do you enjoy having a rooster or regret it?

[cfluff]

I’m looking for good, bad, and ugly experiences. I want a rooster for hawk protection so I can let the girls free range a bit more. I currently have 3 silver laced Wyandotte hens and am planning to get 3/4 more hens beginning of next year and possibly a rooster. I live on 8 acres in the country so no hoa or bylaws to contend with. Do you feel like having a rooster made enjoying your hens harder to do?
My hens treat me like their rooster (doing the little mating plop if I so much as wave a hand in their direction) and follow me willingly back to their coop after I let them out to free range for an hour or so. I’ll be a little sad if they are more interested in the rooster than me but maybe the rooster will be the same if I raise them? I’m interested in getting another silver laced roo or an Easter egger roo and Easter egger ladies. I kind of like that my Wyandotte’s are on the more skittish/wary side (don’t enjoy being picked up but will come up to me and sit on my legs), and I think maybe a Wyandotte rooster would be more watchful because of that.

I enjoy my roosters.now I have met a mean mean rooster who would sneak up behind you and attack. He is stunningly beautiful ....but you have to watch your back when you visit.

 

[ziggywiggy1]

Since you enjoy your hens on such a personal level, you don't really need a rooster. Finding a nice, human friendly rooster is difficult to find. Roosters don't really protect the hens from the flock-the dominant hen is more alert to her surroundings. The rooster is usually looking out for other roosters who might be checking out his hens. Roosters are beautiful but can have an attitude toward people that many backyard chicken owners do not want to deal with. If you truly want to add a rooster to your flock, find an older one whose personality is well established and you know what you are getting.

This is what I’m worried about, but it seems like from the info I’m getting I’ll get my new ladies beginning next year and then I’ll be on the hunt for an older gent that needs a home rather than raising my own. Seems like they go through some hormonal stages as youngsters so I might just skip that altogether.
I do think I still want one, even if it just means they‘re a pretty addition to the flock. I think if I were attacked or a friend was I would have no issue serving that roo for dinner.

 

[RubelliteRose]

We are on our 3rd try to have a rooster in our flock. The first two we ordered and unfortunately, both had to be culled. One for severe scissor beak and the other became a jerk. Our third was hatched by us and is only 3 months old, so keeping my fingers crossed. No matter what you decide, make sure you have plenty of cover for your flock when they do free range. We have some shrubs, but are in the process of planting more. In our area, wax myrtle and American beautyberry grow fairly quickly and are chicken safe shrubs. We also set up pallet tents and built a plywood table for them to hide under in case of a hawk sighting. We did lose one pullet to a hawk last year. It was awful, but the flock did learn to be MUCH more aware while they were running around. During a recent hawk visit, the hen who witnessed the attack last year, herded our pullets into some bushes and kept them so quiet we had a hard time finding them.

 

[Mrs. K]

Thinking of this post this morning. I was out on the frosty deck, with my cup of coffee, wishing I could hear my rooster crow. I do love a good rooster.

I love the sound of the crow - but it is a long ways from my house. So there is that to keep in mind, I hope you get a good one!

 

[3KillerBs]

Thinking of this post this morning. I was out on the frosty deck, with my cup of coffee, wishing I could hear my rooster crow. I do love a good rooster.

I love the sound of the crow - but it is a long ways from my house. So there is that to keep in mind, I hope you get a good one!

Part of my rooster choice criteria is the tone of the crow.

I can't stand a shrill rooster. So far I've gotten lucky but I've lived near shrill roosters once or twice.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I love my boys, all 20(?) of them
If I didn't, I'd eat them since they crow constantly and eat a ton of feed.

But the ones I don't enjoy (aggressive ones, ones with flaws or just extras I don't need or want) get eaten or sold.

I find flocks act different with a rooster than without, and a good rooster respects people too, such makes watching and interacting with the flock nicer too

 

[Poultrybonkers]

A rooster will not protect hens from predators they will save themselves thats it. I rotate males every year as I only use them for breeding. They dont serve any other purpose to me

 

[cfluff]

This is what I’m worried about, but it seems like from the info I’m getting I’ll get my new ladies beginning next year and then I’ll be on the hunt for an older gent that needs a home rather than raising my own. Seems like they go through some hormonal stages as youngsters so I might just skip that altogether.
I do think I still want one, even if it just means they‘re a pretty addition to the flock. I think if I were attacked or a friend was I would have no issue serving that roo for dinner.

Yes I think they go through a sort of an adolescent stage .....

 

[Aunt Angus]

I love roosters, and you'll find tons of them that need homes, so you shouldn't have a problem there. And you'll be saving a life, which is a plus in my view.

I have a rooster. Like so many others, he was an accident. I don't like him much. He's mean sometimes. Most folks would have despatched him long ago, but I feel responsible for the little snot. It helps that he's tiny because he can't hurt me. But I do regret having him, even if he was well-behaved. Here's why:

• I don't intend to breed because my flock is for eggs. If I let them breed, I'd have many more roosters. I don't eat them, either, so I'd be hard pressed to figure out what to do with them.
• I don't need them for protection. My girls are just fine for spotting hawks and alerting the rest of the flock. I've seen them do this when the rooster was in the covered run and couldn't see the hawk.
• He adds stress to my flock, especially in the spring when his hormones are raging.
• Roosters often pluck hens' feathers when mating them. My girls' feathers aren't pristine anymore.

That's been my experience with my lil fella. As I said, I love roosters, and I may have a bachelor flock someday. But my girls and I certainly don't *need* one.

 

[Lunah452]

In defense of the roosters, I started a bachelor coop this year. I had to cull quite a few last year for aggression, I was hoping to see better attitudes.
So far without the hens, there hasn't been any aggression only respectful wariness. They seem to be getting along surprisingly well and the only fights have been minor with a few pecked combs. I'm hoping the ones that are feeling hormonal and stupid, might settle down if given some time. All these guys are still fairly young yet so time will tell.