Adding a rooster?

[6 Rockin Chicks]

I have 6 hens who are about 11 months old and I am thinking about adding a rooster (a friend ended up with 4 last spring). They will all be roughly the same age and free range. Any words of wisdom? Will my neighbors come after me for the crowing? I'm a bit nervous.

 

[jetdog]

I live in a residential neighborhood and my neighbor "had" a rooster, he had to get rid of him after the neighbors were yelling out their windows in the morning, I guess it all depends where you live and how warm and fuzzy you are with your neighbors.

 

[6 Rockin Chicks]

Thanks! We are in a town where homes are on 1+ acre lots. I do hear other roosters within a 1/2 mile radius of us. My neighbors don't mind my girls eating their ticks, etc., but not sure about a rooster crowing... I can already sense the pitch fork sharpening as I type this. Yikes! I just read someone's post that said you shouldn't get a rooster if you don't have at least 10 hens. That may be a good excuse not to get one, but it would be great for them to have a "protector."

 

[loveoutdoor]

Avoid getting a Rooster due to low hen numbers and your neighbors will hate the noise. My hens do just fine free ranging without a Rooster and they've survived hawk attacks. We're on 10+ acre lots and my neighbors are happy I decided to stop keeping roosters.

 

[cafarmgirl]

If your main reason for a rooster is for him to be a protector then I'd skip it. Roosters cannot physically protect hens from attack by predators, at best they may act as an early warning system to allow hens to hide, they often loose their own lives doing so. And some roosters will beat the hens back to the barn if danger threatens! Many roosters are also a big pain in the backside to have around once the hormones hit in terms of challenging and attacking you. Yes, some are decent, but many are not! It's also common, especially in small flocks, for the rooster to have a hen or two that are his favorites and those can really get run ragged by to much rooster attention. As far as whether or not your neighbors would be upset by the crowing? I guess you'd have to ask them. Are the chickens free ranging onto the nieghbor's property or is there a fence?

I guess my advice is to really think it over before you get a rooster as far as the crowing, dealing with rooster attitude etc and that you only have 6 hens. I have a rooster with my current flock, when he is gone I'm going back to hens only.

 

[dekel18042]

Two questions:
1. Are roosters allowed where you live?
2. If you're concerned about the neighbors, why don't you just ask them?

 

[City farm]

We must say that we absoulutly love our Clark Kent mixed rooster.. We hactch out new babies with our flock.. We give them away for free to new chicken owners.. Along with providing free eggs to teachers that use them in class for a lesson. Jungle fowl rooster are suppose to have more heightened senses, better at being able to escape from preditors.. We live in a city & we have asked our neighbors if he bothers you let us know.. So far everyone says they love the sound. All though we are in a metropolitan busy area.. Right by A.S.U. We have sirens, airplanes, light rail, fire station, traffic, & a loud car wash near by.. Plus our dogs & neighbors dogs make way more noise than our chickens & rooster.. Yes 10 or more hens is nest, so i gues you will be adding huh?? Chicken math happening right before your eyes..He does favor certain hens and they have the marks to prove it.. One time he must of grabbed on our B.C.M. Comb, it did bleed for about a half of a day.. She is fine.. I do like the relationship of having a rooster. He does step in when needed.. Their communication is fun to watch when he alerts the flock to over head birds.. Our rooster is hand raised & the only time he came after me was when I was sick.. Sometimes if I have something new in my hand he will gesture like "huh, what is THAT" I just wait for him to look at it, then he goes about his bussiness tending to his flock.. I would not let a rooster around small children & if new people come around I do keep a closer eye on him.. No problems with that. Actually he will let our dog walk right by him and the girls... If you do get a rooster adding or taking away from your flock is better done at night once they have put themselves to bed.. Get one from someone that has handled him.. AND dont be afraid of him, he will sense it..Hay, if he does not work out you can call him Dinner.. Keep us posted...