New Rooster in Town

[WooHoo451]

I have had my chickens for two years now and I am proud to say that I have gotten my grandfather back into raising a flock of his own. He has a rooster now too, and since we love across the street from each other our chickens visit each other. With a rooster in town is there anything I should be checking for or doing with my hens or eggs? I am new to the whole rooster biz.

 

[krista74]

Hi there!

The first thing both you and your Grandfather need to do is to make sure you collect your eggs on a regular basis. Your eggs will (hopefully) all be fertilised thanks to your rooster, so you don't want to leave them sitting around. I usually do a walk through the coop every morning, afternoon and evening, but do whatever works for you in that regard. Don't worry about eating fertilised eggs though - they will taste the same as usual and you won't be able to tell the difference.

It is likely that your rooster will be mating all of your hens, and quite often they will pick a favourite and will "shower her with affection" more often than the others. Keep an eye out for significant feather loss, or for gashes under the wings of your hens from where he holds on when he is treading them. If your girls suffer any damage, you can buy Hen Savers or Hen Aprons off the internet fairly cheaply. They will give the hens a bit of protection from your boy and allow them time to heal and regrow any lost/damaged feathers.

Having a rooster around is a good thing! I have a BO rooster and he is as funny as any person I have ever met! The girls will probably tend to go wherever your rooster goes, and sort of follow him around all day. If he is a 'good boy' he will call them over when he finds nice tasty treats so that they can eat them. He will also give the girls a bit of protection against predators, acting as the lookout for danger like birds and foxes. At night, your rooster will most likely lead all the girls back to their roost for the night. In short, he will be the leader of the pack, sorting out disputes amongst the girls and generally keeping the peace.

I hope you and your grandfather both enjoy your chicken's antics, they really are a delight to have around. And who knows, now that you do have fertilised eggs, you might be lucky enough to have a hen go broody for you, and you can hatch out some chicks of your own!

Best wishes,

- Krista

 

[WooHoo451]

Thanks for the info! I tend to get the eggs daily anyway, but I will have to be a bit more disciplined. I would love to hatch my own chicks, that would be awesome!