Rooster? Or no rooster? That is the question.

[smoore7489]

Okay. So to make a very long story short I have 2 roosters. One, i handled allll the time. (Roody) The other never ever let me touch him. (Robin). They are both RIR which I know is a stereotypical aggressive rooster. They are about 18 weeks now and hormones are a'flyin.

Robin is the top notch rooster. Very huge. He protects and watches over the girls SO WELL. He has never bothered me or came at me. He kinda checked out my 5yr old son but he stood his ground and Robin left it alone. (Could happen again but idk) I'm kinda weary of this one personally cause he is HUGE. Very leary. But when i feed them he has never nipped at me. Shown dominance. Or anything. The size just scares the crap out of me because when/if he gets spurs, and then tries something aggressive, it will be an ordeal for sure.

Roody is and still is my sweetheart. However...he is getting aggressive with my son. Any sight of him and he will try to nip at him. (Prob remembers my son chasing him a lot when I wasn't looking) I want to correct this behavior but I'm only going to try for a couple weeks or so and if nothing progresses then he will have to go. He doesnt do damage either (yet) as he has no spurs as well.

My chickens are free range
And will be this way for a few years as we have no other option right now. It is fenced in and my neighbors cow field surround us. I really wanted a rooster because of snakes, hawks, coyotes and any other predators that might be out there.

What should I do? What have you done? Is a rooster a good thing to keep around for free range? Any success stories of free range without a rooster?

Thank you all in advance! Everyone who has replied to me and to all of my silly and probably very repeated questions are life savers. I have learned so much this year because of this site.
Love y'all!
Happy Roostin'!

 

[Wishing4Wings]

There is a school of thought that cockerels who are handled a lot at a young age lose their fear of people, and can become more aggressive than they might otherwise be. A large cockerel can hurt a 5 yr old, even without spurs, so I'm glad you are being careful.
If you are going to keep one, I would choose the large one who pays more attention to his flock than to you and your boy. If he becomes aggressive toward people later on, he can be eaten, pardon me, be rehomed them.
In my experience, a good rooster is wonderful to have around when free ranging. He will stand guard and call out an alert if he sees any danger and there are many stories about how a rooster gave his life to protect his flock. I have also found that there is less hen pecking among the females when there is a male around.
Definitely pros and cons, but worth a try to see how it goes. Your cockerel won't get spurs until about one year old, when he officially becomes a rooster. There are plenty of threads about trimming or dulling the spurs if need be, but if the rooster is really going to protect against predators, he will need them.

 

[rIrs roost]

I personally like having a roo around. He does let the hens know when to hide and has fought off a couple of small hawks. But After having him for 2 years, he started spurring me out of the blue. Someone on here works with roos alot and can give you a lot of info about it but I can't remember the name. @chickens really was it you?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Only keep the roosters you feel comfortable with. A rooster can challenge at any time, albeit, some have such a personality that they can be generally trusted...but never assume a bird will act as you expect.

Temperament when it is well behaved and your ability to handle it if it is not are both considerations.

My beloved Barney (Barnevelder roo) has been a perfect gentlemen since I hand raised him. He was so for 2 years. Then one day while I was out in the yard, I felt a thorough flogging at the back of my legs (with his wings). Startled, I immediately turned around to kick whatever off of me and landed a solid kick into Barney's side. He ran screaming like a little girl all the way across the yard and hid behind the coop.

Since then, he has not tried again, and has reverted to his old pleasant personality, but that doesn't mean he won't try again in time. I had noticed him eyeing me a few weeks before. Roosters are always looking to rise in the pecking order, and they should see you as neither threat nor underling but definitely as alpha rooster. That means from time to time they could challenge to see of the "old roo" still has it in them.

A rooster free ranging can and should alert his hens to danger, but in my experience, if the hawk strikes, he groups the other hens to safety while the hawk is eating the attacked hen. Often the rooster leads the scramble to cover.

So most roosters won't lay down their life for the hens. Some will attack a predator, but many scream alert then run.

So your answer, will it help? For an alert system, generally yes, if you have a good rooster.

However, do not count on a rooster to stop hawk kills nor large predators. For those that do, in open range, you will be going through roosters a lot. (A friend of mine went through about 3 in a span of a year).

I have heard of those on this list that say their rooster fended off hawks and the like, but my hawks must be more determined or my roosters dumber.

No, you don't need a rooster unless you really want to hatch out your own chicks.

Your hens can and will learn to watch out just as well. Usually one of the older females takes charge and look out. Before I kept a rooster, I was amazed at how they always saw the silhouette before I did. I would be in the yard and zap, all my hens were hiding in cover. Then those in the far perimeters would edge back to the main group using tactics like special ops, dodging and zig zagging from cover to cover. (It's actually pretty funny to watch).

Some hens are much better than others for being predator/hawk savvy. The flightier breeds are typically better, and I find the birds that have better camo (the color of my bark chips) are not taken while my light and white birds are. My bantams are also taken, while my large fowl are not.

But again, watchful birds merely know when to run and hide, leaving the slow ones behind to be eaten. Determined predators will get to an exposed flock, usually at night while the birds are in a trance on the roost. (Coons are horrible this way).

Your best deterrents are good fence, coop, and cover. Perhaps you could put up some electric wire and provide a simple sheltered area. Strategically strung hawk netting and fish line can really help.

LofMc

 

[TwinkleCake]

I have five children under the age of nine (my youngest is two months old). We had two cockrels, beautiful and large, whom everyone loved dearly. They both eventually proved to be untrustworthy and we had to get rid of them. At the end of the day you must ask yourself this: is it more important to protect your flock or your kids?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I personally like having a roo around. He does let the hens know when to hide and has fought off a couple of small hawks. But After having him for 2 years, he started spurring me out of the blue. Someone on here works with roos alot and can give you a lot of info about it but I can't remember the name. @chickens really was it you?

I think you mean @RoostersAreAwesome ???

 

[rIrs roost]

I have five children under the age of nine (my youngest is two months old). We had two cockrels, beautiful and large, whom everyone loved dearly. They both eventually proved to be untrustworthy and we had to get rid of them. At the end of the day you must ask yourself this: is it more important to protect your flock or your kids?

True. The kids is one thing that bothers me about your situation. It takes a lot of work training the kid how to walk and approach the flock. And even then I'd never trust a roo. I have 1 silkie roo that has never shown any aggression at all. The one in my avy. He's almost 3. I still keep an eye on him though.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

x3
Kids and roosters usually don't mix.

If error, error on the safety of the children.

LofMc

 

[TwinkleCake]

True. The kids is one thing that bothers me about your situation. It takes a lot of work training the kid how to walk and approach the flock. And even then I'd never trust a roo. I have 1 silkie roo that has never shown any aggression at all. The one in my avy. He's almost 3. I still keep an eye on him though.

Yes, you're right. It's funny because we have a Silike roo now too. We are keeping a watchful eye on him.

 

[smoore7489]

Yeah me having my son around is what is bothering me. Of course my son is most important to me!
And he loves the chickens so much but cant get very close to them unless i go grab the one he wants and bring it to him. Its just a tough thing to think about because i am quite the softy! Even with my roosters. I dont know if I want to kill them just yet but I have considered it.
Of course I couldn't do it. Someone will have to do the dirty work for me.

I guess I just need some input on how to weigh my options. Should i have a rooster flock? Should I rehome? Should I try and correct some dominant behaviour? I have noo idea.
*side note- I do want to incubate eggs at some point. Maybe next year. Thats another reason on why I would like to keep one.