Why Have a Rooster?

[Neil1366]

I used to own a rooster and his name was Ill. I think it depends on where you live and your town's local laws. Where I live, we are not allowed to own a rooster but I guess we made that mistake in the past and we are never to buy a rooster again.

 

[Mr Spot]

I have a rooster, he is a game bantam and the hens are all standards, as little as he is he can't hurt them or even top them, he tries but he can't do it. I just got him because I like hearing a rooster crow.

 

[Mojo90]

To say roosters become aggressive is misleading. Some do but alot don't. Chickens in general are extremely territorial and alot of rooster "aggression" is because of instint to protect his flock weather it's one hen or 100.
If you want to hatch chicks then one is required other than that it's personal preference. I've been raising roosters for a good while and I love doing it. Each has thier own personality and their unique crow. They're not all bad like everyone says. It's like the opposite of Facebook with Facebook you read all about people's good times and not any bad times. Here all you read about is the bad ones never the good ones. I'd also venture to say alot of people saying they are bad probably doesn't have any first hand experience and just retelling what they read.

I agree. I LOVE my rooster's! We have three with 13 hens. They've all grown up together & get along great. They've never been aggressive with us ever. I think a lot of folks give rooster's a bad rap.

 

[Ascholten]

Roosters are not necessary to get eggs.
Roosters like ANY other Chicken, you can get good ones and you can get bad ones.

They can be VERY mean, yet not all are.
They can be VERY protective of the girls, yet not all are. I have seen some outrun the girls heading for the coop or safety when a predator comes around, so NO they are NOT automatically great keepers of the flock. Again, it depends on your bird.

I have seen a rooster, his name is Sam, who will try to hop up on you, people who do not know Sam, think he's being aggressive, NO he wants to sit on your lap and you pet him, and give him snacks. He's a bigger roo, so that probably scares people too. Having 10 pounds of flapping feathers coming at you !

I have also seen Sam have a FIT and actually try to fly after hawks sitting in trees !! He will fight them and I firmly believe to the death, though the 2 hawks I seen him get it on with, ran pretty quickly.

There was another rooster, who's name, I will not repeat here. Was an A hole and would attack, would sneak attack too. That one got whapped upside the head with a frying pan and made into lunch.

They crow, almost constantly. You may not mind, if you have neighbors or an HOA, THAT will be a huge issue.
They have sex, constantly. If they pick a favorite bird, it can hurt her after a while, tear her up. They can be rough when they have sex. Then can be quite the gentlemen too... it depends on your bird.

Different species have different traits and tendencies, but again at the end of the day EACH bird is unique.

If you do get one, good luck and I hope you get a good one, because when you DO get a good one, they are very lovable pets, IF you can put up with the constant crowing.

Aaron

 

[Darius123]

Maybe im kinda late to the party but i would like to share a bit of my experience.
So i've been around chickens my whole life, my father being a engineer at a big chicken breeding company. During that time the 2 roosters that we've had (not at the same time), have 1. became agressive after a rough battle with some unknown animal (the rooster had some horrible injuries barely survived and he became kinda paranoid and was attacking everyone out of fear) 2.was agressive since he was little, by forcefully trying to mate, keeping a distance from humans until you turned your back than attacking. These 2 have been culled for obvious reasons.
Than as i started my flock from these brahma eggs some boys hatched. I was extremely reluctant to keep them (i was thinking that if that big of a rooster is going to jump on anyone is going to be bad). But i gave them a change and i also gave me a chance of managing a flock. Years down the line from the original 4 boys i have 3 left, all brahma, all big, all gentle, never have i seen them fight, and now the three brothers are all the leaders of the flock (3 roosters to 30 hens). The point is that every rooster is different, their parents and upbringing matters, the number of hens matters, but if you can manage these 3 you will have some strong protectors, beautiful big birds and cute, cuddly little dinosaurs(or not depending on their size xD)

 

[McChooky]

Cockerels raised in an established flock will respect the pecking order & hierarchy more than human raised cockerels. However if you don't need a defender and don't intend to let your flock raise their own baby chicks you don't even need a rooster .

 

[Isadora]

Only real reason you absolutely need a rooster as if you want to hatch out your own chicks.
That's the main purpose behind mine. But I do enjoy other aspects of having a rooster. I really enjoy the crowing, the pretty feathering, how he tidbits for the ladies, etc. There's a lot more interesting flocked dynamics when you have a rooster involved.
That being said, I don't tolerate aggressive roosters at all. Any boys I hatch out I sell, and if one shows aggressive tendencies to me or my children I eat them.

 

[BauerWFarm]

I would increase the number if you want a male. 3 hens may not be enough for him.

Only 100% reason is because obviously if you want to hatch your own chicks, the hens need a boyfriend.

I keep them together unless they're an extra that isn't staying or if I have to kennel birds for their safety

Yes, well.... I don't because I'm lazy. But yes.

All day, every day

Roosters can be iffy. They aren't all mean, but they're certainly not all nice either. And don't get a bantam because they're smaller. They may be less than a pound of angry, but that pound of angry can get airborne quite easily.

 

[BauerWFarm]

I have a rooster simply by the pullets I purchased one ended up being a roo…. They were held a lot so I chose to keep him… Overall I think he is a great rooster, but I’m not sure of his protecting abilities…. He also isnt fully matured being 7 months. He thinks he is fully matured though

. However, I am the only one he doesn’t show much of any aggression with…. I think it’s because they see me every morning while I read and have my coffee in the chicken yard while they eat their treats and forage. I also will hold him occasionally, at least once every two weeks more or less for a few minutes. He is Plymouth Barred Rock. The breed may make a difference too. I was told Sussex and Brahma Roosters can be more docile.

 

[I Love Feather Babies]

Hello, I am new to chickens. I only have three hens. Is there a reason to have a rooster? If you have a rooster do you keep him with all the hens, or do you have to separate them? Do you still collect eggs each day? How often will the rooster be mating with the hens? Any advice on the advantages to having a rooster vs not having one is helpful? Thank you!

He’s beautiful. Reminds me of my black copper maran that died earlier this year. He was such a good rooster.