Decided to keep one of the roosters, help?

[Ciqala]

This is our first time with chickens and we've decided to keep one of the roosters, they're about 6-8wks old right now. He'll have 9 hens, and I have a bunch of questions lol. What are the pros/cons of having a rooster in with your hens? Is it okay for him to eat layer food when the hens are ready to go on it?

How often do roosters like to mate? Is it a seasonal thing for them? Having nine hens to himself, should it be a concern the hens would get sore from his 'advances'? I've heard roosters can be real sons of a gun, now that I know what he is I am making it a point to handle him more and befriend him while he's young but can anyone share any other advice so I can have hope in raising a nice boy? Any and all advice to this newbie in regards to roos would be greatly appreciated.

 

[SIMZ]

9 hens is a good number for him, but they tend to pick favorites, so you have to watch. Our roosters eat layer feed with the hens and seem to do fine. I love (nice) roosters, and can't imagine keeping chickens without at least one.

 

[Mrs. K]

I would not befriend him, I know it seems counter intuitive, but if a rooster in not intimidated by you, he will try and dominate you. And that can get ugly.

I am not saying you can't handle him, you can, but it needs to be on your terms, and you need to play the dominant role. He needs to back away from you, he needs to move out of your way, don't let him breed in front of you.

Read on this forum, and you will find countless posts of friendly roosters, perfect pets going from that to a nightmare in a heart beat.

Mrs K

 

[Ciqala]

Thanks folks. I'm glad he'll be okay eating layer feed, being a male does he need another feed offered to him that'll be okay for the hens too? I completely get what you're saying Mrs. K, and was wondering that very thing myself because it makes more sense to me but the few people I know near me who keep chickens were telling me otherwise.

Do roosters only mate at certain times of the year, or is it year round? At what age do they get their hormones and start acting like true roosters? I want to be prepared as possible as this is all so new to me.

 

[SIMZ]

Sometimes I'll give my roosters special treats, but they usually drop it for the hens unless you take them somewhere by themselves. They can be such gentlemen.

They will start trying to breed around 15 (?) weeks and will breed all the time, anytime of year, and anytime of day.

 

[donrae]

Mrs K and I have very similar thoughts on raising roosters. Do not try to make a pet of him and always have him respect you.

Puberty hits anywhere from 4-7 months on average. What breed is he? Some of the larger breeds mature more slowly--cochins, brahmas, etc. You'll see hackle and saddle feathers growing, and he'll start trying to mate. It will be clumsy and awkward at first and the hens might be resistive and noisy. The early efforts can be hard to watch! Eventually, he should court them by approaching them with one wing dropped, making a crooning sound. If she's receptive, she'll squat for him. He grabs the back of her head and mount with both feet. They mate and he dismounts, she shakes off and that's that. When he's in the throes of puberty, he'll mate multiple times a day. Mating is most vigorous in the spring, but they do mate year round. 9 hens should be fine, but sometimes they choose a favorite and she get bare backed. At that point you'll need to decide how to manage that--separate, etc.

When he hits puberty is when he's likely to challenge you. If you had the chance to watch an older rooster with a youngster, you'd see the older roo just haul off and chase the young one around every so often. No physical contact, just saying "I'm the boss of you". I encourage you to do that to your roo. Not chase per se, but push him away with your personal space. Make him yield to you, walk toward him until he moves away, then keep making him move away. Push him away from the food sometimes. Let him eat treats, etc only when you invite him. Don't let him sidle up to you with one wing dropped. If he tries it, push him away fast. That's unacceptable behavior.

 

[Mrs. K]

Yes, Donrae, we do agree! Right now, I have a questionable rooster, what is questionable is if he will live til fall. I would like to keep him till fall, but frankly he is not quite as respectful as I would like. Sometimes you get a roo, that is too aggressive for his own good.

 

[donrae]

I've got one who was on my keeper list, but he's tweaking my radar now also. Hasn't made a move at all, but I'm more aware of him than I like when I turn my back to leave the coop. Time's coming to thin the herd and he may well go. I've got 8 eggs under a broody, so I'm pretty sure I'll have some replacement. I've also thought of picking up an oops easter egger rooster from someone local, it's about the time when folks will be realizing hatchery sexing isn't 100%

 

[Hayduke27]

I didn't know about how to raise roos either. I have 1 Welly roo with 12 hens, they are 5 weeks old, and he is a cool little bird. All the same, I am going to remember to keep him in check! Thanks for the good tips!

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I've had many, many roosters so here's my advice:

This is our first time with chickens and we've decided to keep one of the roosters, they're about 6-8wks old right now. He'll have 9 hens, and I have a bunch of questions lol. What are the pros/cons of having a rooster in with your hens? Pros: fertile eggs, interceeds in chicken fights before they get bloody, gives the predator alarm and herds hens to safety, MIGHT fight off a predator, flock dynamics just seem to work better, roosters are cute when they find treats for their hens, roosters are beautiful. Cons: You might not be able to sleep with your windows open ever again because of crowing at 4am. Aggressive roosters, to humans or hens, are worse than no roosters at all. Is it okay for him to eat layer food when the hens are ready to go on it? Absolutely. It's not the very best thing for him, but he'll do fine.

How often do roosters like to mate? As often as they possibly can. Like every five minutes. Is it a seasonal thing for them? Bwa ha ha ha ha! No. Having nine hens to himself, should it be a concern the hens would get sore from his 'advances'? Not sore, but they might lose feathers on their backs even with nine hens. Seems like people care about this much more than hens do. I've heard roosters can be real sons of a gun, now that I know what he is I am making it a point to handle him more and befriend him while he's young but can anyone share any other advice so I can have hope in raising a nice boy? DON'T handle him. This is the wrong way to go about it. Mostly ignore him. Don't be his friend. No pets, no lap time, and for goodness' sake, no letting him on your shoulder. You want him to be a little bit afraid of you. Not so afraid that he is stressed when you're around, but skittish. The best way I can describe it is that he'll come running for treats when you call, but will move away from you when you move towards him. If you search for "rooster attack" or similar here on BYC, the common thread running through most of those stories is that the rooster was "so sweet" "so friendly" "best friends" when he was young, then turned when he matured. Don't be his friend, be his boss. If he thinks he can intimidate you so that you'll let him be the boss of the flock, he will attack you. Aggressive roosters have absolutely no place in a backyard. If you get an aggressive rooster, rehome him to your crockpot or someone else's and try again. There are so many kind roosters in the world that are culled every day, it will be easy to replace him to one you and your hens don't have to worry about.

I also second everything that Mrs. K and donrae have to say. They have very similar philosophies on rooster-raising to me. I keep 3-4 roosters at a time, all in the same layer flock, and have two little kids. I don't put up with aggressive roosters.