Hello everyone, first let me say a big thanks to all for the help you have given us from our start!! Love this site! Just now getting a chance to sit down and join. I am a SAHM (stay at home momma) of three wonderful long haired little boys who army little farmers Shiloh 7, Asher 5, and Caleb 2 and a wonderful husband of 11 yrs, Eric who is my best friend. We already had 2 cats Sasha and Boo Boots (the one I had to bottle feed from a day old because I scared his momma off by accident), 4 dogs, Hope the weenie, Tinkerbell the collie mix pound pup, Roxie the mutt found and knowing claimed, and our 2 oldest gals that were are fur babies before the kids...Georgia the best Heinz 57 dog ever and Bella our accidental guard dog (Great Pyrenees/Blue Heeler mix). And our latest addition Suki the 11 wk old Great Pyrenees/Anatolian mix. We have been trying to do as much as we can and more to keep healthy and be healthy naturally. We try to use as minimal chemicals on everything from us to the dogs to the yard. We have added a new addition our mini farm...we are also not able to free range so built a chicken tractor for the hens. Chickens are eating organic chick start and food scrapes. Ducks are eating bird starter. Our Hens (May 4, 2014) live in a Chicken Tractor 2 white silkies 1 Rhode Island Red 2 barred rock 2 mixed Americana/buff Orpington 1 silver laced Wyandotte 2 americanas Ducks (May 8, 2014) live in a duck-a-tat (converted dog run) 1 crested Peking 1 magpie 1 unknown And last the....(in dog kennels at this time) Roosters!! 1 Rhode Island Red 1 Americana mix This is where I need help. I have NEVER like the bird claw but really wanted to have our own eggs so bit the bullet got babies and leaned to deal. Was doing great till the roosters popped out. I really like the hens they are very sweet and funny. The roosters scare me!! I have been bit several times, don't like the way the hens are when they are with them and had to break up a fight last night between the two roosters. Please help me with pros and cons of keeping them. They are separated now and I don't plan on putting them in with the hens unless I need too for fertilized eggs and then will remove them again. My 5 and 7 yr old tend to them now and I can't chance them hurting my kids. My questions are... Are they a necessity? Do they have to be with the hens all the time? Pros and cons to having a rooster? And off the subject... Do I need to put the hens in a separate house at night or are the roosting bars in the chicken tractor fine for them at night? Thanks Jennifer
Welcome to BYC! Roosters are not a necessity unless you want the fertilized eggs. Also, in this case I would recommend only keeping one if you felt it was necessary. A general rule of thumb is 1 rooster per 8-10 hens. I would hold off on keeping one if you're not comfortable it is not worth the risk of injury to your little ones. Those spurs can do a lot of damage. You have two options. Re-home or cull both roosters and wait until you want fertilized eggs to have one. Or just re-home one rooster and keep the best one for yourself. Most squabbling (pecking order) will sort itself out in a few weeks. Also, if the hens are protected from predators and have adequate shelter in your tractor I'm sure they're fine. I would only worry if they have no cover from rough elements. Congratulations on your new flock. I'm sure they'll make a great addition to your family
Hello and Welcome To BYC! X2, the only main reason you really need roosters is if you want fertilized eggs, they are pretty to look at (major reason I have them), they do add to the flock dynamics, and an early warning system for some predators. But they are dangerous with young children, and they can be darn rough on the hens even if you have good ratios, roos often pick favorite hens and those will get overmated. If you do decide to keep them for fertilized eggs, they don't need to be in with the hens all the time, just for a week or so before you want to set eggs. With putting them in a coop at night, depends on how safe your tractor is, roosting bars themselves should be fine either place. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/822208/tell-me-why-you-keep-roosters
Hello there and welcome to BYC! X3...If you are not interested in raising chicks, don't bother with a rooster. The hens will lay regardless and at the same rate with or without a rooster, and roosters can turn mean. They are more alarms for predator attacks than they are for defense. Most predators are fast and furious and many times catches a hen before the rooster even knows about it. So if all you want is eggs and pets, don't keep a rooster. Enjoy your wonderful flock and welcome to our flock!
Thank u all for the replies. I believe I'm going to rehome them for the kids sake. I can hopefully borrow one in the future if we decide to hatch some. I love how I can let the boys go out to the coop by themselves and not have to worry something is going to attack them. The 2 roosters we ended up w are not nice and they are only about 2 1/2 months old and don't have spurs yet! Can't imagine how they will be then. My neighbor just regimes their rooster too because of her naked over used hens
Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help. You've received some great advice above.
I am all for NO roosters. Really good roosters are very hard to find. Get yourself a couple silkie hens - silkies generally make great broodies. Lots of chicken folks keep a few just for that reason. You can buy fertile eggs of any breed you want when they are broody. Just swap out their (non fertile ) eggs for the fertile ones you bought. They will hatch and raise them like they were their own. Broody hens do it all and teach the chicks to be chickens - something an incubator will never do.
Welcome to BYC, Jennifer! Glad you decided to join our flock. I agree with drumstick diva when it comes to roosters. The recommended ratio of roosters to hens is 1 rooster for every 10 hens. Any more roosters than that can quickly lead to aggression, fights, feather plucking, and over-bred and battered hens. I replied to four posts yesterday, and one earlier today, where new members were having these kind of problems because they had too many roosters. When you really get down to it, as drumstick diva has told many new members, the only reason you really need a rooster is to fertilize eggs for hatching. I currently have 25 hens, no roosters, and I get loads of eggs without feeding any non-egg laying mouths, without the aggression, fights, crowing in the middle of the night, and over-bred and battered hens that frequently goes along with having roosters (especially too many of them). In answer to your question regarding your chicken tractor, if you're absolutely sure it is predator proof, then the roosting bars in it will be fine for them at night. Good luck with your flock.
Welcome to BYC I personally love having a roosters around, but there are definite pros and cons. If you are positive you don't want to hatch eggs and the roosters are a pain it may be better to rehome them. If they are human-aggressive, they must go to the pot. There are so many sweet roosters out there, it's pointless hanging on to a bully. On a side, do check out our sister site, SufficientSelf.com. Judging from your intro post I think you'll enjoy it over there.