Roosters Pros and Cons

[Hasgrits68]

I'm fairly new to the world of Chicken and I have four sweet hens that are about 16-18 weeks and we have been offered a rooster in their age range. We are not interested in breeding so for our situation we would consider the Roo's pros as being some protection of our girls and the novelty for our family to have one of these beautiful boys. Would very much love to hear input, are we asking for more trouble than he will be worth? I'm sorry if the question has been beat to death on here! But Roosters Pros and Cons? Go.....

 

[sixcitychicks]

I think it is funny how only 'non crowing' birds are allowed, but people leave their barking dogs out all day and night, and no one has a problem with that. Just a random thought.

 

[Mallory8502]

I am pro-rooster all the way. But in your case you really should not get a rooster, because you only have 4 hens. The proper ratio is 1 rooster to about 10 hens. The rooster can basically over-mate the hens and it puts a lot of stress on them and can even cause injury.

 

[Mrs. K]

I would recommend waiting a year. There will always be roosters available. You called this your learning flock, and there is much to be said for experience in general before taking on a rooster.

Mrs K

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I think it is funny how only 'non crowing' birds are allowed, but people leave their barking dogs out all day and night, and no one has a problem with that. Just a random thought.

I findi t amusing simply because those who think that is going to cut down on the noise of poultry have clearly never really payed attention to just how loud and obnoxious hens can be...especially in a group.

 

[PrairieChickens]

Roosters are a lot like people. Some are sweet and friendly, some are standoffish and shy, and some are horrible brutes you shouldn't turn your back on. I would estimate that I have about 50-70 roosters right now, ranging in age from teeny tiny chicks to a 2 1/2 year old fella, and none of my boys are people-aggressive. When we first started keeping chickens, we ended up with a surprise roo that we called Milton, and he was a horrible creature. The next year, we ended up with Elvis, who was just as bad if not worse. Since we removed them from the flock, we have had only one other problem roo, and he shaped up after a stern talking-to (he rushed me, and I pinned him to the ground. No more problem) So while our initial impression was that roosters are more likely to be more trouble than they're worth, we've since learned that the majority of roosters are pretty mellow guys who are perfectly happy to share their world with people.

If you're not interested in breeding, a rooster serves two main purposes: To look pretty and to take care of his girls. Not all roosters will perform the latter equally well, and a rooster who is people aggressive won't necessarily defend his girls from real danger. Milton, the savage spurrer that he was, would flee at the first sign of a real threat, and we lost half of our flock the first year to predators he ran away from. Elvis was even worse at his job. Meanwhile, our Easter Egger rooster Gryffindor has never so much as given us a dirty look, yet I've personally witnessed him stepping up to defend his girls from any perceived danger--even a black hawk helicopter! His one weakness: Cats. They scare the doodoo out of him. Good thing they don't have any interest in eating the chickens! lol

The crowing can be a plus or a minus depending on your feelings towards the sound. I for one find it a comforting sound, and far more pleasant than a barking dog or loud motorcycle going down the street. Others don't care for it. It's a matter of personal preference.

One big minus would be when roosters mate, they can pull feathers out of a hen's back and the back of her head/neck. It makes the hens look scruffy, and could even result in an injury if it's not managed. You can buy lovely little chicken saddles to protect their feathers, though, so if you don't have a huge flock, that is an option.

 

[rc4u]

i am 60 yrs old and have been arond chickens since birth and my first job at 12 was at the turkey farm 1/4 mile down the road south of glenwood minn.. i collected eggs and fed helped with fertilizing and took care of the baby turkeys...and man are they dumb in big flocks...
it seems theres a lot of first timers posting and maybe even with like 6 or 7 month old roos...believe me those roos will chang after they mature....when i order chicks straight run i watch the roos till about 18 weeks then butcher...i keep one or two that dont fight or if theres a fight they come to the rescue..these are not the alphas at the time, ever...and when they range they will interact with the hens instead of chasing them when at food and such...after the butcher the flock totally changes after a week or two. it is not easy at first to know which is gonna be good roos. you have to just keep at it after a few flocks...and if you only have one or two roos its even harder to master...i am in no way an expert and dont claim....just my experiance and observations...and asking which one to kepp from on forums is totaly impossible...you have to be around them ..just a ramble and nothing to do now at work...jeff

 

[RezChamp]

knows he's a duck that's so cute

Hi DucksandClucks
In my limited experience I have never seen a fight to the death between roosters.
Sometimes I have seen a sort of alliance happen.
Of course there will most likely always be a "top cock" but I think as long as you have plenty of hens things will be fine.
However there is always other scenarios so don't be "for sure" on my experiences.
I had 6 WhiteSilkie roosters @ once, all in the same run.
They didn't really pick each other very much but them little rascals can jump amazingly high to kick.
Since they don't have spurs it was more or less just a kick.
Some of them kicks were solidly landed too, to the point where 1 was momentarily knocked out.
Of course we separated them after that so we had 6 separate little pens each 2 roosters with and 10-12 hens.
Everything was fine........once we figured which 2 roosters got along. Took about a month.

 

[hentown]

Roosters are just like other creatures - some great, some good, some not so much. My Old English is dwarfed by his girls who are Rhode Island Reds, yet he fiercely and fearlessly protects them, and keeps them safe. He seems to size up people well - curiously approaching and deciding what to do. Kids tend to squeal and run, and of course this triggers being protective. Use the opportunity to TEACH the kids respect for all creatures. The kids in my family adore our flock and are never subjected to rooster "attacks". Chickens are a wonderful addition to our family & pets!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

What breed is the rooster in question and why is he being re-homed? Many times you find folks giving away roosters that they no longer want due to behavioral issues and they'd rather pass the problem off on someone else than deal with it themselves through butchery, etc....that said, at this age range it also may simply be a case of a "surprise" rooster coming from a batch of pullets that the person in question has now realized is male and wants to be rid of.

What sort of housing do you currently have - what I'm getting at is does your coop have room to add the rooster?

You mention protection, do you free-range your flock for all or part of the day?

Are you allowed to have a rooster in your locale? If you are inside the city limits you may find that the poultry regulations allow only "non-crowing" birds, meaning no roosters.

Are you planning to stick with just 4 hens?