can 1 roo handle 30 hens?

[chicken delighted]

at present i have 2 beauitful roos in my flock. but the big problem is andy(blue andulasian) is lets say over active. most my chicks look like him.
he is beauitful but i do not like how hard whe works the girls, i will hwve to give him a way or do that thing i wish not to do.
but my concerns is that him and this other roo have been handle this flock for 1 year together. will the other be ok or will he be should i say a chicken and RUN.

ANY SUGGESTIONS PLEASE.

 

[farmergirl96]

In my experience 1 rooster for every 25 hens is good. The hens aren't overworked and the rooster has enough to keep him happy.
If I were you I would get rid of the less active one. That would be a good amount of fertile eggs for how many hens you have.
Good luck!

 

[WallTenters]

No. For that many hens you should have at least two roosters. Just get one that isn't so.. amorous.

 

[Maximus]

For breeding you need 1 Roo for every 10 Hens I think.

 

[GoldenSparrow]

there are so many roosters in needs of homes, if you could, I would get another one.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm not sure what you mean by how hard he works the girls. Are you freaking out because of normal chicken mating or is he actually causing damage to the hens? I'm sorry if my question offends you but you may be surprised how many people think normal chicken mating is cruel and barbaric when it is not to the chickens.

There are different variations in this, but in a normal chicken mating, the rooster drops a wing and dances. The hen squats. This allows her to spread his weight into the ground and not try to carry his weight through her legs. Most roosters are quite a bit bigger than hens of the same breed. Her squatting and spreading the load allows mating to occur without injury to her legs.

The rooster grabs her by the back of the head and climbs on. He is not just using this grip to keep his balance or subdue her. Him pulling on the back of her head is her signal to get her tail up out of the way so he can hit the target. If he does not grab the back of her head, her tail does not get out of the way.

His vent quickly brushes hers and he hops off. She stands up, fluffs her feathers, and shakes. This fluffy shake is not her disdainfully telling him she's seen better. She is shaking so the sperm goes into the right place.

Some things that I see that I consider part of the normal natural mating process.

The rooster dances and the hen starts to run away. He goes about his other business.

The rooster dances and the hen starts to run away. The rooster chases her. She immediately squats. She was just flirting and wanted to see if he was really serious about her.

The rooster dances and the hen runs away. She eventually gets away.

The rooster dances and the hen runs away. He chases her and eventually catches her. Once he grabs her, she submits. Not the ideal situation, but still within acceptable bounds.

Some behavior I find unacceptable.

The rooster does not dance but just grabs hold. He is a brute and does not need to be kept around.

The hen never willingly submits but continues to resist. The rooster forces her. I find fault with both, but mostly the hen. Hens can get damaged this way.

When the rooster is on top, he uses his spurs and claws too much and feathers come off. Some feather loss is not a big deal, but if too many are lost, it is not good. It opens the hen up for cuts. Sometimes it is the rooster using bad technique. Sometimes the hen resists too much. I've trimmed the sharp points of the rooster’s spurs and claws and this often helps.

A rooster does not have a set rotation for servicing his hens. He is more of a nearest is best opportunist. Some hens stay near the rooster and some keep more distance. The ones that hang around him closest are most likely to be over mated. I don't blame the rooster for this and it is really hard to say anything bad about the hen. Both are doing what they should.

When it is one or two hens that become barebacked out of several, I have removed those hens and the problem goes away. Either the hen resists more than she should or the hen is too friendly with the rooster. I have been known to use saddles on the hens that are too friendly.

When the problem is more general, the rooster is the problem. He is a brute or has such bad technique that he is a danger to the flock. He needs to go.

Some of this behavior can be due to the hens or rooster being adolescents and they might outgrow it, but yours are a year old so this should not be an issue with yours.

I'm not sure what you mean by this statement.

but my concerns is that him and this other roo have been handle this flock for 1 year together. will the other be ok or will he be should i say a chicken and RUN.

Are you talking about him keeping the eggs fertile, protecting the flock, or something else?

 

[chickens friend]

I don't know how is tearing your hens up, but if he is tearing their back up clip his toe nails, and if he has spurs clip his spurs. I use a dog toe nail clipper and when the spurs and toe nails become sharp I will cut the ends of them off. Also with 30 hens I would look into having three roosters if you want good fertility, but if you just want eggs and don't plan to set them then really just one rooster will do, or none at all (but if you are like me, I like to have a rooster with my hens).

 

[ChickenAlgebra]

Fertile eggs or protection detail? Fertile, need at least 2, 3 is better. Protection, just 1 who wants the job and the hens listen to is fine. The laying flock of 73 hens has 1 roo. It works.