To get a Rooster or not get a Rooster?

[redstars]

Will the mean ones come at you head on or do they wait till you turn your back?

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Depends on how brave they are. Most are chicken (pardon the pun) and will wait till your back is turned.

 

[greathorse]

Since I weigh in at somewhere close to an 1/8th of a ton, I dont really have a lot of fear of the 8 lb rooster, but just dont have much patience for disrespect. Respect is not hard to learn if you are ever mindful of where you are and where the rooster is. Again watch the lead guy he always knows where the underlings are and if they get an attitude he runs them off. Make it really clear as to your position in the flock and you will likely not have any issues.

 

[Ms~Silkie~Girl]

I would say, get a rooster, they are great to have!

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:
That would be a loooooong list for me!

 

[KingSpeck]

Just adding my two cents- I have small children (2 and 4 years old) and the chickens free range in the yard where the children play. We tried it with a rooster (to keep the hens safer) but it just didn't work out. The rooster made several attempts to flog the kids so that was the end of him. We're all much happier now, we can play without having to watch our backs.

 

[redstars]

Quote:
Depends on how brave they are. Most are chicken (pardon the pun) and will wait till your back is turned.

OK so as long as I don't turn my back on him I should have no problem. Or should I say HE will have no problem.
I can't wait to get a roo, They are awesome looking and sounding. Now I just have to pick one.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Depends on how brave they are. Most are chicken (pardon the pun) and will wait till your back is turned.

OK so as long as I don't turn my back on him I should have no problem. Or should I say HE will have no problem.
I can't wait to get a roo, They are awesome looking and sounding. Now I just have to pick one.

As much as I love my big ol' Thor, I adore the little bantam roos. They crack me up strutting around like they are God's gift to hens.

In reality, a bantam roo with a good eye can keep just as good a watch out as the big ones.

 

[redstars]

Wait. I can put a bantam roo in with regular size hens?
Won't he get the beating of his life?

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Nope, he'll learn to take charge in a hurry if he doesn't want regular butt whoopings. Of course, you shouldn't introduce any new bird to a flock of full grown birds until they are about equal in size. In the case of roos, size doesn't matter. It's all about intimidation factor, i.e., how well he can bluff.
Yes, you can have a bantam roo with standard hens. Whether he can actually fertilize their eggs or not is up to the individual bird.