A hen is a delightful feathered friend who will provide you with both eggs and entertainment. But in deciding to bring hens to your farm, you also need to decide if you will keep a rooster as well. Do you actually need a rooster? What are the pros and cons of keeping a rooster? How do you choose the right rooster for your home? And—the question everyone asks—what happens if you end up with a mean rooster?

(Don't want to read all the words? This blog post is also a podcast—just press the triangle play button on the little black bar at the top of this post!)

Oddly enough, our own journey into the world of chickens didn't start with chicks or even adult hens. Although we had talked about jumping on board with the backyard chicken craze, our foray into chickens actually started with a rooster we found on a cold rainy March morning, sitting half frozen in the ditch in front our house.

Folks, we didn't live anywhere near anyone who had chickens or would keep chickens.  It had to be a sign from God, right? Well, that's what I took it as, and so our adventure with chickens started early by keeping a rooster that we nursed back to health from near frozen.

We've had many roosters over the years: Brownie, Winston, Pete, Norman, Chowder, and others. Some of them we remember fondly, some of them we remember as soup—with really good homemade noodles. Roosters can be super sweet or rather challenging, so there are a few things to know before you make your decision about keeping a rooster.

Keeping a rooster? Do you really need one?

There are many reasons you may choose to keep a rooster, but the only reason you actually need one is if you want baby chicks. Hens will lay eggs regardless of whether or not a rooster is in the picture, but those eggs will only be fertilized and produce chicks if a rooster is involved.

If you want eggs, get a hen. If you want fertile eggs, you'll need to keep a rooster, too.Share on X

Another advantage to keeping a rooster is they will warn (and potentially protect) the flock from predators. Amazingly enough, in their commotion to gather their girls to a safe place, it will also warn you. And this doesn't matter if you have free range chickens or not—their protection and warnings have served in both situations at our homestead.

One of my favorite parts of keeping a rooster is watching their gentlemanly behavior with the ladies. A decent rooster will show his ladies where the food is, always offering it to them first. I love listening to their chickeny language, and I like to imagine the conversations they're all having together. Roosters are noisy, to be sure, but all their chatter means something. I got very good at knowing when a hawk was flying overhead by the specific alert my roosters would give to the girls.

If you choose to keep a rooster...

Don't keep too many roosters. Most folks suggest that 1 rooster for every 8-12 hens is a good ratio. Too many roosters and not enough hens means those roosters will get rough with each other.

 

Know the laws for where you live. Many urban/suburban areas don't allow a rooster to be kept, mostly because of their incessant crowing.

 

Roosters crow whenever they want, not just to greet the morning sun like we learned in Saturday morning cartoons of old. And some roosters are more chatty than others, so if you have neighbors, be aware it could be an issue.

How to choose the right rooster

You ordered a straight run of chicks. They've grown up and you can now tell which are gals and which are guys. Now you have to choose which rooster you will keep to entertain you, protect the hens, and provide fertilization. How do you pick the right rooster for the job?

Choose a healthy looking, strong, social, friendly rooster who doesn't appear to be a jerkface. A rooster who gets along with the ladies and doesn't seem to be an outcast is a winner in my book.

But, also know this: you, dear human,