream and squawk and try to hit you with whatever I'm carrying. After this, you will be punished by being picked up and carried around all the time. See #4.
6. The second offensive action taken toward any human, no matter how small, and you go into the stew pot. There are no third chances.