Just how useful is a rooster anyway?

[Curnow]

Here is a rooster from yesterday that was rough with the ladies and didn't understand the rank system the rest have...

So you wouldn't keep a rooster unless you wanted fertile eggs then (?).

 

[dashman1319]

(Not AT you, WITH you, 'cause I GET it!)
Yup - that's the SECOND lesson for chicken-people ... The first being the dreaded concept of "Chicken Math!" Lesson Two is about the human factor ... we're all as different as our chickens! I look at it this way ... it takes lots of different personalities to make a flock dynamic work. It takes a lot of the same to make a human "flock" work, as well. Maybe that's the secret behind BYC. Lots of different approaches and perspectives are one of the best things about this site. It's why we can learn so much in so little time ... from so many people. It's also a great way to hone your sense of humor ... and practice patience!

Ha! That, too, is good insight.

 

[Redhead Rae]

Here is a rooster from yesterday that was rough with the ladies and didn't understand the rank system the rest have...
View attachment 1674217

What breed(s)? He's got some good meat on those bones.

 

[m1chelle1]

Good Post, good Thread.

So, to add my 2c on this. The best answer i can give you, and ive seen this in other responses, is: IT DEPENDS.

It really does. You will absolutely get mixed responses anywhere you go and anywhere there is a novice or experienced chicken keeper. All animals, including roosters, and individual creatures with individual "skills" and personalities.
Some roosters are better at defending the flock than others
Some only defend by "alerting" the girls of potential threats, and that is OK for some chicken keepers
Some wont even to that, theyre just pretty to look at and are for fertilizing eggs ONLY. Which is great, too, if thats what you care about.

Some DO sacrifice themselves for their girls.
Some will (try) to fight off smaller predators, only
Some will run from predators
Some dont care what size you are, theyll fight you. And theyre good at it, and scary

This is what you, and everyone else will inevitably find, with different breeds, sized, temperaments of roosters.

I think most chicken keepers do tend to cull out the aggressive roosters. And they have every right to do what they find proper with their flock. Likely, they were getting attacked by that rooster and wanted nothing to do with it. But, then again, maybe that was the boy that Would have attacked large predators and sacrificed himself for his girls.......who knows

Anywho. Just my 2c. Take it for what it is

Cheers~

M

 

[m1chelle1]

How useful is a rooster? In my opinion the only reason you NEED a rooster is if you want fertile eggs. They are kind of essential for that. As far as I'm concerned everything else is personal preference. Personal preference can be pretty strong, there are valid reasons some people like a rooster around but others are quite happy to not have one.

Each chicken, male and female, has its own personality. Each flock has its own dynamics, which can change if you remove or add an individual. You are going to get different results with different individuals, that's just the way it works with living animals.

Some roosters, not all, will help a hen take care of her chicks or might help take care of young brooder-raised chicks if you integrate them. From what I've seen most won't but it can happen. When my cockerels harass mature hens they run to the mature dominant rooster who stop that harassment, at least temporarily. If you don't have young chicks or immature cockerels in your flock this doesn't matter.

A good mature rooster will keep peace in his flock. As always some are better than others. A rooster might break up fights between hens or he may just watch. He may or may not protect a weak individual. If he thinks a weak individual is endangering his flock, either disease or a weak animal can attract predators, he may run the weak chicken away or even kill it.

Some roosters tend to keep a flock of hens together with him. Others allow the hens to wander around as they will. Keeping them all together may make it a little harder for some predators to pick one off. Some roosters make sure all their hens are on the roost before they go to bed but most of mine don't.

Many roosters call the hens when they find food and allow the hens to eat frost. I'm not convinced this actually helps the hens, they are usually capable of finding plenty of food on their own. It does make it easier for him to mate a hen.

If something suspicious is happening, a rooster will often go to investigate. It might be a predator, it might be a piece of plastic flapping in the wind. It could be me holding a camera. He puts himself between the hens and whatever it is and checks it out. I think this behavior generates a lot of the stories about a rooster sacrificing himself for his flock. Sacrifice is not his intention but if he checks it out he is at more risk.

Some roosters will attack other animals. I've seen a rooster keep crows away from food I've put out for the flock. I personally haven't seen it but I believe the stories where a rooster attacks a small hawk that has attacked one of his flock. A rooster may scare a cat or squirrel away from the flock or he may ignore them. Mine avoid big snakes.

