Bev's chickens

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bevschicks

bevschicks

In the Brooder
5 Years
Oct 9, 2014
30
0
29
Hello all! I am reasonably new at raising chickens. I received 5 chicks when they were 2 days old. I was nervous but excited to see if I could raise them. I lost one rooster to a dog but still have 2 roosters and 2 hens. They are now 5 months old and both hens are laying eggs. However; I don't know the breed of the chickens. I have an idea but not sure though. Hopefully when I submit pictures of them, someone can help me with this. I have so much to learn but excited about the information I have received from this site. Glad to be a member. Thanks, Beverly
 
Hello there and welcome to BYC!
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So sorry about the bird you lost. You can post pics in our What Breed and Gender section for help with the breeds....https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/15/what-breed-or-gender-is-this

Keep in mind that the proper ratio of rooster to hen is 1 to 10. Too many roosters will over mate these two hens and can injure or even kill them. So if you don't have the room, you may need to rehome one of these boys and get a few more hens.

Great to have you aboard and welcome to our flock!
 
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if you post a picture on the What Breed/Gender forum someone should be able to help you id the breed. Also, your hen to rooster ratio is too low, if you don't plan on raising chicks I would rehome the roosters. If you want to raise chicks 1 rooster to 10 hens is a good ratio to have. If any less, the roosters will over breed the hens, causing feather loss and possible injury. I hope this helps, best of luck to you.
 
Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! X2 on post in the What Breed/Gender forum TwoCrows linked for you for help figuring out what your flock is... and you will eventually have to separate out the roos from the pullets or get a lot more pullets.
 
Thank you all for the advice! I know I have one too many roosters per hens but they both are so special to me that I can't think of getting rid of either. However our plans are to get more hens soon. Thank you all! I wasn't aware that they could injure my hens. I will possibly have to reconsider my options if I don't get more hens soon.
 
Welcome to BYC, Bev. Glad you decided to join our flock. X2 on TwoCrows advice regarding that 10 to 1 hen to rooster ratio. I hope you will reconsider your options there if you don't get a lot more hens. As those two roosters mature more, they will become very hard physically on those two hens; over-breeding them, biting and plucking the feathers from their necks and backs, battering them, and potentially, seriously injuring them. The only reason that you really need a rooster is to fertilize eggs for hatching and one rooster can handle 10 tens easily in that regard. I currently have 25 hens and no roosters in my flock, and I get loads of eggs without all the aggression, fights, feeding of non-productive mouths, crowing in the middle of the night, over-breeding and battering of hens that typically goes along with having mature roosters (especially too many of them). My hens are stress free and enjoying life without the roosters around. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. If you would like to know the breed of your chickens, you can post some pics of them and let us take a look at them. You can also post them on our What Breed or Gender is This? link that TwoCrows left you with. Good luck with your flock.
 
Thank you so much for your advice! I'm really new at chicken raising and since my chicks survived me being their "mommy", I have gotten so attached to them all. I had no idea that the roosters will do so much harm to my hens :( I have noticed recently that one of my hens has become aggressive towards my other hen. I'm assuming that is due to pecking order and wanting the roosters attention for herself only?? Thank you again for the feedback! !
 
bevschicks said:
Thank you so much for your advice! I'm really new at chicken raising and since my chicks survived me being their "mommy", I have gotten so attached to them all. I had no idea that the roosters will do so much harm to my hens
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I have noticed recently that one of my hens has become aggressive towards my other hen. I'm assuming that is due to pecking order and wanting the roosters attention for herself only?? Thank you again for the feedback! !
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You're welcome. Your hen pecking order with your hens should sort itself out without much damage, but if that aggressive hen becomes a serious problem, just separate her from the flock until you are able to post again and let us know that she's become a serious problem. There are some effective ways to deal with aggressive hens (sadly, not so much with aggressive roosters).
 

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