20 hens to 5 roosters?

[Tpackage]

So I have 20 hens which many are young. I have 5 roosters which are also all young. Starting to mature. Lead aggressive Rooster was recently killed by hawk. Only rooster crowing is little tiny bantam. I am seeing 1 egg a day. The young hens were starting to lay. All of a sudden they stopped. Not sure what to do if anything? Get rid of a few roosters? The other roosters are 3 golden wyondottes , 1 speckled sussex which is super friendly, a tiny little bantam { which breed I am not sure.} Was given 2 black silkies which were straight runs and 1 may be a rooster but not sure still. So I may have 6.

 

[black_cat]

Rehoming might be a good idea. You want to pick one that is not aggressive toward you or the hens, and does a good job protecting them.

 

[Tpackage]

Thats what I am thinking. Keep the speckled sussex which we named Tanner and the little bantam we named Little Mamba & 1 of the golden wise guys who really like to free range very far. That would be 3 unless that one silkie turns out to be rooster? Hmm he is too cute. I would have to keep 4 then. Oh boy!

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome!
How old are these birds? BTW, they are pullets and cockerels until one year of age, so you have pullets, not hens, and cockerels, not roosters.
I'm wondering about the 'super friendly' SS, how old is he? It's easy to mistake 'friendly' for 'bold', in cockerels, and it doesn't always turn out well. Cockerels who work out better should be paying more attention to their flockmates, not following the humans around, IMO.
This is a large number of cockerels for your flock size, so planning to rehome some of them is a good idea. Choosing who stays is tricky, and can take time to figure out.
Will you be trying to raise chicks in your flock? Then breeds matter.
Here we eliminate any with structural flaws, and human aggressive, and any rough on their flockmates, or who can't get along with the other roosters.
Keep them a bit longer, and see how they are doing. BUT don't let the pullets get harassed, so eliminate as you need for their sake.
Mary

 

[DobieLover]

So I have 20 hens which many are young. I have 5 roosters which are also all young. Starting to mature. Lead aggressive Rooster was recently killed by hawk. Only rooster crowing is little tiny bantam. I am seeing 1 egg a day. The young hens were starting to lay. All of a sudden they stopped. Not sure what to do if anything? Get rid of a few roosters? The other roosters are 3 golden wyondottes , 1 speckled sussex which is super friendly, a tiny little bantam { which breed I am not sure.} Was given 2 black silkies which were straight runs and 1 may be a rooster but not sure still. So I may have 6.

The recent hawk attack is also largely to blame for the egg production drop. I would pare it down to one or two cockerels.

 

[Folly's place]

Two can be a good number, agree. The issue will be, which two?
Mary

 

[Tpackage]

Welcome!
How old are these birds? BTW, they are pullets and cockerels until one year of age, so you have pullets, not hens, and cockerels, not roosters.
I'm wondering about the 'super friendly' SS, how old is he? It's easy to mistake 'friendly' for 'bold', in cockerels, and it doesn't always turn out well. Cockerels who work out better should be paying more attention to their flockmates, not following the humans around, IMO.
This is a large number of cockerels for your flock size, so planning to rehome some of them is a good idea. Choosing who stays is tricky, and can take time to figure out.
Will you be trying to raise chicks in your flock? Then breeds matter.
Here we eliminate any with structural flaws, and human aggressive, and any rough on their flockmates, or who can't get along with the other roosters.
Keep them a bit longer, and see how they are doing. BUT don't let the pullets get harassed, so eliminate as you need for their sake.
Mary

Okay thanks for the info. I appreciate it. So I have 7 hens which are 2 to 3 years old. Now the rest were all bought this year in end of March & April as chicks . And he two black silkies were given to me in middle of June.

 

[Sammy1122]

I’d pair it down to two or none.Lots of times, escpecially if this is your first go around with Chickens, young roosters can ruin your whole experience.I would replace all 5 youngsters with a grown rooster.

 

[Tpackage]

Two can be a good number, agree. The issue will be, which two?
Mary

There is no way Tanner my speckled sussex is going. This bird loves me. The recent Silver lace wyandotte was super aggressive. My wife I think was actually happy the hawk got him. I liked him though. The Little tiny bantam. So cute. Probably weighs 10 ounces. I'll try and take some pictures and show you all. The 3 golden wyandottes are georgous. I would love to keep one. Man that's three. one rooster to 10 to 12 hens is the rule of thumb correct? Well I have to go get more

 

[Folly's place]

Your hens may help educate these cockerels, which is a good thing.
I hope you aren't misinterpreting this behavior from the SS cockerel; time will tell. These boys are starting to mature, and you will know more over the next few months. Do cut down on numbers though!
Mary