Rooster???

[wings]

I have one rooster for our 4 hens (soon to be ten hens). We think he's an Australorp, but who knows? Our problem with him is we need to know wether or not we should keep him. One problem is he crows at five in the morning when we would like to get up at seven. Another is I have heard that he can be hard on the hens. Also, he might be too protective of his girls when I go in the coop. Has anyone experienced this before?
We might want to keep him because I heard he would help when introducing new members to the flock, but I have no experience on the matter, so I need some help!

 

[Bec]

Well he will never crow only when you want him too...lol...and neither will any other roo! They all crow when every they want! Mine crow all night long!

Luckily I don't mind and neither do my neighbors!
As far as him being rough on the hens, it all depends on that particular roo. Some are very sweet and gentle, some are rude and rough.
I have 2 roos. 1 is just as sweet as he could be, the other one is a jerk and flogs any chance he gets. As I said before, it all has to do with that particular rooster. He may turn out to be an excellent roo! Then again, he may be a jerk butt.
I have no experience with the introduction part...

 

[Nemo]

Roosters are male birds, and as such, they crow for various reasons... To announce that he owns his territory, to keep his hens together, to warn off anything suspicious, etc. If the coop is too close to the house, it might be an annoyance.

One of a rooster's main jobs is to breed his hens. If there are only a few hens, then he might over-breed them, and wear off the feathers on their backs. There are saddles you can buy/make to provide a little protection. If there are enough hens, then each gets less attention. Ten should be more than enough.

Protecting the coop and hens is another one of a rooster's main jobs. Depending on the rooster, he might try to get tough with anybody who comes into the coop. There are other posts giving advice on how to deal with them.

It all depends on the personality of your particular bird.

 

[Granolamom]

Keep him! I know that some people have flocks without a rooster, but personally, I think everyone should have one, unless they live in the city and aren't allowed to. My roo protects the hens from predators (or what he perceives to be predators), he finds them great treats, he "stands guard" when they lay eggs, and he crows like crazy if anything is wrong, i.e. a hen has decided to fly over the fence into the neighbors's yard, or a dog is approaching them, or the mailman has come to the front door. If you don't have a rooster to "run your flock", it can happen that the alpha hen will stop laying and start acting like a roo (including crowing). We love our roo, he gives us peace of mind (and pretty soon you'll sleep right through the 5am crowing...

.

 

[CTChickenMom]

I know a couple people who have had to cull their roos because their hubbies were getting hunted down if they went outside. One, he couldn't turn his back on his roo because it would attack without reason. I don't know if this is a breed thing or if all roos do it when the hens get broody. I have small children who are boys...couldn't have that. Check into the breed specifics would be my advise...some are moodier than others. I wonder...do chickens have a sense of smell? Can they sense the hormones in men. I've never heard of women being attacked by roos. By the by, this mans wife was quite chummy with their roo and was quite attached to him. I wonder if the roo thought she was one of his hens?

 

[Omran]

Quote:
roosters are good only for breeding, and if you don't want your hen to hatch thier own eggs then get red of the rooster by all means, I killed two roosters, and the other two rooster I still have they also going to be my food as soon as one of my hens go broody next spring.

Alot oh people believe that roosters are protecting thier flocks, for God sake from what, I don't think the rooster will be able to kill a dog, or even a strong cat, or a hawlk, so if you really need a guard just get a dog and train him to do so.

And again for all of you who love roosters, please don't get mad at me I just say my openion.

Thank you.

Omran

 

[Nemo]

Quote:
Somebody let a dog into our fenced-in runs last October. The rooster was the only chook eaten. Seeing as he was the one rooster out of sixteen birds, the odds are it should have been a hen. Seems like he was doing his job to me.

 

[Bec]

My roos have saved my flock numerous times from everything from fox to hawks. When they give their warning call, the hens run and hide. I have only had 1 roo loose his life to a hawk because he was protecting the flock He was my little mixed breed banty roo protecting my 7 orpingtons! I still have ALL of my hens! I think he did his job well, unfortunately he lost his life fighting!
My 2 roos that I have now are always watching for predators and they are doing a fine job!

JMHO

 

[legacyln]

Quote:
Interesting. My roo went after my husband and kids but never me-- until the day I went to catch him to cull him for the stew pot.

I have heard you can retrain an aggressive roo (check out posts by rooster red) or wait out the teenager (6 mos- 1 year) hormone period as they can calm down after that, but I couldn't wait with my kids getting flogged in the face.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
From what? Hawks, stray dogs and bobcat hybrids for starters. Chances are neither of my roosters could fight off a coyote, but at least they'd buy the hens some time to get away.
Add to that the roosters keep all the hens rounded up and find food for the hens to eat and I'd say my roos were pretty valuable to the flock.
If I didn't have two very protective roosters, I wouldn't free-range all day like I do now period.