Rooster… blessing or curse?

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rioturk

rioturk

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Hello all, I am a beginner chicken owner and have recently come across your site and have been following it with great interest! I've only been reading for a few days and feel that I've learn so much already. It's great that you all are so willing to share your experiences with beginners like myself to help us learn about and enjoy our birds. I bought 9 chicks back in February, and last week I confirmed that one of my RIR hens can crow! She is a he! I wasn't planning on having a rooster, but have been told by a couple people that they can be beneficial. Are they worth having around? Any help ( pros vs. cons) would be greatly appreciated!
 
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Welcome rioturk.....
like u, i was glad to find BYC and am a brand new member.
concerning your rooster question....i have watched a friends rooster alert the girls about predators such as hawks. it is interesting that they all know to run for cover.
 
Rooster protect the hens with there life. However make sure you dont let him get...well cocky. Also roosters are needed for fertilized eggs if you want to hatch chicks.
 
Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! There are a lot of threads on BYC about keeping roos if you want to do a search. If you want fertile eggs you will want one. They do add an extra dimension to the flock dynamics with their (hopefully) caring for the hens and watching over them. They are really pretty, prettier than the hens. They are a little bit of help with predators, alerting to problems so you or the dog have time to take care of the predator. But they can be dangerous around young children, many will attack adults (hatchery RIR roos have an iffy reputation) , young roos will really pester the hens and you generally need around 10 hens for one roo or the girls will get overmated. If you don't like the thought of eating fertile eggs you won't want one.
This is a nice article from the Learning Center on keeping a roo
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/keeping-a-rooster and two nice threads on roosters and keeping / raising them
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/573517/got-flogged-by-a-rooster-tonight/650 and https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/821717/how-to-raise-a-rooster
 
Some roos are wonderful - alerting the flock to predators, & great treats they have found, watching over young chicks- easy to handle etc. There are probably more that, are not any of those things. Some say if you are too chummy with cockerels they lose their fear of humans and consider them rivals. I think equal parts of how they are managed and what lurks in their genes have the most influence in what their personality will be.
 
Welcome to BYC
frow.gif
Glad you joined us! Roosters can be both blessing and curse, depends on what you get. I've had some wonderful ones in my flocks and I've had some duds, but I must say overall the good ones outnumbered the bad ones. They are handy to have around if you want fertile eggs to hatch and a good brave rooster will protect his flock to the point of attacking and chasing off predators. I had one that used to beat up dogs! LOL I personally love having them around and enjoy them very much.

BTW, we have just started a contest for our newest members, if you are interested:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/885886/welcome-to-byc-sign-up-and-win/0_30#post_13486215

Enjoy the site!
 
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Welcome to BYC!

As has been said above, they can be both good and bad. Some roos are very sweet with you and the hens, and others are rough and will chase you to the moon! If you are only in this for the eggs and hens as pets, I wouldn't bother with a rooster. You may end up having to send him to the stew pot anyway.

Great to have you aboard and welcome to our flock!
 
Thank you all for the different viewpoint. I think that for now (at least) I'll be best off with only the hen… one step at a time you mikght say!
Again, thanks all
 

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