Pros and Cons of Roosters

[NotabitaiI]

Pros: extra chicken who won't die from something related to egg laying, can be the one with a big memorable personality, crows, fertile eggs, cannon fodder for the weim should they escape, they are usually really good looking and I like watching a good rooster be a good rooster.

Cons: they crow, they don't lay and they can break your heart should they become too aggressive to keep

I don't like chickens very much but I do LOVE roosters, a good roo will make your whole experience with chickens a lot more fun but a bad one could make you miserable. Keep a good one, don't waste your time and energy keeping a meanie when there are so many good boys just waiting for a home.

 

[KRack]

The idea of a flock raised rooster turning out the best behavior wise is intriguing, we see the same issues with bulls in cattle. Dairy bulls are notoriously nasty, being bottle raised they have no fear of people and are perfectly happy to kill you for no reason. Beef bulls are raised by the cow in the herd and rarely cause problems if you use basic common sense around cattle. Even bottle raised kittens and foals have issues, the mare has no problem whomping the little bugger when he bites or kicks, but the human foster raiser doesn’t have the heart and you get a cat that bites or a spoiled pony you can’t do a thing with. I think there is a lesson for human parents and teachers as well, without wise discipline our own kids will likewise grow up with issues that affect whole generations and our society at large. We are quickly becoming a society of rogue roosters, wow that’s more philosophical than this post was meant to contain!

I love this so much. So. True.

Animal parents do not mess around when it comes to disciplining their young. And those littles quickly learn to fall in line, and are all the more safe and better off for it.

 

[BonnieBlue]

Thank you all for the wealth of information from experience. This place is invaluable to me for learning more along this journey of my goal towards being the crazy old chicken and dog lady. I have only been doing this for 2.5 years now, and although my father had chickens (and was an ag major from an A&M college), he is no longer around to learn from.

Y'all really are the best!

 

[Novice Homesteader]

I am currently in search of a rooster. My boy, Red, recently did his primary job of protecting the flock from a stray dog, and gave up his life to do so. He was good about warning the others when danger was present or if something was "off" in the coop/yard. He was the boss, bringing peace to the ladies, and even took charge of the guineas, making it ZERO conflict. The ladies jockey for position next to him on the roost, and they seem to take turns. I raised him and my others from an eggs, all were handled regularly, and were very mellow with humans and my Labs. They responded well to me and understand basic words. They all seem to know their names. I am a fan of Roosters, but I have a small flock so only one at a time. I do not recommend a larger rooster unless you have the same larger hens. So if you decide to get one, choose wisely.

 

[FlockVillemaire]

My 2 reasons why I do not want a rooster are:
1. I'm only going to have 4, maybe 5 hens. A rooster will hurt them from mating
2. I don't want chicks

Postpone your decision for a year. You might end up with a few more hens and if needed, hen saddles do work very well (and the model I got on amazon, not the cheapest, is tolerated extremely well!) But a good rooster completes even a small flock like yours by leading his ladies to treat eachother more respectfully. Raising him under a broody is the best way to get a gentlemanly roo, though you will still need to go through his hormonal teenager antics. Even with that, my best early broody-raised boy reacted badly when one of my original 8 virginal layers at 2 years old, refused his attentions and he got abusive as a youngster, never growing out of it with her! I couldn't decide which to rehome as he treated all the others like a perfect gentleman, then I tragically lost him to a predator but poor harrassed Gemma could finally relax with my other roo!
Roosters do not penetrate, so too much mating is only hard on hens' backs and sometimes the backs of their necks where the roos hold on with their beaks.
Either way, wait till your hens are mature and laying well, whatever you may decide.

 

[FlockVillemaire]

I think you summed up the 'issues' of nearly a whole generation, lol.

The scariest part of this is that it is most likely very highly planned! Isolation, Covid, GENOCIDE... and ever more precarious incomes are controlled by the insanely wealthiest directors of humanity! Yay for keeping chickens for our basic human psychological needs.

 

[FlockVillemaire]

I cannot even read your comment with your image constantly jumping!

Pros: extra chicken who won't die from something related to egg laying, can be the one with a big memorable personality, crows, fertile eggs, cannon fodder for the weim should they escape, they are usually really good looking and I like watching a good rooster be a good rooster.

Cons: they crow, they don't lay and they can break your heart should they become too aggressive to keep

I don't like chickens very much but I do LOVE roosters, a good roo will make your whole experience with chickens a lot more fun but a bad one could make you miserable. Keep a good one, don't waste your time and energy keeping a meanie when there are so many good boys just waiting for a home.

Not putting up with your insanely annoying face jumping all over. I can't even read your comment.

 

[RPw1690]

The part of your reply is a big thing that makes me hesitate. That happened to a friend and she would have to search high and low for his "favorite girl".

I know I don't need one for protection for them since the don't free range. I'm not at the point that I would even think about hatching chicks. I keep looking Ford an upside, and in my situation, I don't see one. At least not yet. I just want to have all of the info I can, in case I am missing reasons that would make one beneficial.

Roosters also keep peace in the flock. This I have witnessed, with up to 3 roosters at a time. I see him breaking up hen fights. The 3rd ( oldest ) rooster, father of the other 2, took it upon himself to be the sole protector of a hen with a new chick. No aggression towards the chick, and a perfect gentleman with the hen.

 

[Three Stents]

Postpone your decision for a year. You might end up with a few more hens and if needed, hen saddles do work very well (and the model I got on amazon, not the cheapest, is tolerated extremely well!) But a good rooster completes even a small flock like yours by leading his ladies to treat eachother more respectfully. Raising him under a broody is the best way to get a gentlemanly roo, though you will still need to go through his hormonal teenager antics. Even with that, my best early broody-raised boy reacted badly when one of my original 8 virginal layers at 2 years old, refused his attentions and he got abusive as a youngster, never growing out of it with her! I couldn't decide which to rehome as he treated all the others like a perfect gentleman, then I tragically lost him to a predator but poor harrassed Gemma could finally relax with my other roo!
Roosters do not penetrate, so too much mating is only hard on hens' backs and sometimes the backs of their necks where the roos hold on with their beaks.
Either way, wait till your hens are mature and laying well, whatever you may decide.

I would need to add an addition to the existing coop(double the size) to have enough hens for one rooster, which is a good possibilty down the road,,,,,chicken math here we come?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

know I don't need one for protection for them since the don't free range. I'm not at the point that I would even think about hatching chicks. I keep looking for an upside, and in my situation, I don't see one. At least not yet. I just want to have all of the info I can, in case I am missing reasons that would make one beneficial.

Nobody can decide when, or whether, you need a rooster, but you. Please don't feel pressured to get one just because others are happy with theirs. Owning a rooster is not for novices.