I have had flocks with and without a rooster I do prefer my girls to have the rooster around, it makes for a better flock. It is really cute to watch him feed the girls. I hand him a piece of bread, he tears it up and calls the girls to come and eat it. My current rooster is a black Americauna, only a year old and doesn't really have spurs yet. When he gets them I will remove them. It's a push and turn motion that takes them right off. It doesn't seem to hurt the bird. Some roos are mean and some are nice, but without spurs they really aren't too scary. It's easy to grab one and just carry them around. They can't attack you if you are holding them