Official BYC Poll: Do You Keep a Rooster?

[Folly's place]

My killer Belgian d 'Uccle rooster weighted in at under two pounds, and could fly up to my eyeball level! A very bad boy, who stayed too long, as he was our first rooster. Never again!
Mary

 

[Aunt Angus]

My killer Belgian d 'Uccle rooster weighted in at under two pounds, and could fly up to my eyeball level! A very bad boy, who stayed too long, as he was our first rooster. Never again!
Mary

Yeah, I have a feeling this guy would do that if he weren't afraid of my top hen. She defends me. He's never attacked me, thankfully. He's attacked the feed bucket when I was carrying it. He hates that bucket.

 

[TLCMidMichigan]

Last year after purchasing chicks from Murray McMurry and hatching some eggs I had too many roosters. Even after losing some to my fault of the heat lamp too high.
So in late August 15 roosters went to process. Leaving 2 for the 15 gals. The one Roo is dominate and will chase the other one around.

 

[Birdsonghill]

One never knows with roosters, especially between various breeds. Like all males, they are unpredictable at times. Sometimes, a group will work it out and all be OK, Sometimes a couple will fight to the death. A really good rooster, will often be real aggressive to people, but be the best specimen of his kind for other traits. I knocked the head of a mean barred rock one time in anger! But, I had a few more good looking roosters to choose from, anyway. I could of dealt with that better, by just deciding to cull him and another couple before he got so big and aggressive. I have kept a couple bad boys, because they were so perfect for their job and looked like what their breed was supposed to look like! I had kids back in the early days and bad roosters were more of a problem for me then. I am not a pro, breeder, or expert on chickens. I have done it a long time now, but pretty casually, just for my own use and a few other families. I have worked around large chicken, cattle and exotic animals operations but was not the chief honcho and one of the most significant things I learned, was never turn your back on an "intact" male animal!

 

[ChunkyBirb]

I keep a mean ol’ rooster. I only keep him because I love baby chicks

Just want to mention that that mean ol’ rooster just ended up as chicken and dumplings because he flogged me one too
many times...

 

[HKG]

2 of them. Here is my favorite.....

 

[Flockincrazy]

I love my roosters I have 8roo's in my main coop and 25roos in my batchler coop I love to listen to my rooster symphony

 

[KyCarolyn]

I have 1 for 6 hens. He doesn't mind me being around and actually runs from me. But, he doesn't like my husband or grandson and acts like he is thinking about challenging them. I guess it's a testosterone thing.

 

[Willow2253]

I’m currently at 3 boys, one is only like 6 weeks old, he’s half bantam so hopefully he gets along with his bantam dad and standard sized uncle when he grows up so he can stay.

 

[chickencoop57]

I have a Ameraucana rooster and a California White rooster, for 13 hens. Theyre both docile but the Ameraucana is older and the boss. He' a really good protector of the hens. The California White is 6 months old. I've also gotten into incubating and just hatched 14 baby chicks. I love the different colors they turn out to be and I can tell, most the time which rooster theyre from except one. Its black. Now where did it come from, I don't even have any black hens. Lol