Rooster with Hens?

[John]

I know that I want a rooster in the coop as a dominant hen will act like one and I don\'t want that

Why?  If you have a flock of laying hens and one is queen of the roost, due to pecking order, why would is be better to have a cock as king of the roost?

[Guest]

     The reason I have for that is from the reading I have been doing and I\'ve read that the rooster keeps order, the hens feel safer as a good rooster protetcts them kind of like the man of the house.  I think that makes so much sense and would like to go with that because a rooster can make much more noise to let me know something isn\'t right (hawk or other pereditor trying to intrude.  Is this not wise thinking?
     I also think a nice looking rooster would look nice on our farm with the hens and the meat chickens which will be seperated because of their different diets.  The meat chickens will be in the tractors to get the nutrients that add to the free range meat quality.
     I planned to get some Ameraucana hens say 6 for the nice egg color but wonder what I\'ll get probably ee\'s as they are Ameraucana/Araucana crosses at Meyer Hatchery in Polk, OH.

Thanks John for your input!!

I know that I want a rooster in the coop as a dominant hen will act like one and I don\'t want that

Why?  If you have a flock of laying hens and one is queen of the roost, due to pecking order, why would is be better to have a cock as king of the roost?

[Guest]

It has been said that a coop without a rooster can have a hen that crows.  To me that is just plain weird and I\'d rather not have that going on.    It just makes more sense to have a rooster that crows and protects the flock.  Do you agree with that?  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Ann

I know that I want a rooster in the coop as a dominant hen will act like one and I don\'t want that

Why?  If you have a flock of laying hens and one is queen of the roost, due to pecking order, why would is be better to have a cock as king of the roost?

[Guest]

Ann,

The rooster in the picture is an easter egger. He is a nice looking bird but his health is failing because of old age. If you just have a few hens, a rooster will cause damage to the back feathers on your hens. Even if you have 20 birds and one rooster he will sometimes pick out his favorite and jump her often producing a back devoid of feathers.

You are correct in that the males are good at watching for danger. If you have hawks around, they will warn the hens of danger. I have watched my hens walk around and not even see a hawk but the roosters see the hawk before I do.

I have many roosters because I do experimental crossing with my birds. Most of mine are in cages. They get into too much trouble running free.

Tim

[Paul]

Several years ago we sold some wheatens to a neighbor.  While there delivering their birds we saw & heard some silver phoenix pullets crow.  A closer look at them revealed that they also had spurs!  These cock like pullets were purchased at a local flea market.  I bet they were a real joke of an egg layer, but I never checked back with their owners to find out how they did at laying.

[John]

a coop without a rooster can have a hen that crows

I understanding that while some hens will crow and take on some male traits it has to do with hormonal changes and has nothing to do with whether or not you have a cock in the flock.  The hormonal changes may be brought on by some illness and the hen may return to her regular self in time.

[Guest]

Tim,

     Do you know if your \"Easter Egger\" is an Ameraucana / Araucana cross?  That is what the Hatchery near me has.  I was going to go with a pure bred Ameraucana rooster hatchling because I thought it\'d have a nicer / friendlier temperment and look nicer.  Your Easter Egger what ever it\'s mix is looks great!!  Is it friendly (not mean)?
     The number of hens we plan to have will be around 37 and we will have 25 meat chickens seperate from the egg layers.  
     Why do books and internet sites say to have one rooster for ever 20 hens?  One rooster for the 37 would be fine from the info. I have read..  is this not correct??

Thanks,

Ann

Ann,

The rooster in the picture is an easter egger. He is a nice looking bird but his health is failing because of old age. If you just have a few hens, a rooster will cause damage to the back feathers on your hens. Even if you have 20 birds and one rooster he will sometimes pick out his favorite and jump her often producing a back devoid of feathers.

You are correct in that the males are good at watching for danger. If you have hawks around, they will warn the hens of danger. I have watched my hens walk around and not even see a hawk but the roosters see the hawk before I do.

I have many roosters because I do experimental crossing with my birds. Most of mine are in cages. They get into too much trouble running free.

Tim

[Guest]

While there delivering their birds we saw & heard some silver phoenix pullets crow.  A closer look at them revealed that they also had spurs!  These cock like pullets were purchased at a local flea market.  I bet they were a real joke of an egg layer, but I never checked back with their owners to find out how they did at laying.

This is not unusual for any breed where the male charicteristics are exagerated such as Phoenix, Game Fowl, Sumatras, ect.  
 When I was young I had several pit game hens that had spurs, would crow, were great layers and mothers, and could not be allowed to be together because they would fight worse than most roosters.

 
Mark