1st Time Chicken Owner

How many roosters is sufficient for 20 hens?

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Ashley McDaniel

Ashley McDaniel

Songster
Joined
Nov 8, 2017
Messages
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Location
Ohio
Hello everyone! I recently purchased 10 hens and 2 roosters. We have a variety of breeds such as; barred rock hens, Long Island Red hens, Ameracauna hens, Easter Eggers, a White Leghorn Rooster, and a Bearded Silkie Rooster. We bought them locally from a friend who is also an outstanding breeder. My husband and I built a coop, and so far everyone seems to be happy in their new home. My question is: How long should I keep them inside the coop before I allow them to get out and roam around? We live way out in the country so these birds will be free range birds. Any advice, suggestions or just your experience with keeping chickens would be greatly appreciated! Thanks
 
Hi Ashley and welcome to BYC - thanks for joining us. I usually keep my new birds confined to the coop for 3 days and that seems to work for me. What you can do is keep them confined and then begin by letting them out an hour or so before dusk - doing this will ensure that they will not roam far away from the coop, to begin with.

If you have any issues getting them back in the coop, then hang a flashlight in the coop -they will migrate to somewhere lighter (you can then turn off the flashlight, once they are all in).

More generally, here’s a link to the Articles section - https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/ There you’ll find lots of information on almost every aspect of keeping chickens - from coop building ideas, to incubating eggs.

There’s a link on the page above to the Learning Centre - it’s a great resource. If you have a specific topic in mind, just type it in the search box - there's a wealth of information on past and present threads.

Each week, various topics are discussed, which can also be a great resource - https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

If you are in the US, you may wish to consider joining your state thread as it will put you in touch with other BYC members in your area - http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/270925/find-your-states-thread#post_3239224. (There are threads for countries including the UK, Canada and Australia)

All the best

Pork Pie
 
Last edited:
Pork Pie Ken said:
Hi Ashley and welcome to BYC - thanks for joining us. I usually keep my new birds confined to the coop for 3 days and that seems to work for me. What you can do is keep them confined and then begin by letting them out an hour or so before dusk - doing this will ensure that they will not roam far away from the coop, to begin with.

If you have any issues getting them back in the coop, then hang a flashlight in the coop -they will migrate to somewhere lighter (you can then turn off the flashlight, once they are all in).

More generally, here’s a link to the Articles section - https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/ There you’ll find lots of information on almost every aspect of keeping chickens - from coop building ideas, to incubating eggs.

There’s a link on the page above to the Learning Centre - it’s a great resource. If you have a specific topic in mind, just type it in the search box - there's a wealth of information on past and present threads.

Each week, various topics are discussed, which can also be a great resource - https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

If you are in the US, you may wish to consider joining your state thread as it will put you in touch with other BYC members in your area - http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/270925/find-your-states-thread#post_3239224. (There are threads for countries including the UK, Canada and Australia)

All the best

Pork Pie
Click to expand...
Hi Pork Pie, as a child my Nick name was pork chop! Lol The links you gave to me were EXTREMELY HELPFUL! I learned a lot of new things and also realized what I was doing right as well as what I was doing wrong. Thanks so much for taking your time to help
 
Ashley McDaniel said:
Hi Pork Pie, as a child my Nick name was pork chop! Lol The links you gave to me were EXTREMELY HELPFUL! I learned a lot of new things and also realized what I was doing right as well as what I was doing wrong. Thanks so much for taking your time to help
Click to expand...
You are most welcome :thumbsup
 

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