So, What *Are* Your Goals With Your Rooster(s)?

[Isadora]

I love hearing the roosters crow, but that's kind of a superficial bonus. Probably the biggest thing is that he has to be polite, because I have young children and I can't risk them getting attacked. I actually culled one of my roosters (cockerel, actually) 2 days ago for attempting to attack me and my young son. Sorry, buddy. You attacked the wrong person.
Secondary would be how kind he is to the ladies. The other cockerel I have right now is very gentle to the girls, does all the tidbitting and everything. My last hope would be that the rooster would be vigilant enough to warn if a predator was in the vicinity. We'll see how that goes

 

[Mrs. K]

Not all roosters are good roosters. A good one is a joy to have in the flock, but it does change the dynamics. A hen only flock, will look to you, and rooster and hen flock, the girls will look to the rooster.

Each of us has unique predators, and some roosters are very good with day time predators, some are not. Personally I like a year old rooster that has been raised up in a multi-generational flock that is nice. That is what I am looking for now.

I love a broody hen, and hatching - hoping to hear peeping today. But I have only done the incubator once.

Mrs K

 

[ElizaMay]

A rooster that will breed but not overbreed, will keep my golden comet hens from fighting/picking on my orps, warn of predators, is respectful of me.
Right now the blue orp roo I have is a let-down. He is healthy, less than 2 and very solid, probably over 24" tall, but no longer crows, breeds maybe 1-2 times a day, lets the comets peck the orps right in front of him, is more interested in eating than tidbitting. My silkie too and my d'uccle bantam tidbit all day and crow all day long.
He will be leaving here for FC as soon as my 3-month old flock shows me in a couple months which of 6 roos is ready to fill the post.

 

[OzarkChooks]

I have two roosters with my free range flock. I wanted a rooster to protect my hens, to be able to expand my flock, and keep the girls from fighting too much.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I'm a bit shallow in that I will not keep an ugly male (though anyone that's seen some of my birds or seen what breed a I wished I had may argue that all my birds are ugly ).

Crows don't matter much to me, I like hearing them all as a group and being able to tell for the most part who's crowing.

Aggressive males are out, and that says something since I like to think I put up with a lot (still haven't learned my broodies will apparently draw blood when I'm handling their eggs, lol). But if I'm afraid to move your cage, with you inside it, or can't feed and water you because you'll attack my hands, I won't keep ya.

I mainly breed. I've got some pure groups and a mixed group, soon to be 2.

I don't have males for protection, since they don't succeed hardly ever (I've lost more females in flocks with roosters than I have males of any age)

 

[sdm111]

Ones that don't lose fights
Ones that don't fight humans

 

[RooStar Chicken Gang]

My reason for getting the rooster was to hatch out babies, so like u suggested we do not need to buy anymore, I also thought of selling the babies, but my chicks that are born are all mix breeds so not much money in it. It's also just a self sufficient skill I wanted to give a shot and learn, raising and looking after chooks ect.. along with other things. The rooster is good, such a character, they really do look after the flock, find food and call hens over, watch for big birds ect.. I have friends who have roosters and there ones are loud like a scream not a crow, mine however is much more quiet too.

 

[MROO]

Unfortunately, I don’t have any roosters right now. However, I’ll outline my criteria I’ve used in the past and that I plan on using in the future.

I don’t get rid of any of my roosters and don’t plan to. However, I will always have to choose who goes into the bachelor flock and who goes with the hens.

One thing that has limited my choices in the past was the fact that all my hens were bantams. I could only choose bantam roosters to go with them.

Of course, I’ll always put human aggressive roosters in the bachelor flock. Other than them being overprotective of their hens, they also could have more human aggressive offspring if bred.

Roosters being able to get along with other roosters is really important to me. I enjoy having a flock with hens and multiple roosters. The interactions are interesting to watch and it opens up more options for breeding. Not to mention that more roosters means a better predator warning system. Any who bully will go into the bachelor flock, where they will be much less aggressive to each other.

Since I’ve always had mutts and that’s what I plan to have in the future, plumage color isn’t important to me. If I ever wanted to breed a nice looking rooster in the bachelor flock, I will always be able to separate him with some hens.

Politeness of roosters is important to me as well. Roosters who over-mate the hens or are too rough and violent with hens/pullets/chicks will go into the bachelor flock.

I love having friendly roosters. However, since my plans have always included a bachelor flock, I don’t need to keep human friendly roosters in with the hens, since I’d still be able to interact with them separately. (By human friendly roosters I mean ones who enjoy peoples’ company and aren’t skittish.)

Yes! All the way around. My bachelor flock, currently down to three due to selling off a few pairs and some old age attrition, is my favorite. The eye candy is wonderful, but the interactions (and no, I don't mean fights) are MUCH more entertaining. It's like watching a bunch of frat boys at play!

 

[Parront]

Yes! All the way around. My bachelor flock, currently down to three due to selling off a few pairs and some old age attrition, is my favorite. The eye candy is wonderful, but the interactions (and no, I don't mean fights) are MUCH more entertaining. It's like watching a bunch of frat boys at play!

Male birds are often the most outgoing and friendly. In parrots, the male is the favored pet.

 

[calboy147]

In every thread about picking a rooster or keeping/not keeping roosters the experienced people always ask what goal the OP has for keeping a rooster. I'm still feeling my way along and thinking about how to choose between my cockerels and trying to figure out what my goals actually *are*. I thought it would be both fun and helpful to discuss our different goals and, for the more experienced, how those goals may have changed over time.

My first goal is sustainability, because I want to be able to hatch chicks rather than buy them -- acknowledging that I'd probably buy some anyway unless I end up with a tight breed focus and the goal of developing a line of a specific breed.

Second, I actually *like* to hear a rooster crow. So the sound of his voice will influence my choice.

Third, my flock has to do well in my climate and under my management system.

All human-aggression is automatically out. Not only do I have grandchildren, but I'm not interested in bleeding myself.

Additionally, there are certainly enough chickens in the world that suit my aesthetic preferences that I can afford to say "No red or yellow, period" without having to compromise on things that are objectively more important than color.

Beyond that, I'm still figuring out my goals.

Fill my freezer with chicken every year. Keep me in ample supply of egg machines. Break up fights among the "ladies". Warn everybody of impending danger. The fact that he is willing to charge a larger predator is a two edged sword for me. And entertain me every day.