Do roos attract predators?

[sunnydee]

I was talking to a guy at our local Agway yesterday. I was telling him how I am not sure if I have a roo or not yet, blah blah blah. He then told me that if I did have a roo, I better be prepared for more predators. He said the crowing of a roo would attract them. Any truth to this??

 

[Buster]

Quote:
I personally don't think so. Predators will be able to hear your chickens no matter what. I think that the only predators a roo may attract would be the two legged type. A roo will actually defend your flock better than the hens ever could. It's one of his two main jobs in life. Good luck to you. I just love my roos. I free range a lot of my birds and have not had a predator problem to date, and I always have a roo out there.

 

[sunnydee]

thanks for your input. I walked away scratching my head thinking roos would protect more than harm.

 

[RoyalHillsLLC]

I am not sure there isn't something to it. I have lost every rooster I have had to predation. I am not sure if they are protecting the flock, or just attracting the most attention, or what. I am bout to decide size affects their safety too. My smallest birds seem to be the ones that disappear first. In other words, a small rooster just can't make it.

 

[LoneCowboy]

I was also told that white chickens attract more predators. I'm not sure I see any truth in that either.

 

[RoyalHillsLLC]

That is true when they are trying to hide. White does not blend in well (no camouflage).
I think a variety of factors affect which ones the predators will go after, but color can affect it.

 

[sunnydee]

OH no...dont tell me that...I have 3 WHITE leghorns......

 

[RoyalHillsLLC]

Quote:
I had three two weeks ago. Now I have two. I still like them though, as they are great egglayers.

 

[Buster]

I think that roos die more in predator attacks because they are doing their job by protecting their ladies. That's one of the things I look for in a rooster that is going to be over my layer flock who free range around my place- Does he stick up for his women?

 

[BearSwampChick]

My only predator attack, so far (knocks on wood), has been on my one and only cockeral by a red-tailed hawk. He escaped unharmed, just lost a few tail feathers. He is pretty camouflaged being a silver-laced Wyandotte (he doesn't have a lot of white on him yet) and I don't think he was really protecting the flock, so to speak. He was only 12 weeks old at the time. They were under a canopy of trees at the time, but the hawk was lurking on a branch above. No sound, just swoop and grab. DH was even sitting nearby and that was the only reason Henry escaped unscathed, because he scared the hawk away. It hasn't been back since it got tangled up in the deer netting over the run a week or so later. Probably off somewhere plotting its next attempt!

I didn't get any white chickens because of the lack of camouflage, but the BOs and the Comets stick out like a beacon, too.