30 hens ok for 2 roosters?

[Kraemer7]

Hi! I currently have 11 hens and 1 rooster. They’re all very happy! How we, I’m getting 20 more pullet chicks and 1 more rooster this spring. We have the roosters mostly for protection, but if a hen goes broody, I’d love to have her be able to hatch chicks. Does this ratio mean they are more likely to be less fertile? Should we get another roo chick with the 20 this spring?

 

[Kraemer7]

Hi! I see lots of posts about too many roosters- but what about possibly not enough?
I currently have 11 hens that are between 7mo and 11mo, and 1 rooster. They’re very happy! But, I’m getting ready to get 20 new pullet chicks and 1 roo chick next month. Is that ratio okay? We mostly have the roosters for protection, but if one of our hens go broody I’d love for her to be able to hatch chicks. Does that ratio mean the eggs are less likely to be fertile? Should I get another roo chick? Is that easier than adding an adult rooster later on? Thanks!

 

[Battlepants]

If you are aiming for 100% egg fertility, then yea, you might want to get an extra rooster or 2. A quick google search showed 12 hens per rooster for decent fertility. However, if you just want one of your broodys to be able to hatch something, this is still viable with your limited roosters but will be rather tricky. If you watch your flock for mating, keep track of who gets mated with and what their eggs look like, stop collecting those particular eggs when someone wants to hatch.

 

[Brooks_]

I would wait to see the fertility from the two. Or if not minding processing, add a few then thin based on behavior.

 

[-Flash-]

Yeah thats fine.

 

[azygous]

The two roos can probably handle all those hens. Here's why.

A single mating can produce sperm that lasts up to two weeks. That means one mating will release enough sperm to keep fertilizing the hen for two weeks after the initial contact.

Another reason the two boys will handle it is because the girls are good at placing themselves in the line of fire and the roosters will readily respond to their requests for mating.

You can make sure the eggs are fertile by breaking open random eggs and looking for the faint white "bullseye" on the yolk.

Adding more roosters is not necessary as long as your sampling indicates they are producing mostly fertilized eggs.