I have to disagree about a rooster being a good idea. When I was deciding on a rooster, I was told the same benefits. Allow me to give some cons: they devil the chickens something fierce. Some of my chickens don't seem to mind, but a great many hate the rooster. They avoid him to their own detriment (they go far into the woods away from any kind of safety). Fertilize eggs aren't an issue if you collect often, but that issue is also something to think about. My Mom won't take my eggs because she's afraid there will be a partially formed chick inside one day. I've explained how I collect twice a day, how I've never cracked an egg with something in it. Yada, yada, yada. It doesn't matter, just the thought of eating a fertilized egg freaks her and my sisters out. He crows all the time. Not just in the morning, but all day, even at night (within 2 hours of dawn/dusk). Imagine it's night in the dead of winter & you miss the first part of the crow and all you hear is the cry at the end. It's creepy sounding. It happens often when I'm exiting my house or inside with the windows closed & it still makes me stop to listen for another crow to confirm it is him and not some wild animal.
Before I got the rooster, I never had a problem with the hens coming into the coup. Now they will be in the coup, but they avoid roosting with the rooster and I find them all over the place, not in the safe pen. So I have to gather them and put them in the pen. They also eat a lot. My rooster is a good sized guy, so maybe it's just him. But come winter, it bugs me to feed him so much. He's a pig about food & I get practically nothing in return. He pushes hens out of the way and doesn't let them eat. I'm not blaming him, it's chicken/rooster behavior & the hens will do it to each other, but he's a bruiser.
I've heard a rooster will protect his hens, but I haven't seen him protect them except to shoo them where he wants them. Even if he would bravely attack a predator, I can't imagine he'd do anything but get himself killed and if you aren't around to kill the predator, it's still easy pickings.
I like the looks of my rooster and he doesn't have a bad personality, but once he's gone, I'm not getting another. I've made this decision mostly because the hens seemed much happier before he arrived. You'll just have to decide what's best for you, but I wanted to give you the other perspective.
