Roosters Pros and Cons

[Bethel3330]

Bethel....what kind of roo do you have?

He's an Easter Egger

 

[Devon07]

The more I try the more confused I get when trying to figure out these chickens. :/

 

[cowhlb]

I would get a rooster. Mine is very sweet. He doesn't bother any one and if you want one I would recommend not handling him. That makes then tame and aggressive.

 

[Bethel3330]

I can't have roosters in Sparks Nevada. I ordered all hens from Chickens for Backyards and the two Barred Plymouth Rocks that I ordered were not hens, they were both roosters. So I had to Re home them both. I was upset because I was looking forward to having a couple of Barred Rocks. Now I have no barred Rocks, and they were beautiful Boys too. Roosters are LOUD. But not as loud as my Neighbors Dogs. I suppose it's just as well. I have some Broody hens and I don't need chicks.....that could be more roosters when they grow up. Here is a picture of Regal. He is only 3 months here.

Darn! I had the same thing happen with both Black Australorps I bought! Try again with the BRs though. They are sweet hens

 

[Bethel3330]

The more I try the more confused I get when trying to figure out these chickens. :/

It's a lot to take in, and it's not all One Size Fits All! ;-)

 

[HugHess]

Quote:

times have changed.
Laws are formulated essentially for " the squeaky wheel gets the grease" people.
Hmmmm....maybe it's time we started squeaking.....??! "squawking" louder or more often or ???

AMEN!

 

[Yoyo with chick]

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.

I agree Roos are great if you have a bunch of hens and live out in the country where there are predators. But in your case not the best idea... but if you get more hens definitely get one!

 

[121zues]

We got a young rehomed rooster several months ago for our 7 1yr old hens.  At first all was well, I could pick him up and hold him, he really seemed to watch out for the hens.  He would offer them any treats he found and keep them all together when they were free ranging. 
Things started to take a turn when he attacked my wife and drew blood, he was still ok with me so I let it go.  But last weekend he started attacking me out of the blue. 

I reached the end of my rope when he attacked me yesterday while trying to feed the flock.  He is going to Freezer Camp on friday and I'm already surfing Craigslist to look for another one.  There are too many free ones on craigslist to put up with a mean one.

so from my limited experience I did enjoy him until he started to get attitude, so would like to replace him and hope I get a mellower one next time.  If not it's off to freezer camp and on to the next try.  We want to raise some chicks of our own come spring so I'll need a rooster at some point.

he attacked you wife and drew blood but since he was still okay with you you let it go? If that had of been me and I didn't personally take care of him he would have been done for when my husband got home

 

[121zues]

I have an accidental rooster that knows he's a duck. I have 3 hens and also 5 ducks. I'll keep him until he starts to crow. 
He's very friendly and knows his name. He's literally pushing the ducks out of the way when I'm dumping duck pools or turning on the water to give them all a shower. He's so weird. LOL

knows he's a duck that's so cute

 

[kglazier]

i agree that 4 hens are not enough to have a roo...that said, my roo is great. I free range my hens about 3 hrs before night. He finds food for the hens, sounds the alarm when raptors fly over, and calls the hens back to the coop at dusk. He doesn't like me because i pick him up and pet him in front of the hens but he respects me as the alaph...