Here on Sheads Family Farm, we have one rooster and we love him! Most of the time roosters can get a bad rap, and sometimes they are a little difficult to deal with. However, if the rooster behaves well they really are a great addition to your flock. In this blog post you’ll find the reasons why we chose to keep our rooster, and why you might consider getting one for your flock!
We currently have 15 chickens, and 28 baby chicks just 10 days away from hatching. They have been such a great addition to our homestead, they are actually quite smart and produce eggs for us and our local community. We raised some chicks last year and in the bunch of chicks, one happened to be a rooster. At first I wanted to sell him because of all of the stories I’ve heard about how roosters aren’t very well behaved. He started to grow and still kept his kind demeanor so we decided to keep him. We are so glad we did, he is great for our flock, and provides opportunities for our homestead to be profitable. Below I’m sharing our top reasons why you should keep a rooster ( that is of course, if he has good behavior.)
Why roosters are beneficial to your homestead:
– He really cares for and looks out for the hens. If he finds food on the ground he’ll call them over and let them have it instead of eating it himself. He will also warn the girls if something isn’t as it normally is. However, sometimes hens may need a break from him if their backs are looking a little bare or their feathers are dwindling. I give our hens a break by letting him out to free range a little before I let the hens out. He gets extra time out and about, and the hens get a break from being chased.
– Your homestead can be profitable with a rooster. Since he fertilizes the eggs, you can sell them as hatching eggs for people who are wanting to hatch their own. A way that you can be sure your hens eggs are being fertilized, is to look for a small white circle inside the yolk, once cracked.
– You can incubate eggs to hatch to grow your flock. This has been so so cool for us, we have loved turning the eggs everyday and checking with a flashlight under the egg to see the activity. Life is such a beautiful thing.
– You can continue hatching eggs and sell the newly hatched chicks to a family that wants to get into chickens or grow their own flock.
Keeping a rooster that’s kind and doesn’t try to kill ya, really pays off!