Roo or not to Roo....

[Piper1998]

As a new chicken enthusiast as of this past spring, I did a few things wrong. The most important thing I did wrong was to buy those four little chicks from the feed store guy just because they were "cute". Three cochins and little black silkie. Well, it appears two of them are roos - and raising quite a ruckus among my eight six month-old leghorn pullets. Two of my supposedly sexed dozen leghorn pullets I ordered from said feed store guy turned out to be roos, also. So my ratio is eight pullets, four roos. Ugh! So Monday night I'm going to take them to the nice lady who sends them to freezer camp, but I'm thinking of keeping the silkie. He's too cute, really, to lose. That'll put me at 8 pullets to 1 roo - and I think I can handle that. Those two leghorn roos and the cochin roo are raising so many problems that they're ganging up on one pullet at a time, and having crowing contests that I'm sure my neighbor's just love.

 

[Newwell]

We got our chicks from a feed store 5 1/2 weeks ago (6 Buffs & 2 RIR's). We're almost 95% sure that one of the Buffs is a roo. He looks different, already has a red comb forming nicely, waddles coming in that are red, more alert "attitude". All of the others have no combs or waddles forming, cheep instead of Rawk, and tail feathers are longer. He is as nice as can be. But we are concerned about having a roo with so few hens. 1:7 ratio, is that enough to keep everyone happy?

We plan on letting them free-range when we are home which is most of the time & plan to leave the run access open if they want to go back to the coop area.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[daver]

Quote:
4/5 per nest box.

Dave

 

[booker81]

Good roos are nice to have, and bad ones go good into the freezer.

I started with 5 roos and 12 hens (I think?). As the roos matured and either a)got rough with the hens or b)thought about going after my 3 year old, they went to freezer camp.

In the end, I now have one roo and 12 hens. He's a HUGE RIR, but is very gracious with his girls, no one has a bare back, and he avoids people, including my daughter, even when we are right in with all the hens, and even if my daughter tries to chase after the hens. He watches for hawks and tries to find tasty tidbits for the hens when they free range, always lets the girls eat first of the treats I throw in, and is just a complete gentleman. That's about the only way I'd keep a roo. He's pretty too

 

[BusyBlonde]

We got a straight run of 20 BR chicks, lost 1 early, and ended up with 11 hens and 8 roosters. Five roosters ended up in freezer camp; one rooster is definitely the dominant roo, the other two defer to him. They are all good roosters - not aggressive to me, and even though the ratio of roosters to hens is high, there are no bare backs, and the roosters are gentlemanly.

The head rooster is the one who keeps order, alerts the hens towards tasty morsels, and watches for predators. We have happy chickens with plenty of space, and it works for us.

 

[JodyJo]

why not have a roo? they serve so many purposes...I LOVE my roos!
They warn the girls of danger, call them to food etc....they suggest 1 roo to 10 girls, any more than that can certainly put stress on the girls....(but that depends of the roos also)
they keep the peace also...many people will tell you that having a roo, then getting rid of it, for whatever reason, chaos insues in the coop....

besides you can end up with gorgeous boys...check out my favorite from my flock!

 

[JodyJo]

Quote:
4/5 per nest box.

Dave

I have 11 laying hens, they use only 3 boxes, and will wait in line for their favorite...

 

[Newwell]

Gosh JodyJo, he certainly is beautiful. What kind is he?

 

[JodyJo]

Quote:
EE cross....thx, here is what he looked like when he was just a few weeks old....don't ever give up on them!

 

[Blue]

Honestly, I'm biased, so my answer is always going to be that it is better to Roo regardless of whether you plan to have chicks or not. My flock just wouldn't feel complete without any roos. Some rooster can be too hard on the hens, but some can be great, and I wouldn't let the worry of getting a rough rooser rob me of the chance to have an enjoyable one.