Should I get a roo???

[nursemeh]

woodchic, I think a rooster is a great idea- esp since you have so many hens, he can spread his attention around. And I agree with everyone, it makes the flock so interesting, a really family dynamic goes on with the rooster! As long as he's gentle right, with his hens right?

here's a stupid question- how do you know if a roo is "gentle" with his ladies?

My roo is always chasing this one down and he pecks her neck to hold on and then jumps on! It is mating- NOT lovemaking!
BUT, she walks away apparently unscathed.

Is it not gentle if the hens are without feathers? haha

We have a RIR( that we are trying to rehome) if you were in Texas I'd offer him to you. He is so good with his ladies, but we just dont have room for him, we have space for a tiny backyard flock. If I had more room I'd keep a rooster- just makes the whole chicken experience more fulfilling!!

merry christmas and I hope you get a rooster you like soon!

mary

 

[SC_Hugh]

I didn't want a rooster at first and then one of my chicks turned out to be a boy...lucky me

My Little Ricky roo is a standard blue Cochin and Cochins tend to be more docile than most breeds. I am not planning for the hens to raise any chicks, just eggs for eating. The idea of mixed mutt chickens doesn't sound good to me.

Ricky crows a lot, eats a lot, scratches and pecks a lot, mounts the hens a lot, he does everything a lot and I enjoy him a lot. My flock would be pretty boring without Ricky mixing it up. His attitude and good looks are amazing too.

--Hugh

Ricky out in the yard while the hens are in the tractor:

 

[TK Poultry]

Quote:
When i think of a gentle roo i think of one that isnt mean toward me and doesnt leave his ladies with barebacks!!! Theyre still animals so i think real affection isnt the right word for it but a roo that is just an all around good rooster personality wise

that is what i think of anyway

 

[arherp]

I would get a Leghorn Rooster. That way you would get some purebreds. Also, leghorns Are lighter, which means less feathers pulled out of your hens.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I like having a rooster with my hens, you could certainly give one a try. Tala has some great advice for you. Having a rooster means you'll have fertile eggs to hatch, but it's up to your hens if they decide to go broody or not. If they don't then you'll need to use an electric incubator to raise chicks.

Before you hatch any chicks make sure you have plans for every other male chick you hatch. You can learn to process them yourselves, have them professionally processed for you, or give/sell them to others to process. With an ideal roon ratio being 1:10, at least 90% of all roosters have their purpose on a plate.

Since there is such a surplus of roosters you can be really selective in choosing the one you'll keep as flock husband. You can get a purebred or mixed-breed, one that matches your hens or someone different. I'd suggest getting one that is not aggressive towards people and is gentle & kind towards his hens. Don't hesitate to send him to The Other Side of the Road if he doesn't meet your criteria.

Let us know what you decide!

 

[AHappychick]

roos are the best. They have so much personality if anything I would be afraid that the hens will pick on him lol No really they protect and care forbring food and are very gentleman like (the good ones breed does not matter) If you look on craigs list you can find so many that need homes and have been raised to be sweet.

 

[OhMyItsAndyy]

I've just lost my roo to a fox attack. He was only a young one, but he was already defending his girls and died because he was trying to save them. And ofcourse, with their age is going to be more "mature" i guess. One rooster with your amount of hens shouldn't hurt them. I had a roo with my 4 hen's and the worst he did was shoo them away if he wanted to scavenge in peace, and that was only a nudge. I say go for it!

 

[WoodChic]

WoodChic wrote:
Tala wrote:
Also, do you have a 'bator? Your high-production hens probably won't be going broody on you so you'll either need a broody mama (Silky?? Orpington??) or have to buy a bator if you intend to hatch.

What exactly is a bator? If you mean incubator, than no. I posted another thread asking if i could raise chicks the 'natural' way (as they do in the wild). Do you know if that is possible?

"the natural way" is with a broody hen who sits on the eggs and then raises the babies. It is entirely possible if you have a hen that will do it.
A hen can go broody whether or not there is a rooster around, and they stop laying eggs until the babies are hatched out. It is not good for egg production and has been "bred out" of high production breeds.

Silkies are notoriously broody, and I hear on here that Orpingtons are good mamas as well. Read up on here, lots of people hatch the old fashioned way.

I was concerned because White Leghorns, and hybrids such as Golden Comets (red sexlinks) are known to NOT go broody. Some might, but it's uncommon. I am less sure about the brown variety of Leghorns and your GLW, but the majority of your hens are probably not going to be good mothers.

Here ya go! The "handy dandy chart" http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html
says your Wyandotte might be a good mother, but that they aren't all that broody. I think I would buy a 'bator (incubator) or a couple of known broody-type hens if you wanted to hatch! Good luck!!!!

read up here, might explain the broody thing a bit http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chicks.html

Thank you, that was very helpful!​

 

[WoodChic]

Thank you all guys!

I will talk it over with the other flock keepers. (I'm leaning towards getting a couple Orpington hens, and some type of roo. Not really sure yet) I will get back to ya'll!

 

[Thortherooster]

as long as you get the roo young he will be nice if you do it right, my rir roo was amazing I got him when he was like 3 days old, i carried him around everyday, rirs are known to be mean and agressive, but he was the sweetest roo ever, he thought he was a person, he would waltz in the house like he belonged in there, lol, man, i miss him....Rip THor...