To roo or not

[Rick M]

I have 4 hens and 6 pullers that are right at laying age as of now. Will be picking up at least 6 more around February when cackle has what I'm looking for. My ladies free range on our small farm all day, should I get a roo or no? We've recently lost our first hen to a hawk and was wondering if a roo would warn the ladies or is a roo more headache than it would be worth for us. I've never had chickens prior to this but it always seemed like if you have chickens and are able to have a rooster that makes sense. If a roo is recommended would it be better to take a chance and buy an older one or start one from a chick?

 

[JulyFly]

If it were me I would definitely try to get a good rooster!
Not all roosters are good and not all roosters are good. When trying to find a rooster, I would try to look For when that is over a year old, is a good flock protector, and respect my space. I really hope you find a nice rooster, that also protects your flock.

It sounds like you’ve got quite the assortment of hens & pullets, as for ratio I like to go at least 8 to 12 hen per rooster. Sometimes you can get away with one or two per rooster, usually that isn’t the case but it always depends on the attitude/disposition of your rooster. I’ll research the differen sometimes you can get away with one or two per rooster, usually that isn’t the case but it always depends on the attitude/disposition of your rooster. It sounds to me like you want a flock protector, but you can also go by looks, which is rather not do.

Sorry for the long message!
Good luck!!

 

[Kessel23]

Roosters can help to prevent some hawk attacks, they have a special alarm just for flying predators. I would get one if I was you but you might end up with a bad one that is more trouble than it's worth.

 

[aart]

Having a cock/erel for 'protection' is a crap shoot, he might be great...or worthless.
Same goes for the PITA aspect...crap shoot.

I would not recommend getting one of you're new to chickens...
.... or have small children free ranging also.
Managing a male bird is more about the human behaviors around him, humans needs to read subtle signs and react accordingly to avoid problems or injuries, this can be difficult for adults to understand, let alone little kids.

Getting an older bird that is proven to be non-human aggressive(tho what the seller says is also a crap shoot) would be the best bet, tho it adds the risk of bringing pests and/or disease into your flock.

If you do get a cock/erel good idea to have somewhere ready to isolate him in case things go sideways...if it happens it can happen fast. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...rates-a-good-tool-for-every-chickeneer.72619/

 

[Mrs. K]

If you have small children - no, do not get a rooster for a couple of years. Until you and the children get some experience. Roosters take experience. Raising a good rooster takes a lot of experience, and if a rooster is going to be human aggressive, they tend to attack children first.

If you can get a year old rooster, that is what I would do, and generally it is easy to do. Ask at the feed store, the county extension agent, or your local poultry club. People often times have a rooster that is so nice, they don't quite get around to culling it, but really don't need. They would love to rehome him. That is the one you want.

Adding a rooster is one of the easiest introductions, and while your girls might appear to be snooty at first, in my experience, they were all in love by morning. It will change the dynamics of your flock. They will not look to you, they will look to him, and he will look to you for feed and water.

I personally lost about 2 hens a month due to day time predation until I got a mature roosters. A rooster under a year old, has no effect at all.

So if you get one, get an older one, not a chick.

Mrs K

 

[SueT]

If you get a baby chick that you want to raise to be your rooster, it will be a long time for the elders to accept him as a leader/protector. Not the first year. And I'm not sure after that. Mine is 8 mo old and only the pullets his age stay with him when they free range. The others are outside of his radar.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I won't keep a rooster JUST for protection... as I consider them useless against most of my predators and essentially just a possible sacrifice... IF he even steps up.

They produce too many cries of wolf when doves fly over and hens get used to ignoring them. Besides... having a good lead hen, they also do warning calls.

IF I was going to get rooster (in your situation), a mature proven rooster that doesn't have a history human aggression would be my choice... behavioral wise. Disease wise... I would go with a chick and raise them instead of worrying about bringing Marek's or respiratory disease into my flock.

You got lot's of great information given.

 

[Kessel23]

The hens don't ignore the rooster's calls in my experience, they always look up to make sure there is not a hawk, they seen to be able to tell the difference between a hawk and other birds though. They don't run when the rooster makes the call, they run when they see the raptor, they do still look when they here the call though. My ducks and turkeys also look up when they here the call.
You could also get a very alert breed or birds from a very alert bloodline. I got 4 Egyptian fayoumi from McMurray and they check the skies for hawks just as much as the average rooster in my flock. Hens are not capable of making the same alarm call as a rooster though, it sounds more like a screech and it usually spooks the other birds. I have never had a hen in my flock that did this but my grandparents did many years ago. It was a 10 year old hen in a flock of all hens, her hormones got all weird and she grew spurs, pointed hackle feathers, and she started to "crow" and make all sorts of rooster sounds, most of them were very horrible to listen to and sounded nothing like a rooster though. A hen will take control of a all hen flock pretty often though, I only heard them start to make the alarm call the one time though. They can make other alarm calls though.

 

[Kessel23]

The main concern with the hawk call the rooster makes is the rooster will not always see the hawk fast enough. Most hawk species, including the number one killer of chickens the red tailed hawk, do not hunt by flying around in the sky and diving onto prey. Most chicken hawks sit up in a tree near their prey and wait for the prey to come to them and then they attack. The top 3 chicken hawks are 1. Red Tailed hawk, 2. Cooper's hawk, and 3. Sharp-shinned hawk, all three of these hawks sit and wait for their prey and will still kill your birds even with a rooster.
This is for people in the US btw, I do not know what the top chicken hawks are in other countries.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

The main concern with the hawk call the rooster makes is the rooster will not always see the hawk fast enough. Most hawk species, including the number one killer of chickens the red tailed hawk, do not hunt by flying around in the sky and diving onto prey. Most chicken hawks sit up in a tree near their prey and wait for the prey to come to them and then they attack. The top 3 chicken hawks are 1. Red Tailed hawk, 2. Cooper's hawk, and 3. Sharp-shinned hawk, all three of these hawks sit and wait for their prey and will still kill your birds even with a rooster.
This is for people in the US btw, I do not know what the top chicken hawks are in other countries.

Agreed... they sit in the tree... just WAITING.

And the issue I noticed... chickens have VERY short attention spans.

The hawk can be seen flying in and alarmed about... but before long, if it isn't RIGHT there on their roof or something... they quickly return to business as usual.