To have a Rooster or not?

[crazy4spurs]

Since I am very new to the chicken experience...can all of you experts give me the pros and cons of having a rooster? I am getting different sides from all my friends and family and I can't make a decision....

Thanks in advance for your input!!!

 

[Bravo]

Well, if I could have a rooster in my city flock, I would.

He takes care of the girls and is their first line of protection. He also manages them nicely and tends to resolve tiffs too.

I have a BW Ameraucana that lives on my property in the country and I just love that boy. He is the friendliest, sweetest guy ever--treats his ladies with respect, is super affectionate, is protective with his girls and at present, has adopted a brood of Guinea keets that wandered into his pen and is showing them how to forage, roost and protecting them from the larger chickens.

Other roos can be meaner than snakes--I have no tolerance for those boys.

 

[Illia]

Pros -


Beautiful animals with a lot of character, often very friendly
Protection for the hens if you free range them
Allows you to hatch your own chicks if you don't want to buy new ones on a regular basis
They build nests for the hens as well as offer food for the hens


Cons -

Noisy or annoy for some people, neighbors especially
Aggressiveness in some
Can cause bare backs on hens if the ratio is poor or the space is minimal



Personally I couldn't imagine life without a rooster. Granted he's a very nice rooster, not a common looking one.

 

[pinkwindsong]

I can only give you my experience.. I bought 3 Dark Brahma pullets 3 barred rock pullets 2 golden comets 2 leg horns.. out of them I got 1 roo the dark Brahma.. Lafiat was the bomb... it was so wild to watch two hen squabble and he would get up to them and just look at them.. and they would look at him and just walk away.. ( serious not lying) he had all the girls in bed by 8 every night ,. kept them in a group while loose in the yard,

He got sick and I had him int he house for 5 days... It was like " hens gone wild on spring break" hens screaming "hey Mister throw me some beads" ok so that was a stretch.. but it was crazy, they wouldn't stay together, they wondered , it took 2 hours to get them to bed. they fought and squabbled.. ahhhh ,, the day I put him back out.. was Golden... he had them back in a tight group, he had them in bed by 8pm, He was the best.. I lost him to this terrible heat.. boy do I miss him.. the hens ended up choosing a replacement. the more dominate Dark Brahma hen took his place and does a fine job .. I as looking for his replacement still .. LOVE the Breed.

I now have 1 EE roo, youngster, 1 americauna roo for my sons science project, 1 LF gold barred Cochin.. they are all separate whit their own girls, I do like to breed true. oh and two bantam black white crested polish who do live together..

I have no problem.. with any of them, even when the cochin and the EE run together in the yard.

as long as you don't have a problem with them crowing. which really isn't that often,, I say go for it . I cant be the only person with good experiences with roosters

)O(
Pink