What are the benefits of having a rooster in your flock?

[Vickery]

Hi All,
I have been raising hens for eggs for the past couple of years...love it! With my new batch of "girls" this spring I seem to have acquired a little Silver Laced Wyandotte roo-boy! I have an acquaintance who will take him "off my hands" if need be but I was wondering if anyone can give me the low down on reasons to have a rooster. Any advice will be appreciated. Thank you, thank you...Vickery

 

[Rowsdower]

My roosters keep a very close eye on the flock when they are free-ranging. They are always the first to sound the alert if a hawk (or bluejay/dove/starling) flies over. I love to watch them interact with the hens when they are free-ranging, finding little treats around the yard for the girls to eat. If you ever want to hatch, all you have to do is let them sit. And most importantly, they're just BEAUTIFUL.

 

[NQBQDY]

I'm very interested in the answer myself.

 

[Folly's place]

I have always had roosters in my flock, and wouldn't be without. Right now I have six, all polite boys, although three will be moving on before I hatch chicks this spring. Managing genetics! I don't try to make pets of them; they need to respect my space at all times. I have learned that making excuses for human aggressive behavior of any sort doesn't pay off, and bad boys turn in to someone's dinner. Nice roosters are beautiful, help alert the flock to dangers, and generally complete the flock socially. Try raising your cockrel and see how it goes. Be especially careful if you have small children! Mary

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Why buy chicks every spring to have a few pullet layers? All you need is a rooster and you have a self sustained rotation of layers and good table meat from the cockerel culls. Soup or gumbo from the old layers. Raise out and sell the extra pullets you don't need.

They certainly change the dynamic of your flock and are not for everybody. Cock birds can be nice but usually not lap birds and usually won't like his hens to be lap birds either.

 

[One Chick Two]

Hi All,
I have been raising hens for eggs for the past couple of years...love it! With my new batch of "girls" this spring I seem to have acquired a little Silver Laced Wyandotte roo-boy! I have an acquaintance who will take him "off my hands" if need be but I was wondering if anyone can give me the low down on reasons to have a rooster. Any advice will be appreciated. Thank you, thank you...Vickery

Vickery,

You may find you'll get a lot of conflicting opinions about roosters. If your roo-boy is a nice boy, I would definitely consider keeping him. I LOVE my roosters. Some are my all time favorite birds,(some enjoy being held, and ask to be picked up by tugging on a pantleg). When freeranging, the males stand upright while the hens have their heads down to graze, 85+more % of the time, so they really help with predators.

We started off with all females, and due to arial predators during freerange time, found quickly we really needed a rooster to sound the alarm. After purchasing a full grown male, we purchased some male chicks, and found having more males was a much much better situation for our large flock. (About 1 rooster to 10 hen ratio is really good.) We have at least 20 roosters just right now. The old bantam rooster raised all the LF males here and is friends with them- they respect him. They go off in groups containing multiple males with the females.

We are out socializing daily with the flock. The males all daily get a bit of attention and small treats (they give them to the hens anyway). All the males around here appear balanced, docile, friendly and tame. However, they do their jobs very well. And they have to get along. It is also a must that we can scoop someone up when needed without histrionics or flogging. For us, having scared males or aggressive males does not work and is not an option. Again, there are different trains of thought on roosters, and we only want males that are good to the hens, us and each other. But this maintenance takes calm daily interaction.

My advice when dealing with roosters... Always Be Cautious, Calm and Confident. No matter what they do, always refer back to abccc. Good luck!

 

[HighStreetCoop]

There's a HUGE discussion about this topic here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/822208/tell-me-why-you-keep-roosters

People keep them for all kinds of reasons. I have one because I flat out love how they look. I also enjoy watching the full flock dynamics (it's cool to see him tidbit, call the girls, sing to them, court them, etc.) and additionally he serves as a great lookout and lets the girls all be more relaxed since they know he's on guard.

Since you have older hens, you have a very good chance of them schooling the new boy so that you'll end up with a well-behaved, balanced rooster who is a bonus to the flock.

 

[Beer can]

I just like having a rooster. Like the others said they keep a eye on the flock like their bodyguard and being you have older hens it will be awhile before they let him be the boss.
And with many breeds the roo is the prettier one. I don't know how mine stays alive, it seems he never eats Lol. When I feed them he calls them over to the food and waits. If he finds a bug or worm he calls to his girls and gives it to them.

 

[Mrs. K]

It is either a dream come true, or a nightmare. It will change the dynamics of your flock, as in the girls will look to him, and he will look to you. My first, I called Captain, and that was what a good rooster should be, below you and above the hens. I have a theory that a rooster raised in a flock, under mature birds are much better in chicken society, and really with human society. I think you get better roosters in a multigenerational flock, instead of flock mates.

Now, there are things to look for, and while this site is full of things to fix a rotten rooster - I am with Folly's place, and I don't mess with questionable roosters.

Here are some signs to watch for:
The rooster should be aware of where you are and move away, keeping about 4-5 feet between you. He does not need to run or be flighty, just casually move to put that space between you.
He should not crow incessantly when you are in the coop.
He should not drop his wing or dance for you, you are not one of his hens.
He should not puff up when you come into the coop/run.
He should NEVER flog or peck or spur you, for any reason.

He should be aware of his surrounding, (sometimes I wonder if mine ever eats?) His head is up, paying attention to what is going around, while the hens are running around looking for bugs, not paying attention. The other day, a friend came with my son with a dog, when my rooster saw that dog, he rounded up his girls and got them in the coop, even though the dog was no threat, Chrome was not taking any chances. I have grandchildren, and they come most week-ends, I do educate them on how to behave, but they are little so I always watch very carefully, because often times, children are the first to be attacked. But while often times he is between the hens and the kids, it is a rather casually done. The kids just want to get the eggs, and he has never puffed up at them.

I really don't handle my birds real often, I don't like them sitting on my lap. And hens with a rooster are a little less friendly.

Often times, hens with roosters do get broken feathers or even bare backs. It is my opinion, that it bothers people more than it bothers hens. Captain had all barebacked hens, and they adored him. My last roo, Old Underware, never ruffled a feather, but my eggs were often un-fertile. Chrome, seems to have a few feathers ruffled, but fertility is way up, and not losing a hen while free ranging is worth a few feathers to me.

Mrs K

 

[slordaz]

Pros:

protectors of your flock
propagates your future flock
your hens are usually less stressed

Cons:
neighbors may not like one that is extremely aggressive in crowing
may attack at slightest perceived threat if not used to human interaction whether actual or not, depending on breed too

I had really good luck in training my RIR, they were great didn't bother them when people they knew entered the coup was able to get them to stop crowing at unacceptable times easily. Me kids were about 5 and I didn't have a problem with them being able to go into the coup to gather eggs. Hens felt safe and no problem with them with strangers in the yard as they were loose as long as one of us they knew were out there too, if someone unknown came into yard the rooster would start calling for me much like my dog lets me know if a stranger is on the property

I was given a little Japanese rooster when I bought my birds that was a holy terror, it was a really small bird that was white and yellow not sure what breed, but was very aggressive and attacked anything and everything ,didn't crow much just went to draw blood so he was put down.

A lot of it depends on how much time and effort you want to put into your flock and depending on if you are willing to ensure if you have close neighbors they aren't being bothered by them