chickens

ejb · Feb 2, 2003

Unless you want to raise chicks from teh eggs, the rooster is just another mouth to feed.

In my experience (which is not substantial), the roosters are best to be avoid if you don't need them.

I had 8, and am down to 3...(and those three are pretty nervous).

The first five just drove me crazy with the constant "crowing" at the sun (which apparently rises every 5 minutes at my house).

One by one I just let the roosters out of the copp to "explore" a little bit...the fox came by each night and took care of the rest for me (these guys were too small to bother cooking, imo).

They absolutely brutalize the hens and each other...went out to the coop the just other day and there was evidene of a battle of epic proptions some time during the night...the two big roosters are covered from head to tow in blood, blood spatter against the floor, cieling (8 feet up) and all 4 walls...quite a mess. Both of the big roosters (only two in this coop) were pretty chewed up. Neither was killed, but close.

These same two roosters went at it over the summer and one gouged-out the eyeball of the other...he walked around with a hole in his head for quite a while, but much to my amazement he did grow it back /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif.

I guess the hens can be pretty bad too. In my other coop, one of my rhode-island reds got its head wedged into a small crack between two boards, and the other 22 birds proceeded to eat away at his head for the next few hours...she lived to, but even after I freed her the other hens wouldn't leave her alone(kept getting "snacks" from the back of her head /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif) so I shot her...didn't really feel like building a chicken quarantine to allow her to recuperate.

Chickens can be fun, but seeing as how disgusting/brutal they really are to each other, I am feeling less like it will be al that difficult once I get around to start slaughtering them.

Enjoy.

PS: In my 25 bird back from Murracy, I got 26 birds, but only one rooster...pretty decent odds.

In my "straight run" that I got first time around (different provider) I got 6 roosters and only 4 hens.

Dozernut · Feb 2, 2003

Hey Boondox
I have a rule at my house. The chickens cannot use the table saw or other woodworking equipment. They just are not safety conscious. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

wroughtn_harv · Feb 3, 2003

I'll have to have my vote go for having a rooster or two in the flock. The eggs taste better is the opinion around my house.

I have three hens and two roosters. The hens are still laying even this late and cold. The one rooster is a total toot. He's a real gentleman. I can hold him and he'll allow kids to pet his comb and beard. He's just a big pet. The other one hangs around and gets his butt kicked regular. If not by people for being a horse's toot it's by the other rooster. He's like a big teen ager full of it.

Mine are all range chickens. They have a coop but have taken to sleeping on the roof. I feed them when I feed the goats. They love table scraps more than anything, especially bar b que. They'll kill and eat mice, crawfish, and they do a real number on grasshoppers.

They all have different personalities and we get along just fine. I find their comments about my work much easier to swallow than the feedback I get from the turkeys who drop in occasionally.

Boondox · Feb 3, 2003

Nuthing like a barefoot walk thru the yard when there are free range chickens aroun.


Unless you have several large dogs to clean it up! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Pete

Boondox · Feb 3, 2003

( Ah, the old rooster -- no rooster debate! )

We were very impressed with the Rhode Island Red roosters we had. They were very protective of the hens. One even took on a greyhound as it attacked the flock...and the dog was cut up pretty badly before my dogs even joined the fray! That rooster saw the dog coming and actually put himself between the attacker and the flock! Gotta admire bravery like that. We eventually lost that bird when he attempted to save the hens from a fox. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

But generally we've found that roosters are more trouble than they're worth. They eat a LOT, brutalize the hens (barnyard sex is not the kinder, gentler variety), and make a LOT of noise.

Are the hens happier with roosters around? They don't seem to notice their absense, IMO. Do the eggs taste better? Maybe, but my taste buds can't tell the difference. Do they have more to eat without the males around? Absolutely!

But we miss the colorful character (and plumage) of the roosters. Our solution was to get a pair of banty roosters. They don't eat much, are too small to brutalize the hens, are just as pretty as their full-sized versions, are not as loud, and the hens seem pretty happy with them. Guess it's true that size doesn't matter! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Pete

dlabrie · Feb 3, 2003

You can read about our experiences raising them on our very own Chicken Page. A Flock of Your Own Enjoy. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Pete, Thanks,
I had already been to your site. A lot of great information.
I can't wait until the girls arrive! Are the "heavy Breeds" in danger from hawks after they are full grown?

As far as roosters go. Those a lot more knowledgeable than I have answered that. I am just going to wait and see what happens.

Anonymous Poster · Feb 3, 2003

Personnaly(just me) I love a colorful rooster or 2 in my flock,I have more...I bought some chcikens from McMurray and I ordered the "Ornamental Layer Collection"it is a mixed order of I believe 8 different rare breed's and all hens,it is kinda of neat to let them grow and see what you got in the mix.....I think the little crested varities are cute with the little bumps on there heads and the fancy footed ones with the feathers down there legs.....I have some Black Sumatras and Lakenvelders on the way from Strohmbergs along with some rare "Russian Orloffs"I also have some fighting game's a guy gave me.....talk about a hearty breed...and they lay good too,sometimes you have to go to the barn or woods and look in the brushpiles for the eggs....

Boondox · Feb 3, 2003

Our Buff Orpingtons are about as big as they get without being called turklets. We lost a few of them to hawks last summer. The hens were too big to fly away with after the killing was done, and of course the dogs chased the hawk away so the meat was a total waste. I don't mind feeding the hawks now and then, but that fox that kills the entire flock without eating a thing is a bit hard to take!

Pete

Schultz · Feb 4, 2003

One year I ordered 10 pullet Aracaunas from the local farm supply and got 6 roosters, but I can't remember the hatchery they ordered them from.

Schultz · Feb 4, 2003

Like you, I found the roosters to be quite hard on the hens. My flock ranges from 5-10. I had a beautiful Aracauna rooster. He crowed all day long and all night long when there was a full moon. He also plucked all the feathers out of my hens backs and necks. So, I got rid of him. I like having the rooster around just for looks and the crowing. Last spring I got a Wild Jungle Foul chick in hopes it would be a rooster, and it was. He's beautiful bird with a quieter crowing and he's too small to do much to the large hens. He sure keeps trying though.
Tim