Roosters Pros and Cons

[birdlady79]

I have 2 roosters and 8 hens. The roosters use to get along fine, now 1 is only allowed in the coop at night. In the morning he has to stay away from everyone else or the dominant rooster attacks him.  I've tried to move him to a new coop, but he flies back out & I haven't been brave enough to try to clip his wings.
But to answer your question, yes, both of my roosters sleep in the coop at night with the hens. I did see a previous post on this thread that stated that her 7 roosters stayed outside the coop at night.  So, I guess you can have it either way, however a single rooster might be at a disadvantage outside.

Thank you!! I saw that too, that's why I was asking. Lol..

 

[Devon07]

Birdlady79.... I am certain I would have already lost one or two without my roo....if you can find a good one, I bet it is worth it!....mine crows and I cant even hear it in the house....it's crow is mellow but he is still a little young. This guy has impressed me big time with the natural protection skills he has....He went at a dog as if he was going to do something (put his life on the line) He sat directly on a coiled copperhead and was pecking at it (may have been pretty dumb to do) He has alerted several times with me near about hawk above looking for dinner (impressive) He keeps them ranging in tight order and they stay in shaded areas (mainly heat, suspect some is protection) he is the first one to check out something new to let the gals know its good or bad. He is the last to eat when they all run for feed after ranging for a few hours. I can go all day with good reasons but Roos arent for everyone...I cant imagine going at it without one. If you range, I would see no reason to not have one....if you just do hens in a coop then this may be a good set up. I tend to lean towards the natural ways of life and when chickens weren't captive they ranged with a roo or even roo's so to me it's a natural event.....I could be wrong here but I suspect the hens would even lay better with a roo around as they are in a more natural setting and less stressed.....stress from a rough roo is how it goes some times I guess....but you can search out a good one. Not sure how I got so lucky with mine. When I search for them around the acreage and see them, it's his eyes I see first because he found me way before I found them. I think I was most impressed when I first gave them grapes and was trying to toss one to each one and the roo picked one up and dropped it in front of one of the girls....he did this with a couple more before he had one himself. He thinks of them hens and takes care of them...this has to make the hens happier.

My roo earns his keep...his feed is cheaper than replacing the birds/pets....plus he is really pretty and nice to hear around my little acerage. My two cents.

 

[Bethel3330]

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.

My EE rooster is a very valuable flock guardian. He's often seen standing guard at the open door while the hens are napping in the coop, or he patrols the yard while they are laying in the underbrush or dust bathing. He sounds the alarm and they all run for cover from the hawks. The hens know to go in to roost. My rooster now has to usher the 10 weeks old in at night. They were hand raised and like to stay out too late. I wouldn't trade mine for anything.

 

[Devon07]

Bethel....what kind of roo do you have?

 

[sunheeter]

My rooster, Bernanke.

We actually have 4, with 30 hens. 2 aren't old enough to crow or jump on the girls yet. Working on some breeding groups right now! We put the two crowing roosters in the garage at night. Keeps peace with our neighbors, and I get to sleep in. Life is good with our roosters.

 

[lazy gardener]

I'm allowing a very handsome EE roo to stay. He's now 17 weeks old, and has 17 hens/pullets under him. The final winter flock, barring calamity will be 1 roo/15 hens and pullets. It's been a blast to watch his emerging personality and management skills. Today, for the first time, I watched him tid-bit the girls, and actually follow through with giving them his morsels. If one of the girls is in the woods and starts squawking, he comes on the run to check it out. He comes running up the driveway when I drive in to "check out the intruder". The crowing: annoying at 4:30 AM! But during the day, i hardly notice it, find it reassuring to know that he's on the job. He sounds the alarm at any and every thing that seems out of place to him: blue jays, cats, people walking on our road, hawks. I'm hoping that his gentlemanly ways continue, but, I will sorrowfully cull him if he ever becomes people aggressive. Hoping to hatch some very nice chicks from him in the spring. He will produce sex links with 4 of the pullets, and more EE with 2 of the hens, so it should be a fun project. All combs from the breeding should be pea or walnut combs if i've done my reading right.

