rooster question..

[MikaRoo]

I may have a rooster in my flock of chicks.

I am attached to all my chikies and was wondering, if I keep him can I still collect all the eggs and eat them? What if the egg is fertile. I don't want them to breed. Sorry I am new to chickens and my chicks are only 3 weeks old lol. I am just worrying ahead of time.

 

[Fred's Hens]

You won't tell the difference between a fertile egg or an egg from a flock without a rooster. Keeping him is mostly about the noise, and whether he is friendly and trustworthy enough to have around, especially if you have kids. As for breeding, the world doesn't need anymore so-so chickens so unless you've got some very nice birds and he turns out to be showy, there's a decision you have to make. BTW, you don't need a rooster to have eggs, of course.

If you don't want him, now would be the time to cull, that is offer him for free to home in your area, knowing that most raise roosters for fried chicken.

 

[Pinky]

Collect the eggs daily and you'll have nothing to worry about

 

[BooBear]

Roosters do provide value to the girls. They protect the girls, show them yummy treats, escort them to all the favorite spots, and help pick out the best nest sites. In turn the girls let them have whoopie.

Most folks don't keep roosters due to the noise from the crowing. A rooster crow is at the same decible as a dog bark.
It depends on whether you live where roosters are permitted and how much you enjoy having the rooster as part of your flock.

 

[MikaRoo]

I knew you could have eggs without a rooster. I was just worried about making chicks lol. Thank you for all the answers.

 

[grandmaof5]

Quote:
You have 8 Ameraucana chicks? Can we see pictures?

 

[darin367]

if your letting them free range and have predators around, i would suggest keeping the roo.... i lost 1 hen a couple weeks back to a hawk, and i have eagles soar over head all the time..... ever since i lost the hen, whenever the eagles are soaring above, the roo makes a squawk sound and all the hens run for the coop and he stands in the doorway on guard..... it seems once he lost 1 to the hawk he knows to be on the look out now.... he also stood up to our cat, needless to say, the cat no longer tries to chase chickens.... other than that he's just as friendly as the hens.... the lady i got my chickens from did tell me that if a rooster is mean to you or your kids to get rid of them, they just get meaner, but he's great with my kids,dogs etc.....

 

[dragonlair]

I have 2 roos in seperate pens. I love their dueling crows al day long. Sometimes they even crow at night when I get home from work and have the light on in the back hall. One is a Cochin Frizzle and the other is a Cochin/Polish cross. Neither one has even thought about coming after me and both are mature. I am going to be getting another roo for the 3rd pen, so it should be getting even more noisy!