Why Have a Rooster?

[kodster]

I have several roosters, of different breeds. I only have one that is aggressive, and he's the lead rooster, the oldest. And the only one he is aggressive towards is ME. LOL! He gets his time-outs as needed, but other than that, I am quite aware of what he likes to do to try to take me down in the pecking order, so I make sure that he doesn't get those opportunities... like when I'm leaving the run after filling their waterer and feeders, he likes to jump on my back, so I never turn my back on him. He is, in reality, a coward by doing the sneaky crap. The other roosters? They're not aggressive at all, but they do keep their distance. I only realized in the last week that I have another rooster... he was in my last batch of pullets I received from the hatchery, and I thought he was a pullet, because he never had any indicator he was male, until he started crowing in front of me in the chicken coop when I was collecting eggs last week. What a surprise! But because I spent time socializing with him, I can reach down and scratch his back when he's hanging with the girls, like I do with all my girls.

I keep them because of all of the reasons that are listed here. I keep checking with my neighbors to see if they're annoyed by the crowing, and each and every one of them tell me 'No! We love hearing them!' I live in a small rural community of 250 people, so we're considered to be 'out in the country', and they like the sounds. BTW, just as an anecdote... I'm called 'The Egg Lady' out here in the county. Everyone who wants farm-fresh eggs comes to me to get them. I haven't been at the Farmer's Market in a couple of years now, walked into the election polling place earlier this year to vote in the primaries, and no sooner get across the threshold, ALL of the precinct workers, in unison... 'It's the Egg Lady!' My husband got the hugest grin and kick out of the recognition.

 

[Deborah G]

I would increase the number if you want a male. 3 hens may not be enough for him.

Only 100% reason is because obviously if you want to hatch your own chicks, the hens need a boyfriend.

I keep them together unless they're an extra that isn't staying or if I have to kennel birds for their safety

Yes, well.... I don't because I'm lazy. But yes.

All day, every day

Roosters can be iffy. They aren't all mean, but they're certainly not all nice either. And don't get a bantam because they're smaller. They may be less than a pound of angry, but that pound of angry can get airborne quite easily.

Double down on all these answers and I personally love my rooster because he has so much more personality then the girls, he does protect them from what he can and got a fox to his throat for doing it-and yes all day long mating occurs along with crowing so mine is kept in the garage until all the neighbors are most likely up.

 

[Chapel Oak Farms]

Hello, I am new to chickens. I only have three hens. Is there a reason to have a rooster? If you have a rooster do you keep him with all the hens, or do you have to separate them? Do you still collect eggs each day? How often will the rooster be mating with the hens? Any advice on the advantages to having a rooster vs not having one is helpful? Thank you!

I agree with the responses that advise getting more hens if you add a rooster. The ratio should be more like one roo for 8-10 hens because they do really mate about 40 times per day.

If you can buy chicks and can include one male and raise him from a chick then, in my experience, he'll understand: 1) That you're at the top of the pecking order. 2) You can watch him as he grows to see his behavior.

Cockerels seem aggressive when they come of age and start to mate but usually, they figure everything out quickly and the flock is happy. We had a cockerel that was very tall and awkward and because of his size, he accidentally hurt a couple of hens during mating. We had to separate him into a separate run. He was not aggressive though.

 

[Corin1110]

Hello, I am new to chickens. I only have three hens. Is there a reason to have a rooster? If you have a rooster do you keep him with all the hens, or do you have to separate them? Do you still collect eggs each day? How often will the rooster be mating with the hens? Any advice on the advantages to having a rooster vs not having one is helpful? Thank you!

I like having roosters because they will fight anything to protect the hens. It at least buys them time to get to safety. Yes he will sacrifice his life for them if you gave a good rooster. I love the crowing in the morning and the hens seem happier with him.

Be careful what breed you get though. Rhode Island Reds and Black Australorp are my favorites because they are gentle and the hens lay well. I got a Golden comet rooster as a bonus chick once and he was horrible. He was mean to the hens and attacked us.

 

[lifein1840]

Hello, I am new to chickens. I only have three hens. Is there a reason to have a rooster? If you have a rooster do you keep him with all the hens, or do you have to separate them? Do you still collect eggs each day? How often will the rooster be mating with the hens? Any advice on the advantages to having a rooster vs not having one is helpful? Thank you!

If I could keep a rooster, I would. That being said, when I was where I could have roosters, I never kept any that got aggressive. I tried to stop aggression in a few roosters and it never worked, in some cases, they just became meaner.
The reasons I would keep a rooster if I could are: I am just weird enough that I like to hear a rooster crow - and they don't just crow in the morning, it's ALL DAY LONG. I think they really are great protection for the hens. I like the way they call the hens if they find a good snack. They stop hen squabbles. If you have a good tempered rooster of a breed you want to continue, you will get good tempered chicks!
If you are going to get a rooster, you should have 10 - 12 hens for him, otherwise, he may really over mate your hens. Just remember, don't put up with a mean rooster - someone WILL get hurt eventually.

 

[Jiggi]

Hello, I am new to chickens. I only have three hens. Is there a reason to have a rooster? If you have a rooster do you keep him with all the hens, or do you have to separate them? Do you still collect eggs each day? How often will the rooster be mating with the hens? Any advice on the advantages to having a rooster vs not having one is helpful? Thank you!

No the rooster isn't necessary. He's just loud and causes the eggs to have cholesterol when fertilized.

 

[3KillerBs]

causes the eggs to have cholesterol when fertilized.

There is no nutritional difference between a fertilized egg and an unfertilized egg.

 

[tlcmurphy]

No the rooster isn't necessary. He's just loud and causes the eggs to have cholesterol when fertilized.

All eggs have cholesterol.
We had a rooster, he was a funny boy and kept the girls in line. But we live in Atlanta and hubby worked from home, so we had to rehome him at 6 months old or so. Once he left, the hen at the top of the pecking order became a real a$$ hat, she’s far more obnoxious than our rooster ever was!

 

[PorkchopsPappy]

Hello, I am new to chickens. I only have three hens. Is there a reason to have a rooster? If you have a rooster do you keep him with all the hens, or do you have to separate them? Do you still collect eggs each day? How often will the rooster be mating with the hens? Any advice on the advantages to having a rooster vs not having one is helpful? Thank you!

In my experience, the only reason to have a rooster is if you are attempting have chicks. With only 3 hens, the rooster will constantly be attempting mate and will probably hurt or kill the hens. They spur the hens to hold on and it will rip the hens up and some times it will get infected. Basically, need about 1 rooster per 12 or more hens. You can despur the rooster every 3-6 months. They won't harm the hens that way... Hoped my experience helped...

 

[JacinLarkwell]

In my experience, the only reason to have a rooster is if you are attempting have chicks. With only 3 hens, the rooster will constantly be attempting mate and will probably hurt or kill the hens. They spur the hens to hold on and it will rip the hens up and some times it will get infected. Basically, need about 1 rooster per 12 or more hens. You can despur the rooster every 3-6 months. They won't harm the hens that way... Hoped my experience helped...

They do not spur the hens to hold on. They hold on by grabbing the feathers. The spurs aren't for breeding at all.

As for needing 12 hens per male, that is not a requirement, especially with gentle breeders