Does keeping a roo make for a happier flock?

[clucknpeck]

By the end of April all my breeds will have come in and I will have 18 chicks. Though I was only going to have 15 I was offered 5 free chicks and I couldn't say no. All the others are pullets but the freebies were straight run so chances are I will have at least one rooster. Now that I possibly have a rooster I have been trying to figure out if I should keep one. It is allowed in my county and I live on an acre.
What are the pros and cons of having a roo?
Are the hens happier with a rooster around?
Is there any difference in eating fertilized eggs?

(btw I hope this is the right forum for this question... It seemed right.)

 

[ForgottenGlen]

Fertilized eggs do not taste any different than regular eggs. Roosters will watch over the girls and signal for danger, even if it is something trying to get into the run or coop. The downside is that they do (usually) crow and make noise... which despite my unwillingness, you do get used to. I don't know if my hens are any happier, but they are safer, and that makes me happy!

Plus, when there's only one rooster, they don't really crow that much.

 

[Kaitie09]

I feel like a "real" farm when my roo crows in the mornings. Mine do not free range very often, so he really has nothing to protect them from. I do notice that he spends his days scratching for bugs to give to his girls.

Lately, he has been leading escapes when I open the the run door. He takes 5 or 6 hens with him, and rushes them to the fresh grass before I get a change to shoo them back in.

 

[ForgottenGlen]

at Katie! When my girl Daisy was hurt, she couldn't use her leg well, but she was okay with the flock. One of my roos would go pick up table scraps and bring them over and set them down in front of her so she wouldn't miss out! Made me cry it was sooo cute!

 

[clucknpeck]

Awww you guys sound like you have awesome roosters!
Aren't roosters generally pretty mean?

 

[ForgottenGlen]

Awww you guys sound like you have awesome roosters!
Aren't roosters generally pretty mean?

To intruders, or other roosters, that's their job. You have to keep them in line, I've only had my roo try to "buck" at me one time... I kicked him... he didn't do it again. We have a good relationship. I used to have a roo that was a bantam (Napoleon complex), and he always bucked at me... I made soup out of him!

They have spurs, and I have a child, I cannot let them get out of line.

 

[Kaitie09]

To intruders, or other roosters, that's their job. You have to keep them in line, I've only had my roo try to "buck" at me one time... I kicked him... he didn't do it again. We have a good relationship. I used to have a roo that was a bantam (Napoleon complex), and he always bucked at me... I made soup out of him!

They have spurs, and I have a child, I cannot let them get out of line.

Mine got testy with me one time too. I ended up "accidentally" throwing him hard enough that he hit a wall in the coop. He has never tried it since.

 

[jstagrl8110]

How many roosters per hens would you suggest?

 

[Kaitie09]

How many roosters per hens would you suggest?

Right now, I have 1 rooster for 18 hens. To keep eggs fertilized, the maximum a roo need is 10 hens.

 

[jstagrl8110]

Thank you Katie. Right now we have 1 rooster, 5 hens, and 11, 4 week old henns ready to be added to our flock.