Thoughts on Roosters??

[valhallafarmer]

Here are our 2 protectors they are amazing with protection and alerting

 

[NevadaEmma]

Sure, but he is still just a chicken. Its not like he's going to fight off a hungry Pitbull, or a coyote.

No, that is true, but he will certainly make enough of a racket that I will be alerted and can hopefully scare of the predators. Noisy geese are pretty effective also!!

 

[Happy Chick Home]

Here is my experience as a new chicken mom. 1st anniversary will be in 2 weeks. Originally I had 10 one week old chicks and a very broody hen.
My neighbor had 6 hens and a roo. The roo learned to open the pen. He did so, let the ladies out, headed them round to the front. And the coyote was watching. The coyote went after a hen, Roo took him on, the coyote had Roo dinner. Roo saved the hens' lives giving up his own.
I obtained a large roo from a woman who raised him and handled him but had too many. He was great with her but became aggressive with me. Eventually, I gave up. Difficult to re-home but he was gorgeous!
From the 10 chicks I raised I identified one cockerel as more forward or less fearful than the others. (5 of the ten were cockerels.) I kept that one and he was subordinate to the big beautiful purebred roo, helping accompany groups of hens. The hens purchased at about a year old, and the pullets would scatter in several groups. When the big guy left, my mixed breed roo, Brewster, took his place as protector, nurturer, mate, etc.. He has never showed any aggression toward me and seems to view me as an asset. He is good with the hens and with the babies including those that are not his offspring.
I recently got a couple of large LGD puppies. They are puppies and not accustomed to chickens. They started out chasing the hens free ranging. Brewster leads the pups away from the flock, past the barbed wire fence and into the dense, picky weeds. Everyone safely separated. I was able to round up the pups then retrieve Brewster. He may have lost a feather or two but nothing else. He was my hero that day. Not bad for a 10 month old roo.
The pups have settled down and settled in. 2 weeks after arriving they cornered a rattlesnake and barked until I could get to them. They kept a good safe distance from the snake and as I took over they lost interest and wandered off. They were heroes that day. Haven't seen another snake since.
Hope my experience will help someone. And sorry if I'm long winded.

 

[NevadaEmma]

I recently had to rehome 4 absolutely beautiful roosters. They were getting to old to process and I did not have the heart to kill the.

I had very good luck rehoming them with a non-profit animal rescue couple that had 40 acres. They had no roosters, but some hens and other animals.

A really good rooster seems hard to come by. I have raised many. Some attack me as soon as they become Alpha rooster, others work to help keep the flock safe.

 

[MaeM]

No, that is true, but he will certainly make enough of a racket that I will be alerted and can hopefully scare of the predators. Noisy geese are pretty effective also!!

This.

When we talk about roosters and predators, we (unfortunately) talk more about the racket and the distraction they can create to help the hens run away (or alert the owners) than their actual ability to kill a predator. At least the bigger predators. They can certainly kill hawks.

 

[fuzzi]

Cockerel #3 went to the auction on Saturday, so I am down to the two best looking Speckled Sussex males, three pullets, and 4 Dominique pullets.

When I am home I do notice crowing, on and off, but only if I'm outside. If the neighbors have issues I will remind them of their own noisy dogs, loud music, throaty mufflers, and WEEKLY burning (the smoke blows out of the back neighbor's yard and into mine.

 

[Ponypoor]

Cockerel #3 went to the auction on Saturday, so I am down to the two best looking Speckled Sussex males, three pullets, and 4 Dominique pullets.

When I am home I do notice crowing, on and off, but only if I'm outside. If the neighbors have issues I will remind them of their own noisy dogs, loud music, throaty mufflers, and WEEKLY burning (the smoke blows out of the back neighbor's yard and into mine.

Yep same here!

 

[purefoysgirl]

I wouldn't be without a rooster. My girls free range in the fenced yard during the day, and the roos have always alerted them to danger, overhead or otherwise. When my first roo died at 10 years old and we lost his junior roo, I got little ones. Handling them a lot helped keep them from being aggressive, and I make it a point to pick my rooster up when I can get my hands on him. He gets offended, but he knows I'm not a threat so he doesn't act up with me, plus he was a junior roo first to a more dominant rooster who died of fly strike. The only time we didn't have a rooster, a fox got into the yard, scared one of my girls to death, and tried to drag off another one before I could run out there and scare it away. My rooster, Kenneth, is worth his weight in gold for the good he does my flock.

 

[Ponypoor]

I wouldn't be without a rooster. My girls free range in the fenced yard during the day, and the roos have always alerted them to danger, overhead or otherwise. When my first roo died at 10 years old and we lost his junior roo, I got little ones. Handling them a lot helped keep them from being aggressive, and I make it a point to pick my rooster up when I can get my hands on him. He gets offended, but he knows I'm not a threat so he doesn't act up with me, plus he was a junior roo first to a more dominant rooster who died of fly strike. The only time we didn't have a rooster, a fox got into the yard, scared one of my girls to death, and tried to drag off another one before I could run out there and scare it away. My rooster, Kenneth, is worth his weight in gold for the good he does my flock.

So sorry about the fox, how tragic, but glad you have a good Roo again

 

[Soopermum]

As far as the saddles. I was thinking of getting a couple but they are always fluffing in dirt. I think they would come off. Do they?

Mine have not come off at all. I use Down Under Outdoors Saddles. Some have been on my hens since the middle of winter. They still look like new, except dirty. I also use the shoulder covers. Bandit (our Roo) is a couple of months younger than our oldest hens so it was a learning curve all the way around.