Roosters Pros and Cons

[gimmie birdies]

he was a teen at the time.

 

[JaceAgain]

Chickens can become very depressed. Lots of TLC.

is this responding to something?

 

[Pretty Chickens]

I am sure everyone has their own opinion, based on their own experiences. I have only ever had one really nasty rooster in my years of keeping chickens. After he was given away to someone who wanted him, despite his nastiness, I swore I would never have another rooster. I ended up getting another rooster from my sister-in-law, who had too many of them, and he was the nicest, calmest rooster you could imagine. I hatched several batches of chicks after that, and always ended up with roosters. I have only kept a maximum of 1 rooster per 10 hens, and if they started fighting seriously, I would give some away. I found that having a rooster around when the hens are outside the run did help deter foxes, but if a predator is determined to take a hen, a calm, friendly rooster doesn't necessarily fend off the predators. I also live far enough away from neighbours that they only hear the roosters faintly when they are in their coop, and I don't let them out of the coop until after 8:00 a.m. But I do hear my roosters crowing in the coop, and they sometimes start at 4:00 in the morning. I don't really mind it at all, though.

My rooster is still small, but he sticks up for his hens. He is so funny.

 

[gimmie birdies]

Roosters I hatched this spring-

Frizzle


EE


Roosters people gave me
2 blue andelusian roos They have bigger combs now.
-

Isbar


Buff orpington



I am only keeping the Isbar and the frizzle.

 

[Fathead71001]

I am in a similar situation only I already have the rooster. I am worried about refrigerating fertilized eggs. I candle them before I put them in but I pick them up every day so can you actually tell in 1 day if they are fertilized? If you can't tell until day 4 or 5, will the edible eggs spoil by waiting to refrigerate? I want to keep the rooster because I know the kids will enjoy chicks but still want to eat fresh eggs too.

 

[bobbi-j]

I am in a similar situation only I already have the rooster. I am worried about refrigerating fertilized eggs. I candle them before I put them in but I pick them up every day so can you actually tell in 1 day if they are fertilized? If you can't tell until day 4 or 5, will the edible eggs spoil by waiting to refrigerate? I want to keep the rooster because I know the kids will enjoy chicks but still want to eat fresh eggs too.

If you pick your eggs daily they will not develop into chicks unless you put them under a hen or in an incubator. They can sit on the counter or be refrigerated and you will never know the difference by looking at them or eating them if they are fertile or not. They don't look different, they don't taste different. The development is suspended until ideal conditions have been met.

 

[Denwendairy]

I know that there are members who will disagree (which is fine; to each his own), but in my opinion, the only reason you really need a rooster is to fertilize eggs for hatching. I have heard the other arguments (protecting the flock, ushering the hens back into the coop, etc.), and while there may be some validity to those arguments with the more aggressive breeds like game chickens, in my fifty years of experience with the docile egg layers that I've always had, the roosters are practically worthless in doing those things. I currently have 25 hens, no roosters, and I get loads of eggs without feeding any non-egg laying mouths, without the aggression, fights, crowing in the middle of the night, and over-bred and battered hens that frequently goes along with having roosters (especially too many of them). In my opinion, at least where docile egg layers are involved, the flock is definitely much better off without roosters.

This is how I feel about it as well - we have one 13 week old cockerel that slipped through the first round of re-homing but he's on his way out! He's not aggressive with us but can definitely 'stir the pot' in the flock when he wants to. We have many different heritage breeds in our flock and he's the only Light Sussex. This is just a fun hobby for us so if we want to hatch out eggs we'll buy some from a reputable breeder and continue trying different breeds. We are pretty new to this backyard laying flock thing and still haven't established what our favorite breed is yet. Also, my kids spend a lot of time with the chickens and I'd hate to have a rooster that decided they were unwelcome one day.

 

[lazy gardener]

Yes, the trained eye can tell if an egg is fertile. The embryo spot will be a disk, resembling a bulls eye, while in an unfertile egg, it will be much smaller, and appear to look more dense and smaller. There are threads that you can check that have photos that will show the difference. Unless you live with constant temps above 85 degrees, fertile eggs left out of the fridge will not develop at all. Between 86 - 103 it's possible to get some development, but it would have to be continuous heat for several days before you'd see any change.

FH: go ahead and enjoy those fertile eggs. They're tasty! Also, enjoy your rooster.

 

[bobbi-j]

Yes, the trained eye can tell if an egg is fertile. The embryo spot will be a disk, resembling a bulls eye, while in an unfertile egg, it will be much smaller, and appear to look more dense and smaller. There are threads that you can check that have photos that will show the difference. Unless you live with constant temps above 85 degrees, fertile eggs left out of the fridge will not develop at all. Between 86 - 103 it's possible to get some development, but it would have to be continuous heat for several days before you'd see any change.

FH: go ahead and enjoy those fertile eggs. They're tasty! Also, enjoy your rooster.

Yes - the TRAINED EYE. At a casual glance, not so much. Or I just don't care enough to look that hard.

Either way, those fertile eggs are just as good as the others!

 

[aatx]

Out of my original mail order chicks, 17 made it out to the coop. 4 were Silkies, but the other 13 were bantams - EEs, Dominiques, and Buff Orpingtons. Of those 13, I was able to pick out 6 roosters and 7 pullets. Although they weren't really fighting yet, at 10.5 weeks old, I gave those 6 away. They were pretty and nice and I was getting too attached for what future lied ahead for them. So, I was then left with 7 pullets and 4 undetermined silkies. That first morning was sad without the baby crowing noises they made. However, I went back outside later, and heard a new crow. One of my silkies decided to reveal himself once the other roosters were gone.

They're now about 15.5 weeks old. Mango is considerable larger than the other silkies, so I am really hoping this goes in favor of the other three being pullets. If so, I'll allow him to stay as long as he behaves himself. Unfortunately the girls still don't like him, so there are some feathers pulled out, but I'm hoping that corrects itself as they mature.

But I really do like having him. I love his crowing. And I love to pick him up and cuddle him - he's just a big fluff ball.