A quick background:
I currently have 6 roosters (2 mature and 4 juvenile) and 30 hens/pullets. They openly free-range on five acres, although, they usually stay on the back two acres. (Personal preference I guess.) I have recently set up a large breeding pen with 1 rooster and 9 hens. The hens consist of three that are actively laying, four about to come into their first laying season, and one hen with her six chicks. (Mama hen is one of the older hens, and has been apart of the active layers for over a year. (Relations are good/friendly, so chicks are safe.))
Now for the question:
This breeding group is an experiment group before working on a slightly larger scale. (Trying to start small.) My question is how many hens per rooster is a good match to ensure all the hens get mated and lay fertile eggs? Is nine hens to one rooster to many? (Technically 8:1 since one hen has chicks.)
I currently have 6 roosters (2 mature and 4 juvenile) and 30 hens/pullets. They openly free-range on five acres, although, they usually stay on the back two acres. (Personal preference I guess.) I have recently set up a large breeding pen with 1 rooster and 9 hens. The hens consist of three that are actively laying, four about to come into their first laying season, and one hen with her six chicks. (Mama hen is one of the older hens, and has been apart of the active layers for over a year. (Relations are good/friendly, so chicks are safe.))
Now for the question:
This breeding group is an experiment group before working on a slightly larger scale. (Trying to start small.) My question is how many hens per rooster is a good match to ensure all the hens get mated and lay fertile eggs? Is nine hens to one rooster to many? (Technically 8:1 since one hen has chicks.)