Benefits of Having a Rooster with Laying Hens

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Learn about the benefits of having a rooster with laying hens, including creating a flock that is less cannibalistic, shows lower signs of stress, and has more positive social interactions.

by Sherri Talbot

The rooster is a much-maligned bird in the homesteading world — banned by town ordinances, bemoaned by buyers, and feared by small children everywhere. Often, since they aren’t needed for egg laying, even the best of the boys will be given away, turned into soup, or sometimes abandoned by the side of the road. Some will advise against roosters, citing anecdotal evidence of risks to hens and children and claiming roosters serve no purpose.

Research on Roosters

Do roosters deserve this reputation as useless, dumb, and sometimes violent freeloaders? After all, a study on free-range flocks by Aygün & Narinç showed no statistically significant difference when testing for egg quality, egg quantity, and fear responses on the part of the hens kept with or without a rooster.

However, the study was relatively small, consisting of only eight flocks of 15 hens and one rooster each. In addition, the hens used were Lohmann Sandys, a breed designed for high-production laying only. These birds require intense attention, specific housing, and precise light conditions. They’re not bred to thrive under free-range conditions. Furthermore, this isn’t a breed likely to be used by the average homesteader.

A much larger study involved the ISA Brown — another production breed, but one that’s adaptable to different living conditions. This study involved 9,000 hens (divided into two groups of 4,500 each) and 250 roosters. The birds were housed in two large commercial barns. While they weren’t allowed outside, they were given free run of the barn with free access to food and water. This study found significant differences in the rooster and non-rooster groups, with the hens that had rooster companions laying better and having a lower mortality rate.

Another large study done in 2015 also showed results in which hens exposed to roosters exhibited lower fear responses and less serious aggression between hens kept in a flock with roosters. This suggests that hens kept with roosters have lower stress and a higher quality of life, as well as better production.

For those looking to free-range their flocks, a protective rooster has also been shown to be a good line of defense. A study by Bestman and Bikker-Ouwejan looked at the effect of predation on pasture-raised birds and noted that roosters would often come to the defense of the hens. Farms that kept roosters had a low hen-to-rooster ratio, and the roosters were not always able to rescue the hens in time. However, the rooster was successful in driving off the predator in the observed cases.

The Positive Side of Roosters on the Homestead

For smaller homesteads, the presence of a rooster can be a mixed blessing.

Homesteaders are more likely than industrial operations to raise dual-purpose breeds. These birds are more adaptable to free-range living or being kept in an outdoor run. Roosters from these breeds will fertilize eggs that the hens may brood, or which can be incubated, meaning that breeders aren’t required to consistently buy new birds for their flock.

Because one rooster can service a large number of hens, it’s important to have the proper ratio of hens to roosters in order to prevent overbreeding or fighting amongst the males. Depending on the breed, the age of the rooster, and how important the fertility rate is, this ratio can be anywhere from 9 to 30 hens per rooster.

Owning one’s own rooster also allows for more control over genetics. Chicks or hatching eggs ordered from an outside source offer no guarantee as to the quality of the hatch. Not only does having a healthy, fertile rooster matter to the genetics of his offspring, but the rooster line also can make a difference as to the quality of the hatch.

As mentioned above, the presence of a rooster, for most breeds, creates a flock of hens that are less cannibalistic, show lower signs of stress, and have more positive social interactions. Hens have also been shown to drink more water with a rooster present, which can help to maintain a healthy flock during hot weather.

Finally, having a heavy, dual-purpose breed means that surplus males from hatchings can be good eating. Industrialized egg-laying roosters are often too bony to serve much purpose, and about half of the chicks hatched may be wasted.

Dealing with Rooster Negatives

Roosters can be protective of their hens and their territory. That is, after all, part of their purpose in nature. This can include attacking anything unfamiliar that may appear to be a threat — including dogs, cats, ankles, small children, and other targets the breeder might not be happy with.

