Why have a rooster at all?

[Preservation Acres]

A hen will lay an egg a day until she masses a dozen or so. Once she goes broody, she'll spend nearly 24/7 sitting on the eggs. The first egg laid might be 12 or more days old before she starts incubating them. Regardless, that 12 day old egg along with the last egg she laid will all start developing at the same time and 21 days latter, you will have chicks.

So...there's no development of a chick (i.e. the 12 day old egg) until the hen starts to brood the eggs. Fertilized eggs will not have a developing chick in them unless you've removed them from under a broody hen.

 

[oliviad51]

We just lost our rooster and to my surprise the flock of hens seem to be doing just fine. In fact the hen house is down right calm. True they tend to hang about the house and run rather than head out into the free range but they do go out to do their chicken thing daily. In the past 10 years we have always had at least one rooster for our little flock. Maybe we don't need a rooster!..... . What do you think?

R.I.P Sarge

Ever wonder why you lost your rooster and not one of your hens? This is why I keep roosters. They protect the hens, and will even put themselves in front of a predator instead of risking a hen get killed. This is probably what yours did.
We have had a predator come the past few weeks (we have fixed the problem now) and take our chickens. It killed four chickens. 3 were roosters.

Another reason is for fertilized eggs, of course.

And the third reason is simply for enjoyment. I love hearing them crow and call the chickens to eat food. They also, to me are somewhat calmer than my hens, espically when I pick them up. Most of the hens squawk and go crazy, but the roosters are very calm.

I have a rooster that stays on my heel when I go in the backyard. I guess he sees me as a "hen." He protects me from anything and knows I won't do any harm. I will never go without a rooster.

 

[Chicken.Lytle]

I have a rooster to protect my hens. The harem is his compensation for doing his duty .

When one of the hens went broody I only had one egg that had any signs of development.

 

[justtoni44]

In responce to a rooster protecting me............
We had a young roo that was just horrible...would chase me and try to attack my leg.
Our main man put a stop to that...would take the young one down when he started his stuff.
Good old Boots got extra treats.......the attacker.( named crock pot) did not stay around.
OUr flock freeranges during the day.
I probably would not have a chicken left if not for our roosters.
They guard, break up sqaubbles between hens and generally keep order.
We have 8 and they all get along.
At night, each roo has his chosen place to roost and his little flock that sleeps with him.
It is a hoot to watch the dynamics.

 

[eenie114]

I actually got Houdini because I missed the squeaky little crows of a bantam rooster after Sasquatch died.
I have him and Mister for breeding, and Arthur and Ooblech are leaving ASAP.
They're also good for alerting the hens if something is wrong.

 

[Delmar]

So I think you guys have me convinced on keeping at least one rooster. I was given 5 roosters and 5 pullets and was planning on eating all the roosters. Now the question is Do I keep one or two and what traits do I look for when choosing which to keep?

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
With only five pullets, you don't want more than one rooster. Two would simply wear your hens out with their matings. I like a roo that is standoffish. When I walk into either of my chicken yards, my roosters take a few steps back. They have never questioned my role as the leader of the flock.

 

[oliviad51]

@justtoni44- I love the name crockpot! That made me laugh out loud. We used to have a polish rooster that would try to attack me all the time. But I have a RIR rooster that would chase him if he comes near me. I love him to death!

@ Delmar- I agree with gritsar. One rooster is plenty since you only have 5 hens. I usually look for the roosters that are friendly, but not too friendly because you don't want one to end up chasing you.Try to pick out the one that seems more alert and careful. Also, the one that is respectful towards the pullets. Good luck with picking out your rooster.

 

[deerman]

Agree only one for 4 hens.....pick the one top of the pecking order. unless he is mean to you. Myself I keep gamecock with mine if and when i freerange them. I have had them attack hawks, dogs, they are the bravest of any roosters Not mean to people. Now they don't alway win, but the hens are safe.

 

[oliviad51]

@ deerman, I agree. We have a game cock (tiny little fella), a huge RIR, a good sized australorp and a hybrid (crossed between a game and RIR). The game cock is the smallest out of any of the roosters, yet it is head of the pecking order and takes care of his hens.