I would like to know the pros & cons to keeping a rooster with my laying hens

[Edel]

I am new to chickens.... I have 7 pullets 17 & 18 weeks old. 1 rooster.... thought it was a pullet. now I am not sure if I should keep him or get rid of him.... one way or another.... lol! 1st choice would be to re home him he is a beautiful light brahma. Thanks you in advance for any advice!

 

[junebuggena]

A rooster's job is to protect and take care of his ladies. If you free range your flock a good rooster is a blessing. The only reason I could see for not keeping a rooster is if he turns aggressive. You shouldn't keep a rooster that is constantly on the attack. If you have to watch your back while trying to provide basic care like cleaning the coop or refilling the feeders it's not a good situation to be in. As long a rooster behaves himself around people and takes good care of his girls, and you are allowed to keep him, there isn't really a reason to get rid of him. Brahmas have a reputation of being good, gentle boys.

 

[Edel]

Thank you! That is good news.... so far he isn't aggressive. He herds the girls around a lot .... but he did help me get one girl that wouldn't go in the coop last night.... kind of like a border collie.... lol! I thought that was pretty cool! We are in the country so roosters are fine.

 

[junebuggena]

That's great then. The Brahma roo could also be helpful in producing good meat birds.

 

[Edel]

Here is a picture of him

 

[seminolewind]

He's beautiful! I like roosters. I have 5 right now. Sometimes it just makes a happy balance.

 

[JocelynMc25]

Wow, he's gorgeous! I have been thinking of getting a roo to keep tabs on my flock of 8 girls....(down from 10)...we let them free range, but we do have a coyote problem where we live- our aussie shepherd does a very good job of keeping other animals off the property, but sometimes he's just lazy It's nice to hear you are having a good experience with your rooster!

 

[Morrigan]

Their are many pros to a rooster. They are beautiful, if your hen goes broody, or you have an incubator, you can replenish your flock, they protect the hens, and I love the sound of crowing (that may be a con for some people, I guess).

The biggest con for me is that they can tough on the hens' feathers. I have 1 rooster to 11 hens, but my rooster seems to have 3 favorite hens that bear the brunt of his affections, and those poor girls are completely bald on their backs by the end of summer. It regrows with the molt, but it doesn't look like much fun. I keep hoping he'll get less randy as he ages.

The other con is that the protectiveness can be a nuisance. Duke is completely fine with me or anyone else in his yard, cleaning the coop, etc. But if you pick up a hen and they squawk, it gets uncomfortable. I've only been pecked once (never flogged), as he usually figures out I'm not really hurting his hen, but having him tear across the yard and approach me aggressively if I'm handling a hen isn't a ton of fun. I've solved this my separating either Duke, or the hen I want to examine, the the coop, but it's an extra step.

All that being said, the pros outweigh the cons for me.