Would a rooster help?

[rachellou76]

Hello! I am new here. I have had chickens for about a year. We started with a Jersey giant, a Brahma, and 6 baby red pullets (golden comets maybe?) We acquired about a month ago 19 more chickens (Easter Eggers, a Buff Orphington, a few Black australorps, a silkie, and a black Cochin rooster) from my husband's cousin, then last weekend got the rest of his chickens including 9 Leghorns. We now have 50 hens and 1 rooster.

Last night, a possum was in a nesting box. We saw how he got in so we are going to secure it tonight. But after we were in bed, something pulled an Easter Egger through the nesting box (they are built so eggs roll out) and bit off her head. We are guessing it's a raccoon. We are in northeast Ohio and don't have bobcats or anything like that.

Would a more aggressive rooster help keep out predators? I love the Cochin but he's so docile and slow moving. He doesn't even crow. Would it be ok to keep two roosters together? Thanks!!!

 

[Nupe]

You can have 1 rooster for every 10-15 hens easily as long as you have the space but as far as helping to keep the predators away, it probably wouldn't help. They have good warning instincts during the day but they're all pretty brain dead at night. You're best bet is to secure your coop better. Close up all the gaps with hardware cloth so you don't choke off ventilation.

 

[janiebug53]

Wouldn'tthe roosters get eaten ? I would try an animal trap, then you can find out what it is and dispose of it. Racoons are pretty mean, and I always worry about them getting my birds. maybe the scent of my dogs in the yard keeps them at bay, I'm not sure, because I dont leave them out all night.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Roosters are more of a "warning" system for the flock than a predator deterrent - and if one does engage with predators it is generally at the expense of their own life. It is far more effective to deter predators with barriers (fencing) and a secure coop/run for night hours (a rooster will be no more effective at predator deterrence than a hen when at roost) or an animal more equipped to deal with predators (LGD, etc) than to try to use roosters for such a use.

 

[torilovessmiles]

Like others are saying, roosters are mainly a warning system, and most are of little protection at night. However, my rooster is a light sleeper and will start crowing if he hears anything making noise around the coop, so it's possible another rooster could help. I don't think he would be able to do much if a raccoon got in the coop, though, short of throwing himself in it's mouth. If you do get another rooster, however, I wouldn't go for the aggression, but how attentive and vigilant he is.
More effective would be to trap or shoot the animals that have found your coop.
You mentioned your coop was designed so the eggs fall out, could you build a sort of "trap door" mechanism that you can lift when you go to collect the eggs?

 

[rachellou76]

Ok, thanks! We are going to secure the coop better and set a live trap. He had to shoot a possum that got in last night. He had himself burrowed into one of the nesting boxes.

 

[gimmie birdies]

we just got a rooster...Bruce he is black Australorp

on our farm we have an old cat that is not doing her job. so we have chipmunks. This rooster first day went on chipmunk patrol. He seems very responsible

 

[animals1981]

i use to think they would but they get killed and eaten so quick and easy

it's harsh seeing that, specially at night even weasels can kill game fowl they don't fight back at night

only dogs or maybe a big donkey watch over them at night and I do not lose them ever not in years but we get a lot of coywolves here

 

[rachellou76]

My husband set a trap last night and he went back into the barn (the coop is inside our barn) and saw the raccoon climbing in. He didn't have a gun with him or he would have shot it. The coon never came back last night and we have all our chickens this morning.

 

[animals1981]

i saw big roosters spur some dogs really hard but the dogs just treated them like they were trying to play seems predators have thick skin unlike us the spurs and attack doesnt really bug them or do much to them,

I keep hearing that there is a breed like A RIR that loves to hunt rodents i forgot the name they are rare if you can get them the chicks would really sell. Buckeye.