To keep a rooster, or to not keep a rooster

[SequoiaBaby7]

I have a beautiful 12 week old olive egger cockerel names Pickles who is very respectful of humans, is great protecting his girls, and keeping the peace. He is 2 weeks older than his 7 girls and when they first moved out to the coop and were too small to roost, they would all snuggle up in a ball together and he would crawl on top of them to keep them warm and protect them. He is surprisingly a very good boy and enjoys falling asleep in my lap.

My main issue is that my coop is only big enough for 10 birds and I would like to get some more hens so I would have to rehome him to make room. His breed is also not my first choice for a rooster. I do not plan on breeding (yet) so his only purpose is protecting his flock.

I'm just having a hard time justifying keeping him but at the same time I don't want to rehome or cull him. I definitely need some advice and different opinions. Thank you in advanced!

 

[theuglychick]

I love roosters. Roosters are half the reason I have chickens.

My rule is if you have a truly good rooster, you never ever ever get rid of him. For me, at least, the good ones are kinda hard to come by. Good roosters stay, but at the first sign of aggression the naughty ones and mean ones go.

You can't tell what they're really going to be like until they mature.

 

[theuglychick]

He's a gorgeous boy, btw!

 

[BantyChooks]

Might want to keep him to train up another cockerel. I find that it's a rare rooster (like yours) that grows up well without another to train him in manners.

 

[theuglychick]

Might want to keep him to train up another cockerel. I find that it's a rare rooster (like yours) that grows up well without another to train him in manners.

Great advice!

 

[Zoomie]

Well, he sounds like a lovely rooster, but it also sounds like he does not fit in with your goals and plans. Naturally it is totally up to you, but you might want to consider that fact.

I have a rooster I adore, but, he is the same breed as my hens and is here to fertilize my eggs, which he is very good about. Therefore you see, he *does* fit into my plans: to raise purebred chicks. If I had a rooster of another breed that I had no room for, well, no matter how wonderful he was, I would not keep him. But that is me.

My rooster produced two cockerels, and again, I have not got the room for them and "dad" is not going to tolerate them, so they are going to go somewhere - most likely, into the freezer. They do not fit into my goals and plans for my flock. However, part of the reason I raise chickens is to have fresh chicken to feed my family, so I do not see this as a bad thing. That is just my perspective.

 

[aart]

12 weeks is nowhere near old enough to assess his behavior...will be another month or two before his hormones start to surge. The 'sweethearts' are often the most aggressive when that time comes as they are often cuddled....'familiarity breeds contempt' when it comes to male livestock, and/or pet chickens.

If you don't have the space, and don't need him to breed, time for him to go...
...preferably in the next couple weeks while he's still tender enough for the grill.
Harsh (maybe), sorry, but here is where the Romance meets the Reality.
It will be good practice for when you do start to breed birds and have many males to deal with.

As to adding more birds now, integration is another learning curve, that takes extra and separate but adjacent space, that might be best put off until next spring. Not sure where you are located but the first winter can be tough, it's good to have extra room for that too.

 

[Folly's place]

I'm in the 'keep him for now' camp. If he continues to be polite, that's great. I don't 'cuddle' with my cockerels, they need to respect my space at all times, and spend their time worrying about their flock. If he decides to become human aggressive then he should be dinner, if not for you, then for another family.
If you do play to hatch your own eggs, over half will be cockerels, and you need to be ready for them!
Get through this winter with the group you have, and then consider more chicks next spring. Pickles may be a real asset, and help raise and train next year's group for you. How big is your coop and run? Do you really have room for more birds? Mary

 

[SequoiaBaby7]

The coop I have for my egg layers is a 10x10 run with a 4x10 house so I have enough room to keep 2 more birds. Plus they get to free range in the yard when we are home.

I also do not have a problem culling birds. We have a separate flock of broilers that we've raised and have already had two for dinner. I am prepared to cull him if it's necessary, I just don't see a good enough reason right now with him being such a beautiful, well behaved boy.

 

[aart]

The coop I have for my egg layers is a 10x10 run with a 4x10 house so I have enough room to keep 2 more birds. Plus they get to free range in the yard when we are home.

I also do not have a problem culling birds. We have a separate flock of broilers that we've raised and have already had two for dinner. I am prepared to cull him if it's necessary, I just don't see a good enough reason right now with him being such a beautiful, well behaved boy.

The 4/10 sqft per bird 'rule of thumb' is a bare minimum in most keepers opinions.
Might be fine for your current 7 girls and this boy in question.
Keeping him will give you a good opportunity to learn about keeping a male.
Once his hormones really kick in that space could well get mighty small for the girls being pursued with nowhere to hide.

Much can depend on your climate and if your run is weather proof.
Putting your general location in your profile can really help garner viable answers/solutions.

But adding birds takes extra, separate but adjacent, space.
Integrating new birds can be chaotic and brutal.

It's good you can kill cull. <thumbsup> Very valuable skill.