If you do not have a dominant rooster in your flock the dominant hen may take over some of the flock master duties. Usually not all the duties and usually not as well as a mature dominant rooster would. As I said each flock has its own dynamics.

The behavior you saw with the fox is pretty typical. Once a threat has been identified my roosters tend to attempt to lead the flock to safety instead of forming a rear guard. I think you are more likely to get a broody hen to protect her chicks than you are to have a rooster try to protect his flock from most predators. Before I got my electric netting I had two dogs attacks. One time I lost 8 chickens, one time 5. Both times the dominant rooster survived unmarked.

Some people just like the eye candy, roosters tend to be prettier than the hens. Some people like the personality, roosters are usually bolder than the hens. This starts when they are young chicks. Some people like the sound of the crowing, some don't. We are as individual as our chickens.

How useful are roosters? Even if you don't want fertile eggs they are not totally useless. But if I did not want fertile eggs I would not bother to feed one.

LOL just read your response after i posted mine, but seems we have similar opinions! Good input!

 

[Ridgerunner]

So you wouldn't keep a rooster unless you wanted fertile eggs then (?).

Depends on my goals for keeping chickens. My goals, not someone else's goals or personal preferences. It's hypothetical for me anyway. My goals are to raise them for meat and to play with genetics. While hatching eggs are necessary the eggs are mostly just a nice side benefit, not a primary goal. So a rooster is necessary for me.

 

[MROO]

No. Because my inner dialogue doesn’t cause any harm to my flock, which really would be the only reason to be sarcastic or dismissive of a new flockster just sharing thoughts and getting info.

One of the things I've noticed at BYC time and time again is the dichotomy of the rooster debate. It reminds me of the old nature vs nurture split ... or maybe the stay-at-home vs working mother debate. A lot of people are solidly on one side or the other, but the silent majority are somewhere in the middle. They're pretty much ignoring the rest of us and doing as they please ... as it should be. To each their own.

For the record ... I LOVE my roosters! If at all possible, I wouldn't have a flock without one. Even though my birds are almost never free-ranged, I enjoy the dynamics of a mixed age/mixed gender flock. Although I must say that, as far as entertaining antics and sheer eye candy go, my little Bachelor Flock is by far my favorite!

 

[Shadrach]

No. Because my inner dialogue doesn’t cause any harm to my flock, which really would be the only reason to be sarcastic or dismissive of a new flockster just sharing thoughts and getting info.

My apologies if I've come over condescending, sarcastic, or dismissive.
I have read so many 'kill the rooster' posts here in their various guises that I'm prone to overreacting.
I should probably ignore them.
It's true your inner thought processes don't cause your flock any harm, but the decisions you draw from them might. Contempt, which is the best description I can think of for your feelings for the rooster at that moment is a very powerful emotion and does ime influence
the decisions one makes.
I'll let those with a less passionate view respond and hope you accept my apologies for any offense caused.

 

[MROO]

Here is a rooster from yesterday that was rough with the ladies and didn't understand the rank system the rest have...
View attachment 1674217

He looks a little shorter today ... and much quieter!

 

[Curnow]

Wow! I think I’ve learned as much about BYC members as I have about roosters from this post! You’d think I was hitting my rooster or starving my flock of basic needs by the level of condescension!

I didn’t try to get a rooster because I knew it was out of my league as a beginner. And of course I studied up. That’s how I managed to raise five healthy and happy chickens on my first ever go-round. And of course, I come here to ask questions as they occur to me. Because I want to know more and be a better flockster. So thanks to all who managed to give useful insight and info, without being a jerk about it!

May be useful info: the chickens were doing a LOUD “egg song” before I saw the fox. I read the post about the egg song being an escort call. Could it also be an alarm? I’m not sure if the rooster started it or not, but on reflection it is certainly true that the rooster gives plenty of warning noises and that alone makes him worth having.

Oh please don't misunderstand what other members are saying. I truly believe no one meant to be condescending. I apologize if you thought that.
I would also like to add that multiple roosters meet MY needs. Yours may be different. If I only wanted a few hens to provide eggs for my family and nothing more...I would probably not have a rooster. If I lived in town with crabby neighbors...I would not have a rooster. It is purely your preference and only what works for you. I think everyone was just trying to help educate by their own experiences.