Good for Nothin Rooster!

[Erika Shumway]

So I thought the whole purpose of a rooster, well, other than making babies, was to protect the flock. Well my stupid cat decided to have a blast attacking my chickens today while I was gone and two of my hens have minor injuries, a little bit of blood above their beaks and the poor things traumatized. There were feathers everywhere, but no more than as if they were in a molt.. My loser of a rooster was unscathed, had he shown ANY aggression toward my cat, she would have just ran away, I know she would have, but I imagine once they all had started flapping and running away the chase was just on. He is a bantam cochin rooster, I know a typical docile breed, but I wanted a nicer breed for me and my kids... I thought roosters would "fight to the death" or at least give it a good effort to protect his girls. what the heck is this wuss's deal?

 

[LRH97]

Well to be perfectly honest, most of the time a roo is only truly useful for making babies, eating, and looking pretty. They can potentially offer some protection, but I've never had a roo fight off a predator. They make their nice "alarm" call and warn the flock of danger, but that's about it. I do have a BR roo that will go after the dogs and goats if he's in the right place at the right time, but I've had hawk and fox raids on the flock and him being there hasn't helped much. Don't get me wrong, I think if you are able to keep a roo, you definitely should. They're very rewarding to have around if you have good boys (and a lot of them are), and there are roos out there who have and will give their lives up for their flock, but these are not extremely common, in my experience.

 

[tastyacres]

Out of the 40 summed roosters, I've raised only 6 or so actually protected the flock.

As @LRH97 most just make chicks and are pretty.

 

[junebuggena]

Reality. Roosters should never be considered as protection against predation. They are mostly an early warning system at best, and that's only going to be effective if the hens actually listen to him. A bantam cochin was never going to be the defender you expected him to be.

 

[Erika Shumway]

wow I really misunderstood then... maybe I got the wrong idea because they will fight each other to death over pecking order and are known to get aggressive towards humans which I've heard was fairly common. So why not a measly cat..? the hens sure make plenty of alarming noises when threats are around especially my Barred Rock, she's like a bull dyke of the chicken world, those girls don't need no man with her around. Her first day of introduction to the flock she made herself known as top of the pecking order, including with the rooster. She jumped in the air and kicked him sideways when he tried to dominate her, it was hilarious.. Anyway..

 

[Erika Shumway]

Reality. Roosters should never be considered as protection against predation. They are mostly an early warning system at best, and that's only going to be effective if the hens actually listen to him. A bantam cochin was never going to be the defender you expected him to be.

I guess Ive heard people in different forums talk about their roosters being protective and they are definitely known to be aggressive toward humans (I've personally seen videos) and then there's the whole cock fighting thing, so why do they save their aggression for when it really matters?

 

[Katie’s Coop]

wow I really misunderstood then... maybe I got the wrong idea because they will fight each other to death over pecking order and are known to get aggressive towards humans which I've heard was fairly common. So why not a measly cat..? the hens sure make plenty of alarming noises when threats are around especially my Barred Rock, she's like a bull dyke of the chicken world, those girls don't need no man with her around. Her first day of introduction to the flock she made herself known as top of the pecking order, including with the rooster. She jumped in the air and kicked him sideways when he tried to dominate her, it was hilarious.. Anyway..

Thank you for the hysterical visual of a “Bull Dyke “ hen kick boxing a roo! Lmao!

 

[twisted-acres-farm]

The rooster was probably waiting for your lesbi-hen to tell him what to do sort of like most married men I know.

 

[SueT]

I have a bantam Cochin rooster and he's a total wimp....but I'm very fond of this sweet little fluffball.....getting one of these for protecting the flock would be like getting a toy poodle to be a guard dog, ( :

 

[twisted-acres-farm]

Oh and roosters are always good for chicken soup or dumplings