Looking for Rooster

[TreeStrepek]

Hello- we are new to tending chickens. Have 4 buff Orpington Hens(1 laying). Still figuring out how to best care for these sweet hens. I see turkey vulture, hawk activity regularly. It seems their greatest threat is from the sky. Question:Will adding a rooster help protect my hens?

I welcome any knowledge of where I will find an English red Orpington rooster. We offer a loving, good home for this special fella. We desire to give a good rooster a pleasant home.

Tree

 

[Peppercorngal]

Lovely girls! The answer to your question about whether a rooster will protect the hens is YES! If he is a good rooster he will. My rooster Harvey will sound the alarm and the girls listen and RUN to the protection of their run! Not all roosters are good roosters and will develop that relationship with the hens. I have no idea how to pick a good rooster. Harvey was supposed to be Minnie! Good Luck!

 

[Timothy Menezes]

Turkey vultures are no threat to anything living. Black vultures are a possible threat, and Hawks are a definite threat. Yes a good rooster and some trees for cover are good defences against such threats. Around here roosters are easy to find from people that have too many and want to get rid of them. I paid $5 for one when one of my old roosters laid down his life protecting his hens.

 

[2 many chickens]

Yeah, I'm not too worried about buzzards.. I see em all the time. Hawks and eagles, now they a different kind of scary.

Lost my boy HOOTIE to a hawk in December, he died but his girls lived. WHITE BOI the little prissy scared dingy leghorn ran away screaming like a sailboat with smoke flying beneath is feet. He has now stepped up and watches the sky.

 

[Timothy Menezes]

It's amazing how after seeing one hawk attack they learn to keep an eye on the sky.

 

[2 many chickens]

Yes, he has surprised me. He was afraid of the world and hid under HOOTIE'S wing. Hootie was a big boy, real protector. White BOI now knows what to do, how to round up the ladies and alerts whenever something comes flying around. I think the girls are in good hands!

 

[centrarchid]

Jersey Giant may be big enough to intimidate even a Red-tailed Hawk. Still pen birds to protect from Great-horned Owls. You need to keep foxes and raccoons out. Fencing as shown will not do that well.

No pet dog to work with?

 

[Peppercorngal]

Jersey Giant may be big enough to intimidate even a Red-tailed Hawk. Still pen birds to protect from Great-horned Owls. You need to keep foxes and raccoons out. Fencing as shown will not do that well.

No pet dog to work with?

Yep, I have a dog that saved my flock this last winter from bears! He's a keeper.

 

[Mrs. K]

For day time protection, a good rooster had dramatically reduced my day time predation. I live on the prairie of SD, and we have every predator.

As previously stated, a good rooster does make a difference, but not all are good roosters.
A good rooster:

• should be the first bird to see you, when you approach the flock. Hens never look up, until you are with stepping on them or calling them for food.
• He should gently place himself between you and the flock, and yet keep a 5 foot distance away from you.
• He should not give you the stink eye, of flap his wings at you, or crow constantly at you, or fluff up and make himself big.
• He should have good straight feet and claws.
• He should tidbit for the the girls

If you get a rooster, you need to be aware of a couple of things.

• Not all roosters work out, some need to be removed from the flock for the hens, some for the humans
• If you have young children under the age of 6, I highly recommend not getting a rooster especially if they share the same yard. Children under the age of 6, will take a rooster attack at the face level, and children are often the first to be attacked.
• Inexperienced people often under estimate the violence of a rooster attack.
• Roosters have ruined the whole chicken experience for a lot of people.
• A rooster changes the dynamics of the flock, whereas without a rooster, the hens look to you, after a rooster, the hens will look to the rooster, the rooster looks to you. He is in between them and you.

What you want, is a rooster as close to a year old as possible, who was raised in a multi-generational flock, that was so darn nice, that he did not get culled. The breed is less important. Ask at your local feed store, local poultry club, or at the county extension agent. Get a local rooster, that has free ranged, and had some experience.

Good luck, but with a rooster, always have a plan B. When it works out, they are a wonderful addition to the hobby, when it doesn't, it can be a nightmare.

Mrs K

 

[Angileen]

Yep, I have a dog that saved my flock this last winter from bears! He's a keeper.

View attachment 2086351

He's beautiful!