Give me the truth about roosters

[MarlaMac]

A roosters job isn't just to protect the flock its to reproduce and teach the young to respect the hierarchy of the flock.Keeping a rooster is not practical nor advised in all flocks

This is true. Cogburn is a great teacher of the young raised in our flock. But since I choose not to harvest, I will add young pullets (hopefully introduce them under a broody) for the same effect. As Cogburn ages, I will allow some of our eggs to hatch and raise a boy (or two) from them.

 

[McChooky]

This here is exactly why I choose meat from local farms. Pasture raised, grass fed, humanely harvested. I do not buy meat from mass producers.

I moved back to small town in WV after retiring and got chickenss

 

[McChooky]

We’re moving toward this (my husband somewhat reluctantly), and the higher cost helps us also shift our diets to more plant-based. Not that produce is cheap…

Organic is expensive.The rest is gmo or laced with pesticides if you don't grow it yourself.

 

[Mrs. K]

I think it is the luck of the draw, and what you want with your flock. Some people never have predators and I have hit hard multiple times.

There is really nothing you can say as true for all roosters. Some are good, a few are flock masters, and a lot are rotten.

Some are good at flock dynamics and flock protection and some are not. Mine have been good against hawks and eagles, but not against coyotes and coon.

Many people talk about a hen stepping up, but mine never have.

I do think a rooster 3.5 years is getting old.

Try it without a rooster and see, roosters are pretty easy to come by if you don’t like a rooster less flock.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I think you already know the answer to that one. An all female flock is a dead-end from a natural perspective.

Well ... yes and no. That particular flock can't reproduce naturally, but ... you can always order pullet chicks from a hatchery and raise them, or buy hatching eggs and incubate them or give them to a broody hen ... there are certainly ways of keeping even an all-hen flock going.

 

[McChooky]

Baby chicks recognize the broody hens voice before they hatch. They also communicate back and forth while the chicks are in the shell. The golden standard for raising chickens is to raise your own chicks from eggs fertilized by your roosters. There are many other ways to make it all work obviously but roosters have an important role in the flock.

 

[McChooky]

My rooster visited the broody and chicks soon as she came off the nest. He made momma a nest for them to lay in and started called them for tidbits. He still escorts her and the chicks and moves the flock away from her so the chicks have more room.She has yanked a few feathers when one got too close

 

[Altairsky]

Perris covered pretty much all points.
I free range my birds and I'd never let them out without a rooster. A good rooster is essential for a healthy flock.
If you have a rooster, you can forget about bullies. If 2 hens are fighting, he'll take care of that. If a pullet is chasing young chicks, he will take care of that. If a gluttonous hen is eating all the treats and not letting the smaller girls have any of them, the rooster will take care of that.
With a rooster, I can forget about hawks. I've never lost a single chick to a predator.

I also think it's animal abuse to never let a broody hen hatch babies. It's their nature to reproduce. If they go broody, they must have babies to be happy. At least once a year, a broody should be let have babies.
I also think we should learn how to cull. I find it to be extremely hypocritical to pay someone to do the filthy job and eat the meat someone else killed. If I ever lost the will to kill an animal for meat, I'd go vegetarian because I can't stand the idea to eat meat without being able to do the deed myself.

 

[MarlaMac]

My rooster visited the broody and chicks soon as she came off the nest. He made momma a nest for them to lay in and started called them for tidbits. He still escorts her and the chicks and moves the flock away from her so the chicks have more room.She has yanked a few feathers when one got too close

I have seen Cogburn do this too. It is really very sweet.

 

[MarlaMac]

I do think a rooster 3.5 years is getting old.

Interesting. I was thinking 7 years would be old.