Are hens happier with a rooster around?

[nccountrygirl]

My little cockerel Moe is a sweet but very flighty OEG. He has just started being "A MAN " in the last 2 months. We give them 2 tubes of crickets every Sat. and he used to be first in line for these tasty morsels, not any more he lets his ladies have them all while he stands guard. What a man.

 

[gmc]

It does depend on the roo. I tried 3 different roo's with my ladies; they fell in love with one, Simbad. He's the smallest of the three White Rock Roo's that I raised this year. It was amazing to watch the difference once they were separated. He will not go into the coop until every lady is accounted for. If an animal steps one foot in the yard, you will now it. I've seen him on two separate occasions get between a predator and the hen. Mating? They stand in line. He does a little dance in circle with one wing dropped and they squat. Simbad's the man! As for the other two, better off without them. Again, depends on the roo. He has his place in the flock.

 

[LeghornGuy]

My hens seem happy with one rooster in the yard.
I have 14 hens and they are happy with one rooster. I had two rooster and it was not a pretty event( a rescued gamecock in the yard ) It caused a lot of tension among the flock.
I gave the gamecock to a guy without a rooster.
I also bring my rooster in on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. ( I like sleeping late on weekends). I have noticed that the hens fight and they are more aggressive with each other when the rooster is caged. When I release the rooster back into the yard, he prevents fighting among the hens. My rooster keeps the peace, protects the ladies, calls the ladies over when food is available and does his duty. (I have 12 leghorn hens and they are usually active and hyper) He seems to keep them calm. I have also had flocks without a rooster and the hens seemed more aggressive. I do not see any difference in egg production because we have always had leghorns and they are laying machines.
Good luck with your flock

 

[Mahtowagal]

I posted a new thread on this too...but just thought I'd chime in on this one for input. I have 11 large 8 month old Cochins that Ive had since 2 days old. I'm new to chickens but all has gone very well so far. We have a beautiful new coop and a predator proof large run area for them. One rooster, 10 hens. I had ordered 11 hens but our roo was a mistake. Anyway, i dont know enough about chickens to compare what is a good roo and what isnt. I mean Cochins, in general, are very docile....and that was one of the main reasons we went with this breed. I have not seen any aggressive behavior other than a quick spat now and then but nothing that upset me to watch and I'm overly sensitive to things like that lol. My roo crows in the morning but not for more than 5-10 minutes usually. He does allow the girls to eat first when I bring their veggies or lettuce out. He is next to them all snugged up on their big branch at night. So I assume he's a very good roo. I can handle him with no trouble...he would never ever be aggressive to me or my husband...just not in his nature at all. But what we HAVE noticed is number one, he is mounting the girls ALL the time it seems....and also, he is on them longer than most I have seen (yes, I've checked out roosters mating on youtube just so I could see what most do!) He takes alot longer....not always, but many times. Tonight, I thought he killed my hen. He was on her for such a long time.... I mean maybe 20-30 seconds...and when he finally got off, she didnt move. I really thought she was dead. Then finally she popped up....but she did not walk normally after that. When she got in to the house and hopped up on the branch, she fell off....twice....and later, took a very long time to make it up again for the night. Dont know if she had a concussion type injury in the fall.... or if she injured something when with the roo. I will be anxious to see how she is in the morning. My dilemma is now do I keep our roo. He has been with them their entire lives..... nice little flock....but they always run away from him and he's always mating one. Not sure whether to leave them be.....or if the girls would be happier without him. We have no predators....as I say, they're in a predator proof area...but of course they dont know that. Maybe they would not feel as safe without him. He has his place on the branch every night...and they have their routines. Just dont want any back injuries.... etc. I am most concerned about physical injuries more than stress.
..

 

[centrarchid]

I suggest the following experiment to look for a preference. If you have a hen only flock, then get a rooster (fully adult) of a normal looking type and tie him out so hen can visit if they so choose. I predict the rooster will quickly get a hens hanging with him with lower ranking hens being the ones finding themselves elsewhere.

 

[azygous]

I know, love, and understand Cochins. They are not only docile, but slow, as in plodding, and naturally lazy, but endearingly so. If one is in a certain position for very long, she will be reluctant to move. They are the turtles of the poultry kingdom.

Very recently, I had to give my Black Cochin Morgan a warm soak when she was gearing up to begin laying after molt because she was acting like she was having trouble getting the first egg out. She settled down in the pan of warm water and was in no hurry to get out or it was just too much effort to move.

If you view the mating ritual of Cochins in this light, then a Cochin cockerel taking his time on a hen really isn't that out of character. Neither is a hen continuing to lie there on the ground afterward. As for her actions on the perch later that evening, what you observed may or may not be directly related to the mating earlier. Like you mention, she does bear observation.

Your eight-month old cockerel is only just embarking on his rooster career. His activity is especially intense beginning now and will continue in this vein over the period of the next year, at the most. Then he will probably settle down considerably. Many poor, over-enthusiastic young cockerels manage to so outrage the sensibilities of their keepers, they usually get themselves terminated before reaching the "mellow" age of 18 months.

Therefore, I recommend segregating your Romeo if you are worried he's too hard on the hens. I find this a very satisfactory arrangement, and it pleases the cockerel, too, as long as he can still talk to the girls through a fence. If you can be patient for a year and then put him back with the girls, you're likely to see the boy has matured and toned down his act considerably.

 

[Mahtowagal]

WOw thank you so much! So... to help me understand... first of all, they do have to be cooped together at night. Will it work to separate them for the day and put together at night or will that cause more than the usual amount of mounting at night while the girls are trying to roost and sleep? So I guess that is the one question.... can I do it just during the day? If not, I have no other option than to leave things as they are. We just dont have a way to coop separately at night.. I mean I suppose if I had to, I could put a piece of plywood up in the coop and divide it in two....and put a roost on both sides....but that would be a PITA....as I have nest boxes on both sides. The hens really need access to the full coop.

 

[Mahtowagal]

I have so much to learn. How would you know if a hen was having trouble getting an egg out? Ours have been laying so well all winter.

 

[azygous]

You know a hen is having trouble getting an egg out the same as you would a person is having trouble with constipation - spending too long on the "delivery device" without producing anything.

In Morgan's case, she spent three consecutive mornings on the nest for well over an hour each time without any egg to show for it. Two days after the "spa" session, she finally laid the first egg, and has been laying regularly since.

After years with chickens, you get a "feel" for these things.

Cochins are so easy-going, you probably only need to segregate the boy during the day and let him continue to roost with the girls. He absolutely will take advantage of the situation, but play it by ear. He may settle down right away, or at least tone it down after a few days of feverish mating to make up for lost time. See how it goes before deciding on the next level.

I've solved the problem of lack of a bachelor coop by partitioning off one end of the coop, and my roo quickly learned to come out of his pen, walk around like a good boy, on his own, and hop into his end of the coop each night without incident. Roosters are incredibly smart and quickly pick up new routines with no real effort on anyone's part.

 

[Mahtowagal]

thank you! Well, I did have one of my black girls sitting for much of the day yesterday but no egg.... unfortunately, I have 6 whites and 3 blacks that look fairly identical. Only one of my black girls has a blacker head so I can distinguish her from the rest of the girls...but that is it. So no idea if she laid today. I got 6 eggs today...and a normal day now is 5-8. I will do a video some time this week and post it! Then maybe you can give me your opinion of my Arctic's behavior with the girls.