Roosters - Good or Bad?

Well that's a very good question. That depends on what you want to do with your chickens. Are you keeping hens for eggs and meat or do you want to breed as well.

These are the things you should consider before you look into getting a rooster

• Roosters are territorial and will attack both adults and children alike (I'm talking from experience here)
  
• Roosters don't have set hours for crowing. If there is more than one rooster then they will have crowing competitions. Not good at 3 am in the morning when you want to get some sleep!
• Hens kept for laying will have no peace from a rooster wanting to do his duty. The hens end up ragged and can cease laying.
• More than one rooster can end up with constant fights and badly injured birds if kept together
• If breeding a rooster will be happy if he has at least four hens. The rooster should be in with his hens for a minimum of ten days.
• Don't let the rooster free range outside of his area. Better to give your rooster a nice sized area where he can pick for bugs and grubs and stay healthy rather than being confined in a small cage or run.

My advice is if you're only keeping hens for eggs and for the pot then don't get a rooster. If a hen goes broody then get some fertile eggs instead and put those under the hen to hatch. Saves having the trouble of getting a rooster in especially to get the eggs fertile. If you're breeding make sure the rooster you get has nice bright eyes, comb and wattles. His feathers should be shiny and healthy looking. Wings shouldn't droop and the legs should be clean and free of any parasites and diseases. A rooster with a dull comb, drooping wings and dull feathers should be pointedly avoided. He won't be healthy enough to breed from. Give the rooster clean housing and a nice good sized area where he can roam outside and scratch and pick to his hearts content.