Pros & Cons of having a roo your input appreciated!!

[Ema]

Quote:
oh I really like your post and now I am back at the should I or should I not ahahahaha, well because I am so unsure I think I will wait till spring anyhow and thoroughly think it through, I truly do not want to add a roo on the spur of the moment and regret it later. ya I think that is what I will do!! LOL

 

[Chicken Chat]

I might want to add because no one has covered this yet, that when you have a rooster, you have to be extra diligent in making sure you collect every egg everyday. (Even the ones that the girls hide in their wings because they really want to be a mommy) Trust me, you do not want to crack an egg and have a pan full of blood.

 

[redhen]

I also love my roos.. (i have 3 of them)

And i agree with city girl..
The one that i babied... he turned out mean as heck! I had to re-home him..
But these 3 that i have now are great! I never handled them much as chicks..

 

[SilverPhoenix]

I personally love having roos and can't imagine not having them! (Though it would be nice to have a few less, I'm currently up to eight not including young cockerels who haven't started crowing yet...

) I love to hear the crowing, I love how pretty they are, how well they treat the hens, the ability to hatch my own eggs when I feel like it, and I just don't feel my flock is complete without at least one roo. I'm personally on the side of getting one.

The other plus is that, because most people need to find homes for roos, you can often get a gorgeous one in whatever breed you want for free or cheap.

I grow really fond of my roos, personally. I had my roo who passed away about a year ago for eleven years, he was a part of the family.

 

[waggis]

What a great post citygirl! I have an adult rooster who I bought as part of a trio. He is gorgeous, not mean at all, does not attack any person, is very mindful of his gilrls. I think he is lovely. I have two young roosters, twho have been raised since day olds and were handled a lot when chicks. They are horrible, attack me any chance I get and my children. I am going to keep one long enough to breed from because he is a colour I like and he has nice markings. But he and his mate who he fights with are doomed to the pot.

 

[sewchick]

It really depends on the rooster. I have a silkie roo that I call Fred. He is a real good rooster. He loves his girls and he respects me. On the other hand I had a couple of black copper marans that were mean, mean and more mean. They would run at me and hit my back. Geesh. Had to hold them upside down a few times so they would not do that. One would bite. He only did that twice. It just depends on what you need them for. I would not have any if I did not sell fertile eggs. Period. My hens get protective...besides a rooster is no match for the wildlife here. Being protective here is not necessary. I have to keep mine in a run. You have a lot of nice feedback. Hope it helps you. As for keeping the hens in line...pfffft my Jersey Giant HEN keeps them all in line including the rooster.


Pro's: They are nice to look at. They are good if you sell fertile eggs.

Con's: Loud, Aggressive, another mouth to feed........Sounds like my Family.

 

[Ema]

lol..I was just thinking no matter how aggressive a roo can get its nothing compared to the two little ones I have in the house bickering and fighting...my dd and ds ugh!! LOL

I collect my eggs 2x per day once in the pm. so I wouldn't have any issues with fertilized eggs unless I really wanted them, but at this point I cannot see myself wanting baby chicks running around. I got 21 RIR's and I grew up in Spain and if I added to the flock I would like to add campine or Andalusian chickens or some other breed from the area I grew up in.

I know they would have to be special order form somewhere along Canada, probably a private breeder cause they are kind of hard to get here and likely pricey too. I have decided to wait till spring, think it through..but I would just love a Spanish breed roo for sure, they are so beautiful...the one my grand mother had was an Andalusian and boy did it ever attack me every chance he got :-/ I didn't mind eating him when he attacked my nan and she decided it was time for roasted roo!!

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I'd also like to add that they are complete and utter idiots for the first... I don't know... been told a yearish. Until they mature they are not good flock protectors, don't call the ladies over for treats...

I got a free rare chick that turned out to be a polish rooster. He was the stupidest looking and dumbest bird ever, more than likely because he was young and couldn't see well. I couldn't tolerate him one iota. I rehomed him.

I wanted a rooster (for all of the reasons everyone else has posted) and I replaced the polish with a turken. He is less stupid than the polish, but still pretty dense. I like him a heck of a lot better. He's not really cocky, he's nerdy. The girls totally beat him up. He's still not a protector of the flock and the majority of the girls don't let him mate them yet. I can't wait for him to grow up.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

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Isn't that the truth?! Young roosters are all the world like 14 year old boys. Hard headed and just dumb as a box of rocks. All they do is eat, sleep and pester the girls. If you can survive adolescence, adult roosters can be sweet boys and handy to have around. You just have to not whack their heads off during adolescence! It's a struggle for sure.

 

[MinnesotaChick]

My biggest con on having a rooster is what they do to the hens. I had one rooster and 10 hens that lived in about 200 sq. ft of space. He bred some of them so many times they lost all their feathers on their backs and tops of their wings. Not only does it look terrible but I live in Minnesota where it gets to -30 sometimes. I can't have naked chickens in the winter. So my rooster went to my neighbors freezer this spring and I am still waiting for them to molt good and get new feathers in. Some are still pretty naked so I am getting nervous as November is almost here. This spring one of my hens hatched out four eggs and guess what? I got three roosters! They are so handsome, so I have kept them, but they are separated from the hens. The "Three Stooges" free range during the day and go in a horse stall at night. I would not keep a rooster if you want attractive looking hens.