Official BYC Poll: Do You Keep a Rooster?

[BantyChooks]

Roosters make up a valued part of many chickenkeepers' flocks. Are or were they a part of yours? Vote in the poll above.

(Check out more Official BYC Polls HERE!)

 

[Kiki]

No, never.

They are against the ruleswhere I live.

 

[The Happster]

4 delightfully handsome cockerels.

I would have more but I would probably be clapped in a jail cell and left to rot.

 

[R2elk]

No fertile eggs to support my incubation addiction without any roosters.

 

[R2elk]

No, never.

They are against the ruleswhere I live.

Maybe no roosters but you keep enough quail cocks to feed your incubation addiction.

 

[Kiki]

Maybe no roosters but you keep enough quail cocks to feed your incubation addiction.

They don't make noise.

 

[R2elk]

They don't make noise.

@muddy75 's do. They are good at their sing-alongs.

 

[bit-by-the-BY-chik-Bug]

Roosters make up a valued part of many chickenkeepers' flocks. Are or were they a part of yours? Vote in the poll above.

View attachment 2335877
(Check out more Official BYC Polls HERE!)

2 of our 6 female sexed chicks turned out to be males.

 

[Chickenhappy8708]

Same with my first batch. One JG and one white leghorn. The JG was just the nastiest little thing at 6 weeks, so he lives on a farm with over 100 chickens now. The other one is kinda mean, but my dad just thinks he is begging for treats. *sigh*
My 11 week old light Brahma cockerel is really sweet, and super nice and gentle with his flock members. He is bigger than most of the chickens I own, and the flock I'm trying to incorporate him into has a PR that is much smaller than him. She chases him and chased him, so he runs around squawking his head off until I intervene. I keep telling him he has to weigh at least a pound more, but he still gets scared by her presence. Good for later I guess.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It really depends on ones' situation. It is never a one size fits all.
If someone lives in the city and is only allowed 3 or 4 chickens, then no. Keeping a rooster there wouldn't be prudent.
If there are no prohibiting ordinances, one has more space and more hens then it is absolutely a good idea to have roosters.
At any one time, I may have between 40 and 100 chickens so it isn't unusual for me to have from 5-15 roosters.
If one is breeding and producing chicks, they don't want to get down to one rooster because if he gives himself up for the flock, you are out of business.
Add to that, if one is raising a specific breed, they should be striving for the best representatives of the breed. If that breeder only has a single rooster, they have nothing to compare him to except the SOP. However, if someone has 10 or 20 or 30 roosters, it is much simpler to improve the breed by selecting the best representatives for breeding purposes. It is then usually easy to identify candidates for culling.