Tell me why you keep Roosters...

[Mammachix]

All great posts! We got a dozen chicks in the spring (some were sex-linked) and ended up with three roosters. Two were just gorgeous, a Brahma and a black one (sorry, don.t know the breed). Well, those two did a great job for about six months. Then, they degenerated completely, and became known as the
'rapists.' Plus, the crowed incessantly. They ended up in the crock pot. While they were in prison (while the girls free-ranged), lo and behold, but Aphrodite kept on growing. A month later, she began crowing! She became Zeus, and he is the loveliest fellow....a real don Juan. He is gentle when breeding, keeps the girls together, cheers wiith them when they lay an egg, and yesterday morning, had a face-off with three deer who dared to encroach on his gal's territory. Plus, we love his little rooster dance that he does to impress the ladies. This weekend we hatched out seven chicks..couldn't have done it without him.

 

[HOUDINI1961]

I love reading everyone's stories about their roosters and I also hate it. I hate hearing that roosters are going to be killed. I do understand how roosters can turn mean though.

B.J. the son of BUFF my rooster, was the sweetest thing. I would hold him like a baby and carry him around. Lots of the time he fell asleep in my arms. Then all of a sudden one day, he jumped out of my arms and attacked me. I got him back in the coop but things were never the same. I was very crushed, especially since he was the son of a rooster of mine that passed away. It was like a part of my BUFF was still around. Plus the fact B.J. is beautiful. Not sure why they change like that.

People say it happens when they get older but I would think they would get calmer when older, when the testosterone lessens. So I still see B.J. every day and feed him, BUT I carry around a spray bottle full of water for protection. Most roosters seem to hate water. Please don't hit your roosters with brooms or sticks, it only makes them worse.

I've raised three chicks, all turned out to be roosters. Two have since passed but my LUCKY just turned 3. In fact he's about 4 feet away from me in my bedroom, sleeping on a roost I made for him. Poor guy has had bumblefoot for over a year. Never fully heals, will be that way the rest of his life. He's home recovering and on antibiotics. The vet pulled a plug out of one of his feet this week. Usually have to have at least one foot done every 6 months it seems. Not cheap $80 vet bill. It was $130 the last time when he had to be knocked out, vet had to dig the infection out of his foot that time.

Like I said I hate hearing about roosters being "culled", nice way of saying murdered. But it bothers me more when chicks are killed just because they are males. Roosters have such personalities, moreso than hens I think.

Every night at the coop, I put my LUCKY up on his roost. He will actually wait for me before going to bed. Some nights he lowers his head to mine and we touch, his comb to my forehead. And we just stay like that for awhile. Roosters are like any other animal, they love backrubs and wattle and comb rubs.(well, the nice roosters, that is).

LUCKY now recognizes the sound of my car alarm(if he's paying attention), and will crow when I arrive at the coop. Today when I came home, my room mate said LUCKY started crowing when he heard me set my car alarm.

I love my LUCKY. A photo of us was voted on and picked to be in a chicken calendar in 2012. We were "March". A photo of my other two roosters(when still living) was picked to be in book called "HENHOUSE".

I enclosed a few photos of LUCKY. His closeup profile photo I just entered in another contest. The second photo was our "March" photo published in the Chicken Rescue calendar.

I would love to start a Rooster Rescue. I keep trying to win the lottery to no avail.

P.S. I wish this freakin' BLING RING commercial would stop popping up in the middle of my reply. Backyard Chickens, do you really need the advertising money that badly? You still have plenty of ads on your site.

 

[MamaDoodle]

My neighbor gave me two roosters who are great at alerting the hens to food and water sources. My own rooster who was raised here, however, is the protective one. It doesn't matter the odds, he charges in at the slightest hint of danger to protect the hens.

 

[Our Roost]

Big George Foreman was his name. Beautiful buff orpington that sparkled in the sunlight. He and 2 others were supposed to be hens. Their homemade chicken soup with drop dumplings was very good! George on the other hand was more tolerable until winter set in and became cooped up with his harem because of the heavy snow and cold. By spring my hens were pretty tore up literally. Mostly scratched, clawed and quite featherless. We made the wise decision to rehome George as the girls needed a break. 3 of my 20 hens became broody that spring and all had a clutch of eggs under them. About a week after George left we heard a peeping sound coming from underneath one of the hens. Only one egg hatched. He left a legacy behind and what a beautiful hen she is! Her mother was a black sex link and her coloring is awesome. George went to a good home for the purpose of breeding new stock and is doing well. I miss him even though we never seen eye to eye. The coop and run was his domain and he didnt much like me intruding.
Instinctively roosters will sacrifice their life to protect their flock. And also instinctively, their main function is to reproduce offspring. If it wasnt for roosters, none of us would have chickens. They are half the reason breeders produce some of the best stock available. The other half comes from the hen. I will definitely get another rooster in the near future. The next time around he will have his own pen and only be called upon when its time to do his duty!

 

[Fancychooklady]

Houdini, your a big softy, don't worry there are lots of us around. People poke fun at me cause I don't have the heart cull my Roos. I find homes for most of them and I also get $30 for a dozen eggs. That usually silences the " doubting Thomas's ". If my Roos could lay eggs , I'd get rid of all the hens. They have so much more personality and better looking .

