Sebright Bantam Hen to Rooster Ratio

[Emerson DeCurtins]

What’s a good hen to rooster ratio for Silver Sebright chickens? There are some at an auction as a pair, can they be kept as a pair or will the hen be over mated? I’d prefer to keep them as a pair as long as the hen would be healthy and happy. They’ll have a 120 sq ft run and a 64 sq ft coop with a couple other seramas in it, so they won’t be bored!

 

[NatJ]

What’s a good hen to rooster ratio for Silver Sebright chickens?

The usual hen to rooster ratios are meant for big hatcheries: they want to keep as few roosters as possible while still having all the eggs be fertile. That usually means about 1 rooster per 10 hens, with slight variation from one breed to another. They are concerned with fertility, not whether the hens are over-mated.

can they be kept as a pair or will the hen be over mated? I’d prefer to keep them as a pair as long as the hen would be healthy and happy.

That might work, or it might not work. It will depend on the behavior of that specific rooster.

They’ll have a 120 sq ft run and a 64 sq ft coop with a couple other seramas in it, so they won’t be bored!

The big pen should definitely help.

If they are in the same pen, the Sebright rooster will mate with the Serama hens too. Having other hens available may have an effect on whether he over-mates the Sebright hen.

If there are any Serama roosters, they will also mate with the Sebright hen. If you want to hatch purebred Sebright chicks, this could be a problem.