 

[prairiechic]

Oh my goodness, I just joined BCs to respond to this question! We're new to chickens as well. Not understand how things worked (and unable to wait for chicks) I got some "practice chickens" in December 2013. They were a year and a half old, and came with a Cochin rooster. The "practice chickens" are great. We love them (although I don't recommend doing it this way!) and they are great layers. The rooster, however, was a different story. He came with baggage. He had successfully fended off the owner's yippy dogs on several occasions and was overly protective. I didn't know anything and agreed to take him because the owner said that only meant he was doing his job well. Haha! We worked and worked to rehabilitate him, but unfortunately he just became more aggressive. It had reached the point where you couldn't feed the hens without being flogged, and our 10 year old daughter was afraid to go outside if we were letting the chickens free-range. I suppose because we had a novice mentality of everything-can-be-saved, we waited too long to cull him. Once we finally did though, I cannot describe how much easier our lives became, and how much happier and calmer our hens were as well. He provided protection for them, but he also kept them worked up, and kept us from enjoying the flock. I know many people have gentle roosters and recommend them. But there are so many factors involved, including the genetics of the rooster. Our family farm is much happier without one.

 

[klillie]

I am so glad you posted this. I reached out yesterday on a post because we purchased what we believed were 24 hens back in the end of March and it turns out we got 18 hens and 6 roosters. They are all separated because of the abuse on the hens and among each other. We have for roosters, 1 partridge rock, 1 New Jersey Giant and 4 Silkie Bantams. I have reached out to our 4H coordinator in the area to donate them and am waiting to hear back. After seeing their behaviors, and it could be because there are too many of them, we are not into any number of roosters. Well, maybe one. Good luck, the advice posted here is amazing for sure.

 

[birdlady79]

Birdlady79.... I am certain I would have already lost one or two without my roo....if you can find a good one, I bet it is worth it!....mine crows and I cant even hear it in the house....it's crow is mellow but he is still a little young. This guy has impressed me big time with the natural protection skills he has....He went at a dog as if he was going to do something (put his life on the line) He sat directly on a coiled copperhead and was pecking at it (may have been pretty dumb to do) He has alerted several times with me near about hawk above looking for dinner (impressive) He keeps them ranging in tight order and they stay in shaded areas (mainly heat, suspect some is protection) he is the first one to check out something new to let the gals know its good or bad. He is the last to eat when they all run for feed after ranging for a few hours. I can go all day with good reasons but Roos arent for everyone...I cant imagine going at it without one. If you range, I would see no reason to not have one....if you just do hens in a coop then this may be a good set up. I tend to lean towards the natural ways of life and when chickens weren't captive they ranged with a roo or even roo's so to me it's a natural event.....I could be wrong here but I suspect the hens would even lay better with a roo around as they are in a more natural setting and less stressed.....stress from a rough roo is how it goes some times I guess....but you can search out a good one. Not sure how I got so lucky with mine. When I search for them around the acreage and see them, it's his eyes I see first because he found me way before I found them. I think I was most impressed when I first gave them grapes and was trying to toss one to each one and the roo picked one up and dropped it in front of one of the girls....he did this with a couple more before he had one himself. He thinks of them hens and takes care of them...this has to make the hens happier.

My roo earns his keep...his feed is cheaper than replacing the birds/pets....plus he is really pretty and nice to hear around my little acerage. My two cents.

That is awesome!! I know the temperment of each rooster varies but what kind do you have..... What kind of food do you feed a rooster?

 

[yyz0yyz0]

We got a young rehomed rooster several months ago for our 7 1yr old hens. At first all was well, I could pick him up and hold him, he really seemed to watch out for the hens. He would offer them any treats he found and keep them all together when they were free ranging.
Things started to take a turn when he attacked my wife and drew blood, he was still ok with me so I let it go. But last weekend he started attacking me out of the blue.

I reached the end of my rope when he attacked me yesterday while trying to feed the flock. He is going to Freezer Camp on friday and I'm already surfing Craigslist to look for another one. There are too many free ones on craigslist to put up with a mean one.

so from my limited experience I did enjoy him until he started to get attitude, so would like to replace him and hope I get a mellower one next time. If not it's off to freezer camp and on to the next try. We want to raise some chicks of our own come spring so I'll need a rooster at some point.