Roosters...to have vs not to have

[The Lisser]

I am still new to the chicken thing, my chickens are now about 4-5 months old. I bought straight run chicks and ended up with 7 roosters and 2 pullets!

Last week I was on the verge of rehoming (or whatever) all but 2 of the cockerels, but now I think I'm going to try putting the hens and my favorite silkie mix roo in a chicken tractor and letting the 6 other cockerels live around the barnyard. I have no clue if it will work, but if it does, I'll have bug control and a selection of breeding males if I choose to hatch out eggs (I'm going to get more chicks - sexed ones this time!). The head roo, Oscar, does keep everyone in line, makes sure they go to the coop at "bedtime", calls the hens to food, etc. Although they are still young . . .

Personally I really like the roosters so far. They are more showy than the pullets and braver. I haven't had one be aggressive to me yet - if I don't like something one of them is doing I pick him up, hopefully this will reinforce that I'm the boss.

Melissa

 

[crtrlovr]

Quote:
You gather the eggs faithfully and don't let the hens sit on them.

 

[brwneggs]

A question: Please tell me about them brooding. I imagined from what i have heard others say they hens became mean and peck you if you reach for their eggs. Please tell me about what Isa Brown broody hens are like? Are they quit mean?
Quote:
You gather the eggs faithfully and don't let the hens sit on them.

 

[twentynine]

Truthfully --- I would not have a flock of chickens without a rooster.

Hearing the rooster crow is vital part of having chickens for me.

Stewie the Rooster is a sicilian buttercup, much smaller than the hens. And he is a avid crower, all day, love the sound, when I hear him sounding off I know all is well. Got to add that it is absolutely legal for me to have 1 rooster or 100 roosters. My nieghbors can hear him, but he was their before they were, doesn't seem to bother them one bit.

Hens can and will go broodie without a rooster, they just can't hatch anything. Having to apply vasaline, not everyone does that.

To answer some of your questions. To prevent broodies, pick eggs everyday, maybe twice a day in the spring. ISA browns, probably don't have a problem with being broody. They are a "modern improved" breed, broodieness is one of the things improving gets rid of.

I don't have any browns, I have black sexlinks, barred rocks and production reds. If I go out to get eggs a little early I will normally catch one on the nest, I slip my hand under her and get the egg/eggs. Sometimes she will make a half hearted attempt to peck me, but nothing serious. I do have a light brahma named Dumplin now if I try to lift her she will go "kungfu chicken" on me. But I think Dumplin is my "special" chicken, real pretty, but thick as a brick.

 

[brwneggs]

Quote:
Thank you for your reply!!

 

[schellie69]

I did not have a rooster until this spring. I now have a bantam Cochin mix and he is great with the girls. I have bantam EE's and standard hens. He does great with them. I know he does not eat anything until he makes sure the girls get some first. He warns when he thinks there is danger. I love his crow it does let me know that all is well with the girls. He does make my flock complete. I will never be without a rooster again.

 

[gryeyes]

I didn't PLAN on having a rooster, mine was accidental. Bought as a pullet, grew into a roo. But look at him! I would miss him so much if he wasn't around. He breaks up pullet arguments, he makes the loveliest sounds other than crowing, he leads the girls to goodies, and he's the father of my GrandChick!

With two of his ladies.

Three-quarters profile

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Linda, your roo is beautiful.

Roos do complete a flock, IMO.
Did you know that a rooster has somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 different vocalizations he can make? He has one for each different type of predator and even a different one for an aerial predator and one on the ground. There was a very interesting article in Backyard Poultry magazine awhile back about roosters and their vocalizations. Unfortunately it's not available to read online.
I now definitely have my one adult roo, 2 baby roos (the silkie and the turken) and probably 4 of the meat birds are cockerels; so 7 roos total with 39 hens. It'll work, somehow.