Rooster or no?

[tmccar]

I have 3 hens and 1 cock rooster. He can be a bit aggressive at times. Is there any advantage to having a rooster? I have an option of swapping for a hen - should I take it?

Tom

 

[chicmom]

I would swap it, and here's why. A good hen to rooster ratio is 9 hens to 1 rooster. With just a few hens, your rooster will mate with them so frequently, that they will start losing feathers on their back, and necks and just look awful. (That's because chickens are kind of rough when they mate, and some roosters will even cause a hen injury.) And then too, you don't have to deal with the agressive behavior, because this only gets worse with time, usually.


Hope this helps!

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
I agree. I love my roos, but I have large flocks and good hen/roo ratios.

 

[teach1rusl]

Hard to say based on the information you gave. Who is the rooster aggressive toward and how aggressive?? How does he treat your hens? I had my girls for a year before trying a rooster. They did fine on their own - the lead hen was the watch. They automatically moved in close to the sides of our outbuildings when hawks were overhead. Then we tried a rooster, because DH and I both enjoy the sound of crowing and he was pretty, not for any other reason. He was not aggressive toward us, but terrorized the girls. So he had to go. The next rooster we tried was a keeper. He treats the girls well and is not aggressive with humans. He's a good lookout, but I don't think he'd actually fight an attacking predator (he's probably 2 lbs). Is the hen you can trade him for youngish, or spent??