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Roosters

There is a lot of folklore surrounding Roosters and their uses and character.

Allow me to set the record straight.

  • Roosters are NOT needed for egg production; hens will lay just the same without one. Roosters are INDEED needed for eggs that will hatch, no rooster, no baby chicks.

  • Roosters can and should be protective of their flock. A rooster should be attentive to his family and will defend them against predators, risking his own life in the process. Roosters are not by nature vicious, and are very sweet and make the most devoted of pets when they are handled and worked with often

  • Crowing is not restricted to sunrise, as roosters will crow at any and all times of day, including night

  • Crowing marks territory, the fewer and farther between the roosters the less crowing you'll have per bird. (In my experience!!!)

  • One Rooster per flock is all that is needed for the backyard flock. "A Henhouse with more than one rooster is worse than a Western town full of outlaws!"

  • Some breeds make better pet roosters than others (I love Cochin and Phoenix roosters!), bantams are ideal due to their small size; their crows do have a have pitch though. I would warn against cockfighting breeds such as the Aasel or Sumatra (Unless obtained as a rehabilitated animal from a rescue program.)

  • Subordinate roosters' rock! Select a bird that will smaller than your biggest hen, and let her run the show! A rooster is best kept in the middle of the pecking order!

  • I highly recommend that if you plan to adopt a chicken from a rescue program, plan for it to be a rooster, there is always a need for rooster homes

  • I warn you to always supervise young children around roosters (as well as all animals!), a rooster may not have the guts to challenge you, but a smaller human is less of formidability to some.

  • Establish yourself as "Top Bird" by handling him often.

Roosters are simply breathtakingly beautiful, have no lack of personality and complete the total spectrum of chicken social life. While their early morning concertos may be annoying to some, others find it the quintessential sound of rural life. The best alarm clock known to man, so to say!

Peter J. Willcütt
peat@urbanagrarian.com
612.719.1988