Rooster advice

[Amp]

Can someone please tell me about adding a rooster to my flock? I'm really thinking of getting one for my girls but several friends are telling me not too. The thing they keep saying is they will tear the girls up. Are they all really that bad? I was thinking of getting a Buff Orpinton Roo or a RIR roo

 

[ChicKat]

Look around at 'hen saddles' or 'hen aprons' - You can see that there is something that can be done to prevent the loss of feathers on the hens' backs.

Some roosters are more harmful than others to the hens......... Is your reason for wanting to rooster to get fertile eggs?

 

[RedDrgn]

They don't necessarily tear anyone up unless you have too few hens per roo (optimum is around 8-10 hens/1 roo), but even then roos often choose a few favorites that they'll breed more often than the rest. Perfectly normal. Sometimes, those favorites (or all of them if you don't have enough hens) can get broken and missing feathers on the back of their heads, backs, and wings. It depends on the roo, though. You may also end up with a person-hating feathered fury, too.

If you're interested in getting a roo, though, I'd recommend finding one that's at least one year old and making sure you discuss his disposition with the current owner thoroughly before making an commitments. Older roos tend to be calmer than their horomonally erratic youths and not so driven to mate everything in sight.