is it ok to just have one rooster and no hen in a coop?

[codybird]

There is

http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Chickens-Dummies-Math-Science/dp/0470465441

 

[marymac]

 

[purpletree23]

I think the rooster would be awful loney and not have a very fullfilling life. Why do you want to keep just 1?

 

[farmerkim]

You guys should be getting paid for all that promoting!!!!

Yes, You could keep just a rooster in a coop. But I don't think it would be a very happy rooster. A couple hens with him would be much better.

 

[kcfuerst]

Let's put the benefits on a scale.
On one side we'll put a rooster and a hen on the other

Rooster Hen
* Crows 24x7, for the most * Quiet except for happy egg song
part a huge disturbance and dance, or occasional rival
to neighbors squabble
* Gets burly cuz he's a man * Easier to handle, no spurs
* Eats a lot of food * Eats a fair share and gives you food
* Gives nothing in return everyday (earns her keep)
* Eat bugs and poops * Eats bugs and poops


Now then, what was your question?

Actually my next door neighbor has a banty rooster and no other birds except a few doves caught and clipped against their will. He crows constantly and he's lonely. He stands beside my fence (he cannot see my girls but he knows they are there) and flaps his little wings to try and get their attention for naught. Sad he has no friends.

So yes, you could get a single rooster, but why torture him, and yourself?

 

[dave3877]

i have hens for sale too

 

[Silkiefan]

... you know when one of the BYC folks said something about POOP? BELIEVE IT!! I let my TWO girls in the house, but only at night for safety issues, ( so they don't get eaten by dogs and cats) and even though they're sleeping, there still ends up being a LOT of poop on the floor. I sweep and mop every day! Chickens poop every 30 seconds.
... and yes, you really should have at least two - ever seen a depressed chicken? It's not pretty. Check your city ordinances if you're in town. Most places state that you can have up to three hens on your property but NO ROOSTERS. -- and the best reason to get a couple hens? BREAKFAST!

 

[dave3877]

Quote:
well you forgot one thing roosters do. they knock hens up and help make lil chicks for me to sell lol

 

[mamaKate]

Is this a theoretical rooster or a specific bird that you've become attached to? If it needs to be done, it probably can be done. However, if the idea is to find a single rooster for a pet, a couple or three hens would be way easier and more fun. Adult roosters usually aren't much as pets.

 

[WalkingWolf]

I have roosters also why stop at just one...

Seriously yes you can make a pet of a rooster. I have a few that my DW will not let me cull or sell. They have other chickens but they do not have mates because they are not the alpha rooster. Depending on the roo you can make a pet of them but you must give them attention.

Chickens or at least mine in the daytime freerange and some are loners, but of a night they need to be around others. But then too we have hens and roos that like to roost alone.

One in particular is a white laced red cornish bantam who would rather follow me around then play with his chicken buddies. He used to be waiting at the back door every night for my wife to let him in where he would casually walk to the bedroom and hop on his parrot perch or sit on a towel covered pillow to watch tv until being put on the perch. I finally put a stop to it hoping he would bond with the other chickens. No such luck, he finds a spot by himself and sleeps. If I open the back door before it is completely dark he makes a beeline for the back door in hopes of getting in. When he was inside he did not crow until the alarm clock went off, my DW has to get up at 3am so the crowing was not a problem, I sleep right through it. Though he has been exiled from the house I do pick him up whenever I can to let him know he has not been forgotten.

So yes you can make a pet of a rooster, make sure it is a small friendly quiet breed. You have to have a perch with a dropping tray just like a parrot. You will also need a safe place outside in the daytime for him to forage, like a tractor or fenced pen. From what I understand there are some city slicker apartment dwellers who keep chickens inside, but I think anything bigger than a serama or a OEGB would be unacceptable.

Chickens have some advantages over parrots. They do not bite off fingers or take out chunks of meat when mad. The crowing is nothing compared to the screams of cockatoos or macaws at sunrise and sunset. And both the male and female parrots scream. Chickens can not chew apart furniture. Parrots like to get attention when they want it, much like a cat. Chickens will usually take it whenever they can get it, if they have been handled consistently. They both poop though the chicken poop may smell more. Parrot food is more expensive than chicken food, and parrots are WAY more expensive then chickens. Chickens do not talk but they do purr. Both chickens and parrots will eat your jewelry, though the chickens do not usually rip it from your ears. Chickens have much shorter lifespan, but then some parrots outlive their owners.

Ohh and chickens don't repeat things you say that should not be repeated...