 

[Sam3 Abq]

Handsome roo - 1st flock will be all hens. maybe need to move from Downtown Abq. to a country setting for a rooster.

 

[Amyb874]

I have a flock of 12 (7 pullets 5 cockerels) and recently rescued another cockerel. I love all of them and they are well behaved so far. I have my rescue (Delaware) in a separate coop and run and everyone else is free ranging. Its been a little over a week and I let him out once and immediately was attacked. I do plan on reducing numbers but I need to know how to integrate him in. The other 5 are red sex-links and would like to keep one along with the Delaware if I can. Can anyone offer advice? They are all starting to crow, which we all love to hear all day!

 

[LBejaran]

I love reading everyone's stories about their roosters and I also hate it. I hate hearing that roosters are going to be killed. I do understand how roosters can turn mean though. B.J. the son of BUFF my rooster, was the sweetest thing. I would hold him like a baby and carry him around. Lots of the time he fell asleep in my arms. Then all of a sudden one day, he jumped out of my arms and attacked me. I got him back in the coop but things were never the same. I was very crushed, especially since he was the son of a rooster of mine that passed away. It was like a part of my BUFF was still around. Plus the fact B.J. is beautiful. Not sure why they change like that. People say it happens when they get older but I would think they would get calmer when older, when the testosterone lessens. So I still see B.J. every day and feed him, BUT I carry around a spray bottle full of water for protection. Most roosters seem to hate water. Please don't hit your roosters with brooms or sticks, it only makes them worse. I've raised three chicks, all turned out to be roosters. Two have since passed but my LUCKY just turned 3. In fact he's about 4 feet away from me in my bedroom, sleeping on a roost I made for him. Poor guy has had bumblefoot for over a year. Never fully heals, will be that way the rest of his life. He's home recovering and on antibiotics. The vet pulled a plug out of one of his feet this week. Usually have to have at least one foot done every 6 months it seems. Not cheap $80 vet bill. It was $130 the last time when he had to be knocked out, vet had to dig the infection out of his foot that time. Like I said I hate hearing about roosters being "culled", nice way of saying murdered. But it bothers me more when chicks are killed just because they are males. Roosters have such personalities, moreso than hens I think. Every night at the coop, I put my LUCKY up on his roost. He will actually wait for me before going to bed. Some nights he lowers his head to mine and we touch, his comb to my forehead. And we just stay like that for awhile. Roosters are like any other animal, they love backrubs and wattle and comb rubs.(well, the nice roosters, that is). LUCKY now recognizes the sound of my car alarm(if he's paying attention), and will crow when I arrive at the coop. Today when I came home, my room mate said LUCKY started crowing when he heard me set my car alarm. I love my LUCKY. A photo of us was voted on and picked to be in a chicken calendar in 2012. We were "March". A photo of my other two roosters(when still living) was picked to be in book called "HENHOUSE". I enclosed a few photos of LUCKY. His closeup profile photo I just entered in another contest. The second photo was our "March" photo published in the Chicken Rescue calendar. I would love to start a Rooster Rescue. I keep trying to win the lottery to no avail. P.S. I wish this freakin' BLING RING commercial would stop popping up in the middle of my reply. Backyard Chickens, do you really need the advertising money that badly? You still have plenty of ads on your site.

That is one gorgeous rooster! Personally, I hate to hear about people hitting their roosters. At most, when one of my cockerels gets cocky, I'll use my hand and gentle push up against his chest. Just using fingers works, but sometimes I just lift them to get them to stop. I haven't been attacked in more than a year, though. I haven't killed any roosters for their personalities, though. In fact, we processed three roosters earlier this year so we wouldn't have any incest going on. The idea bothered me. Now, we have a bunch of new roosters from the different clutches. We'll see who stays and who will be sold. Poor Lucky! I'm kinda jealous that your rooster seems so personable, haha! I have one rooster who has been a real treat. He was nearly scalped as a chick, so he spent loads of time inside with me. Now, though not particularly cuddly, he doesn't mind jumping up on my arm if I have treats. He'll even let me pet his chest! It always seems as though my injured chicks become the most tame. I guess the isolation helps. I guess they'd prefer human companionship over being alone. Reading about people's roosters is always going to be hit-or-miss. It was only when I took over as flock alpha that I truly appreciated roosters and their personalities. Now, all my roosters/cockerels seen a little different and it's kinda cool to just watch them and see how they act. Once I separate some, we'll see if they start to show their personalities more.

 

[bravevline]

hatching eggs are a great thing to have after you've invested in an incubator. to many roos can cause your hens to be over stressed due to way to much attention from the roosters. you can tell if this is happening because if it is, the hens will have bare backs. as above posters said they help protect from hawks and i think even other predators! they yell and alert you if they spot one. a good rule of thumb is 1 rooster for every 12 hens.

 

[jak2002003]

I keep chickens just for the roosters!

I have Japanese Bantams, and I love the colours of the roosters - they are beautiful. I have equal numbers or roosters to hens and they all live together and get on.

I love seeing the young chicks growing up and developing their colours......its always a surprise to see what I get from mixed breeding.

They are all my pets and very tame and friendly. I love watching them walk around the garden.....they are very relaxing to watch. I have about 40 at the moment... I will be selling some this week at our local market...........I usually get enough money back from selling pairs..to cover the cost of the chicken feed and care.