Tell me why you keep Roosters...

[XtremeRooster]

Because I just love getting woke up at 4:30 am by a rooster that can't wait another hour and a half for daylight.

 

[Halloweengirl13]

because my little silver sebright roosters Victor and Adam are Frickin' Adorable!!! all the beauty of a rooster in a bird the size of a pigeon, Sparkles my black sex link rooster however is probably goin back to my friends house soon they live further away from town cause that dude won't shut up and he's a bossy butt( but his Sister Anyanka is worse, heaven forbid you go in that coup without proper tribute she knows there are tomatoes somewhere!

)

 

[shmccarthy]

I keep roosters for flock protection and breeding purposes, not to mention, roosters are beautiful!
(Good) Roosters will find treats for his girls, warn them to predators so they can get to safety and there are some very good rooster that will throw himself at a predator, to protect his girls. My head rooster will round up all the girls when I let them free range to go inside at night. He also occasionally breaks up squabbles. I have 6 other roosters, penned separately for breeding purposes.

 

[sepaditty1]

I wanted 1 rooster because I was new and believed people that told me that you'll get better egg production if you have a rooster around. I now know that that isn't true, but we ended up with 3 roosters. They are gorgeous! I can't believe the colors on my little bantam. They get along fine so far, so we'll let them all stay. If there's a problem, we'll just fix a batch of dumplings and all it good.

My favorite part is the crow. When I hear it (even when it's early) it makes my heart happy. I feel like I could be out on the prairie pioneering or something. My neighbors may not feel the same way, but since I have to listen to their dog, I never asked their opinion.

 

[ErinEliz]

Has anyone every introduced new chicks (6 wk old or so) into an existing flock with a rooster? I'm not sure how my roo with handle it, he is fine with me but does protect his girls.

 

[Mac14]

My family didn't want a rooster, but I thought it would be cool. They said no, because we had no use for a roo. Of course I got an accidental cockerel, a Buff Orpington I named Sir Rorzan William Tyson Zieman the First. We were needing to get rid of him, but then we had a fire and we had to move, and the dog was being taken care of for a while somewhere else. Since he was getting mature, we decided that he could stick around a little longer. He saved one of the hens life one night when we were gone, then a week later the fox came back and got him. I hadn't held him as much as I should have when he was older, and he hadn't gotten to the top of the pecking order yet because of the older hens, but I was still majestic and beautiful. I don't think I could convince my family to get a rooster, but I hope that I can get an accidental rooster again. To have a rooster is an amazing experience.

 

[graciesmum]

My

Small children and roosters don't mix well. I'd never hold my kids prisoner on their own property due to the possibility of an animal attacking them, roosters gotta go. Day old chicks are a great way to add to a flock, that way you (usually) get all females and don't have to deal with this rooster thing again down the road. Chickens in a backyard flock are meant to be enjoyed, not stressed over.

my 2 year old daughter loves our lemon pekin rooster and he is a brilliant little roo, he is wary of us and always runs off, I love how he looks after his girls and he is honestly a gentle soul

 

[A.T. Hagan]

If you want to hatch your own you have to have a rooster so I do. I keep the ones I want to breed with and the rest go to market.

 

[shmccarthy]

Has anyone every introduced new chicks (6 wk old or so) into an existing flock with a rooster? I'm not sure how my roo with handle it, he is fine with me but does protect his girls.

6 weeks is too young to introduce into a flock, especially one with a rooster. Any birds you plan on introducing, I would put in a separate pen, so the existing flock can see them but not touch. It's good to introduce like sizes. Once your 6 week olds are relatively the size of your existing flock, it is a good time to join them. Because they had time to see each other before hand, it makes establishing the pecking order go a lot smoother.

 

[weeshanti]

I, too, have mature roosters over four years old. *I* have established dominance over the roosters so they are respectful to me and visitors. I have had as many as 16 roos/cockerels at a time; only one cockerel had to be permanently culled for meanness. Most of the others were re-homed without my having to warn the new owners of any aggression. (Actually, I had to reassure them there was little reason to fear the birds. My dominant rooster Carl teaches them to respect people. I reinforce that rule if necessary.)

Granted, it's not ideal to have a high rooster/hen ratio, but it's not the "sure fire way to have a rooster kill another rooster" I keep reading or hearing about.

Right now I have two mature roosters and about ten cockerels growing up. I wouldn't want a flock without at least two roosters - one is a backup should something happen to the other. Roosters "manage" their flocks, stopping hen fights, alerting the flock to danger, and sometimes even sacrificing themselves to save the flock from a predator.

I didn't get chickens for eggs, anyway, so my idea of "productivity" doesn't exclude non-layers.. I got my first 8 chickens - supposedly pullet chickes - for bug reduction, free fertilizer and something interesting to watch in the yard. Getting eggs was a bonus. (Now it's a business, albeit a teensy tiny one.)

Some people cannot keep even one rooster due to local restrictions. I feel sorry they never get to enjoy the interactions between the flock members with roosters to rule the roosts.

Gryeyes - how do you establish dominance? I have one "good" rooster who protects the kids from the nasty bantams. I'd like to keep one bantam, but so far have had a hard time curbing the "small dog" attitude in these little guys. My kids can't be outside when he's out. I'd love advice as the new bantams come up so I can start fresh with one who might learn some respect.