Should I get a Rooster?

[Peeps298]

Im going to be picking up 4 white leghorns next week for my new coop I just built and start my own little flock. I dont want to hatch and raise baby chicks, Im just looking for eggs at this point. Is there a benefit to having a rooster with the girls? I assume even if the rooster fertilizes an egg they are still edible? What are your thoughts on purchasing a rooster with my 4 girls?

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
If you want to get a rooster, I recommend you get a few more hens for the rooster. He will wear down your 4 hens mating with them, stressing them to the point of not laying eggs, not to mention possible injuries to your hens. On the flip side, roosters are great protectors of the flock and will defend his girls with his life. Yes, the eggs are edible if they are fertilized, just put them in your refridgerator. I hope you also realize that a rooster loves to crow and that it wont bother neighbors if any live near you.

 

[Yazzo]

You can get a rooster even if you only have a couple of hens. It just depends on what he's like. A really dominant rooster will wear the hens down, but a calmer one will be fine with them. Roosters will protect the flock, lead the hens around to new food, and are just plain fun to have. Also, if you don't have a rooster, there is a chance that one of your hens will actually take that role: she'll start acting like a rooster and may even stop laying eggs. I didn't have a rooster only one time, and that happened, so I'm not sure if it happens often or not.

I would say, get one if you want to go from interesting flock to REALLY interesting flock.

 

[easttxchick]

I love my boys. I would recommend you go with a breed other than a White Leghhorn rooster though-mine was MEAN, flighty and aggressive-flogged me every time he got the chance. Nothing wrong with not having your rooster "match" your hens and people are always trying to give them away.
Roosters are entertaining, protective of their girls and beautiful birds, plus I love to hear my boys crow.

 

[gryeyes]

Get a nice Buff Orpington rooster. He'll be gorgeous, and mellow.

 

[Dixiedoodle]

IMHO, I would skip the roo, IF, you aren't going to be raising chicks.After the girls are older, it will be easy to find a roo, IF you decide you need one

. I had a BO roo and he had 11 girls.. I hated hearing the girls scream every two minutes from his mating them, I hated him chasing them or 'jumping' them when they were eating, dust bathing, or just resting... When he finally left--Most of the girls were bald, had broken wing feathers, tons of missing feathers from their backs.. I had two girls that hid the entire time --running from him like he was a predator.. Now it's fun to see them scratch around, dust bathe, eat and interact w/ the flock.. They were getting to be very pretty--feathers growing back, no bald spots or blood -- Until they started this molt mess! LOL

 

[Peeps298]

Quote:
If you want to get a rooster, I recommend you get a few more hens for the rooster. He will wear down your 4 hens mating with them, stressing them to the point of not laying eggs, not to mention possible injuries to your hens. On the flip side, roosters are great protectors of the flock and will defend his girls with his life. Yes, the eggs are edible if they are fertilized, just put them in your refridgerator. I hope you also realize that a rooster loves to crow and that it wont bother neighbors if any live near you.

Thank you for the info. Im concerned about the crowing as I have neighbors that are only about 150 feet from my coop. I love the sound of a rooster crowing but not sure my neighbors will, lol. Do roosters crow all throughout the day or just in the morning?

 

[easttxchick]

Honestly, mine crow all day-but I live in a rural area so it's not a problem for me.

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
I agree with you Dixiedoodle, I went through the same thing over the years with different breeds of roosters...some were worse than others and my hens got mauled just as you described, some worse. Chicken saddles helped sometimes but not all the time. I now have a JG rooster and I keep him seperated from the hens. On occasion I'll let him have a visit with the hens and he'll mate once or twice and that's it...a good boy. He doesnt chase them, only watches them constantly. I then seperate him again from the hens. The only reason I seperate him is because he's huge, heavy and towers over the hens...even my big BR hens are small in comparison.Edited: Crowing- It depends on the rooster...I've had roos that crow all day long and some that just crow in the mornings only.

 

[Peeps298]

Thank you for your input guys, most appreciated. I think Im going to stick with hens only for now. I will start my flock next weekend with the 4 white leghorns that are available to me. Hopefully in time I will be able to come across other started breeds I can add to my flock. Thanks again.