Like a guard dog, a rooster needs to be trained in order to separate acceptable targets from those that should be recognized as part of the “flock.” While aggression levels can vary depending on breed and the specific genetic line, giving them direction from an early age can help mold more socially acceptable habits.

Chickens begin to imprint almost immediately after hatching and stop imprinting within only a few days. Once the imprinting phase is over, both male and female chicks will begin to react to anything unfamiliar with a fear response. This means it’s vital that chicks be exposed to and handled by all members of the family they may come into contact with.

Chicks raised with their flock group — rather than being removed and reintroduced after they’re feathered out — show greater social tolerance and more gradual establishment of the “pecking order.” If there’s more than one rooster in a group, dominance is partially recognized through crowing rather than constant combat — with the lead rooster being the first to sound off each day. This shows a definitive hierarchy in flocks and a willingness by less dominant males to submit to the lead rooster.

It’s important then, like with dogs, for humans to become dominant figures. Fighting them simply cements the breeder as competition. However, picking them up, placing them in a position in which they are have no control, and carrying them around until they stop struggling is a harmless method of asserting dominance.

Roosters Are Important to a Flock

Each homestead and farmer will, of course, need to make choices about what works for their situation. It’s important to recognize, though, that despite sometimes having a bad reputation with homesteaders, roosters play an important role in the flock. They protect hens, provide the ladies a sense of security, and sire the next generation. While they can be more aggressive than some people appreciate, this can be controlled with early handling and behavioral training.

Sources
Aygün, A., & Narinç, D. (2024). Effects of Rooster Presence in Free-Range Systems on Egg Performance, Egg Quality and Fear Response. Poultry Studies 21: 034-042. http://doi.org/doi.org/10.34233/jpr.1593986.
Bestman M, Bikker-Ouwejan J. Predation in Organic and Free-Range Egg Production. Animals (Basel). 2020 Jan 21;10(2):177. doi: 10.3390/ani10020177. PMID: 31973002; PMCID: PMC7070886.
Glos, Karma. (2005) The Role of the Rooster. Organic Farms, Folks and Foods. NOFA-NY.
Kristina Odén, Stefan Gunnarsson, Charlotte Berg, Bo Algers. (2005) Effects of sex composition on fear measured as tonic immobility and vigilance behaviour in large flocks of laying hens, Applied Animal Behaviour Science 95(1–2): 89-102. ISSN 0168-1591, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2005.03.003.
Pereira, Dayana & Miranda, Késia & Filho, Luiz & Pereira, Gustavo & Piedade, Sonia & Berno, Patricia. (2017). Presence of roosters in an alternative egg production system aiming at animal welfare. Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia 46: 175-184. 10.1590/s1806-92902017000300001.
Queiroz, Sandra & Cromberg, V.. (2006). Aggressive behavior in the genus Gallus sp. Revista Brasileira de Ciência Avícola 8: 1-14. 10.1590/S1516-635X2006000100001.
Shimmura, Tsuyoshi; Ohashi, Shosei & Yoshimura, Takashi. (2015) The Highest-Ranking Rooster has Priority to Announce the Break of Dawn. Scientific Reports 5: 11683; doi: 10.1038/srep11683.
Van den Brand, H; Van de Kraats, S.J.F.; Sözcü, A.; Jöerissen, R; M.J.W. Heetkamp, I. van den Anker, M. Ooms, B. Kemp. (2019) Both the rooster line and incubation temperature affect embryonic metabolism and hatchling quality in laying hen crossbreds. Poultry Science 98(6): 2632-640. ISSN 0032-5791, https://doi.org/10.3382/ps/pez007.

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Sherri Talbot is the co-owner and operator of Saffron and Honey Homestead in Windsor, Maine. She raises endangered, heritage-breed livestock and hopes someday to make education and writing on conservation breeding her full-time job. Details can be found at SaffronandHoneyHomestead.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SaffronandHoneyHomestead.

Originally published in the June/July 2025 issue of Backyard Poultry and regularly vetted for accuracy.