How big of a flock do you want?I have 12 Bourbon Reds. I got them on April 8th. They are like flying puppies now. They arrived at the post office and were the size of chicken peeps. Now they are knee high and I will be trying to clip wings soon so they can be outside in their pen during the day. I think 4 or 5 are hens. I will also be trying to separate the jakes from the hens maybe next month. How many males should I ultimately keep?
I try to keep at least 4 to 5 hens for one tom. I also tend to overwinter an extra tom in case something should happen during the winter. I then either sell or process the tom that I don't choose to use as a breeder.