Sometimes I’m asked, “Do I need a rooster for my hen to lay eggs?” The answer to the question is, “No”. Then why do I have a rooster? Maybe a better question is why do I have 4 rooster? Hahaha
I don’t need a rooster to get eggs from my hens. Hens lay eggs. That’s what they do. They have that ability, to lay an egg, and a hen is just fine without a rooster. She can live a happy healthy productive life as long as she has a few friends, after all she is a flock animal and needs that companionship. Huh, funny. That’s kind of like people.
So why have a rooster then? Well, roosters have a job and that job entails more than just fertilizing eggs to produce baby chicks. Granted, a hen cannot have baby chicks without a rooster. She will go broody and sit on unfertilized eggs not knowing that they will never hatch only to give up after a period of time. But as determined as she is to have babies, she will try and sit again later, still with no success.
OK, so other than to fertilize eggs, why have roosters? Back when we first started our little Homestead, we used to sit and watch our flock. We were always amazed at the different calls and vocalizations the chickens have: a bock bock, something that sounds a bit like a purr, and of course crowing! A rooster will find a bit of food and call the girls over to come eat! He will peck at the ground and show them where the food is and once the hens discover what he’s talking about they feverishy peck away at the food. All this time, the hens peck. All this time the rooster stands back and watches. He watches the hens eat. He watches for danger. He keeps an eye on their safety and nourishment. If more than one group of hens is feeding, the roosters will circle the hens, as if patrolling the perimeter, keeping all the girls safe. If there is any left after the hens eat, then they will eat.
He’s always watching. We have seen our roosters charge hawks (and sometime our dogs if they are a danger) that have swooped in to take a hen. We have seen a rooster sacrifice his own life for the safety of the hens. We have lost roosters to predators so that the hens will survive.
Which is part of the reason we have more than one rooster. What happens when you loose a rooster? If you have a second in command, he takes over! If you don’t, you have to raise one, which will take 6 months or at least find a grown one that someone is getting rid of, but there is a time of quarantine (for health reasons for the flock) and a time of acceptance into the flock by the hens. In the mean time, there is no rooster to watch over the girls.
So why four roosters? We have allowed our flock to grow by allowing hens to set on fertile eggs. We are up to about 45 chickens now. That’s a good number for our farm. It supplies you, our customers, with plenty of eggs! There’s always the ebb and flow of farm life too. Sometimes, we will loose a chicken. The hawk got one or one wandered too far away from the rooster’s protection. Or occasionally one doesn’t thrive and we loose it. That’s life.
One rooster will “service” about 10 hens, hence, 4 roosters. They have their own little groups when they are free ranging. They will go to different areas of the farm, a roo and the girls. You will hear the roosters calling to one another from the front to the back. “Hey, we’re back here! Where are you?” “We are over here! Everything good on your side of the farm?” “Yep, all good here.” Or at least that ‘s what I like to tell myself that’s what they are saying.
Roosters are always diligent in their duties. They have a job. Do I need a rooster for eggs? No. Is there a purpose for the rooster then? Yes, male and female each have their own purpose, each with their own abilities. Capable of being on their own but much better together.