Topic of the Week - Roosters, Yes or No?

[Ridgerunner]

I regularly get hatches like that. Earlier this year I had 14 pullets and 5 cockerels out of one specific incubator hatch. A year earlier I had 14 pullets and 7 cockerels in one incubator hatch and 10 cockerels with 3 pullets in two broody hatches. That brought last year’s average to 50-50 (a later broody hatch was 3 and 3) but this year I had a lot more pullets than cockerels. Since I mostly raise them for meat I’m quite happy with more cockerels but right now I have a lot of pullets in the freezer with a few more yet to go in.

An actual 50-50 hatch is pretty rare for me. Any one individual hatch is more likely to be a 2 to 1 ratio than 50-50 with either sex in the lead. But several times I’ve gone back over all hatches over a two or three year period and the overall average has been pretty close to 50-50.

It’s just the odds. If you hatch enough it averages out, but any one specific hatch can be way off. Same thing with straight run chick orders. I once got 7 pullets out of 7 chicks with a straight run order, I was hoping for a couple of cockerels but not with my luck. But I’ve also had straight run orders that were mostly male. It averages out over time.

 

[Radena]

Too bad chicken eggs are not like reptile eggs. You can control the gender with incubating temperature.

 

[NathanZee]

Too bad chicken eggs are not like reptile eggs. You can control the gender with incubating temperature.

That would be awesome!

 

[poodlechicks]

That would be awesome! 

X2!

 

[wchalmers]

I decided to keep one rooster from my young ones, along with 5 hens. Roo Roo, the rooster, was very sweet for about 5 months. Now he's the guard of the hens. He will still allow me to pick him up on occasion and rub his chest, but he's quick to attack when i walk into the coop to feed or water, or if I walk in his direction almost any other time. I am the only one who braves the coop because of Roo Roo. He has always been the friendliest of all of the chickens, so I hate to get rid of him, but lately he's been causing me some pain...coming at me with his spurs and attacking me with his beak.

 

[Kampinos]

I guess I got lucky. I had no intention of getting one (this is my first year with chickens) but one of my wife's friends gave us one as a gift.
Perhaps, he made a good choice. Haven't had any issues. We have 5 hens. A couple of times he he tried to assert himself, and we gently
showed him not to try it again. He seems to have calmed down. He is not noisy and the girls seem to tolerate him. I think he will be useful
in the chicken tractor starting in the Spring.

 

[QueenMisha]

I decided to keep one rooster from my young ones, along with 5 hens.  Roo Roo, the rooster, was very sweet for about 5 months. Now he's the guard of the hens.  He will still allow me to pick him up on occasion and rub his chest, but he's quick to attack when i walk into the coop to feed or water, or if I walk in his direction almost any other time. I am the only one who braves the coop because of Roo Roo.  He has always been the friendliest of all of the chickens, so I hate to get rid of him, but lately he's been causing me some pain...coming at me with his spurs and attacking me with his beak. 

Ditch him. It's a ton of work to "rehabilitate" aggressive cockerels and you can never really trust them again. There are (quite literally) thousands of roosters out there seeking homes, many of them completely non-aggressive and even high quality specimens of rare breeds. Aggressive birds take all the enjoyment out of poultry keeping.

 

[Glendarie]

I finally gave up on keeping roosters. I was shocked about the mating (raping) process. Many of my hens look awful where feather have been yanked. Donna Trump, with her comb over comb, is almost bald on her back.
I know I'm not going to hatch any eggs and chicks are easily available, so why instead of why not is my question.

 

[jsyvanen]

I love my roosters. A good rooster not only will protect the flock but he will keep peace between the other birds and find food for them. You just have to raise them right. When chicks, handle them a lot. Don't really mess with him when he's older and don't overly mess with his ladies. Never, ever, show aggression towards him, especially kicking at or towards him or chasing him off. This just confirms that you are either another rooster to compete with or a threat to his flock.
Pay a lot of attention to the breed. Generally, the larger breeds are better and less aggressive. My brahmas were so sweet, and my partridge rock boss rooster was the best we've ever had. If you have little kids like we always did, don't let them overly mess with the birds and never with the roosters. Make sure that the birds are never hungry either, because that will increase the aggression. If you get a good rooster, they should dance and offer gifts to the hens rather than chase them around. Once you find a good boss rooster, keep them. They are a great boon, and will keep any rambunctious cockerel in line.
General rule, keep at least ten hens per rooster unless you want to breed. Not all hens want to have a roosters close attention. If you have multiple roosters, it is a good idea to keep the same number of feed stations in a more confined environment. Pay close attention to space. Free range is no problem, but if they are confined, each rooster needs space for his own subflock.

 

[jsyvanen]

Ditch him. It's a ton of work to "rehabilitate" aggressive cockerels and you can never really trust them again. There are (quite literally) thousands of roosters out there seeking homes, many of them completely non-aggressive and even high quality specimens of rare breeds. Aggressive birds take all the enjoyment out of poultry keeping.

I completely agree. My family would always try adult roos from 4-H kids, but we finally decided to just forget about the idea. Our roos we raised from chicks were known as well coop-trained, and we never got a single bird from someone else that didn't cause problems somehow. Raise your own. You can get good ones. My youngest sister had one when she was four that would let her drag him around all day. His toes literally dragged on the ground and he never turned a bad eye towards her. We did supervise though.