To roo or not

[Shadrach]

Most of .the above is good advice imo.
I've got eight roosters at the moment so why would I support the don't get a rooster.....yet.
My view is you need to know quite a lot about chickens in general before you tackel roosters. There is so much nonsense talked about roosters it gets hard to sort the wheat from the chaff. Roosters can be fine with kids....if the kids are taught how to behave with roosters.
As for protection agaisnt predators....well, that's what most people here want them for but they do an awful lot more than that and they aren't actually that great at fighting predators; they're not equiped for it.
They will give an alarm call and that may just be enough to save a hen, but you'll probably lose the rooster instead. Hens, dime a dozen...a good rooster...worth his weight in gold.
Wait a while would be my advice. You'll probably get a lead hen and she will make a fair job of keeping the peace and keeping the rest under cover.

 

[lena_]

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?

I was a little skeptical at first, but I can safely say that roosters are great!
My rooster is a lovely RIR he's gentle, alert and a good protector of his hens.
The hens don't ignore the alarm call, as soon as they hear it, they'll scan the area for danger, or take cover.
Hatching eggs from your very own chickens is awesome!
I would highly reccomend getting a rooster for your flock, it's great

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.

I have a barred rock hen who's coming on 10 years old, but ever since she stopped laying, she's been morphing into a rooster. She now has admirable sickle, hackle and saddle feathers, as well as a large comb, and pointed spurs. I've never seen her attempt to crow, but it does sound amusing...

 

[Rick M]

My girls are 13 and 17 so they shouldnt be too little to deal with roo issues if they arise. All of our hens and pullets like to go to our neighbors tree line during the day and that is where the hawk got the one last week.
Thank you all for all the great Information. I would prefer to get a two year old roo or more but bringing in Mereks or other issues is a big concern.