Can a rooster mate only one hen?

[bobbi-j]

So... you don't have them yet. Good. Do you have the coop built? If not, I would suggest you build it bigger than you think you need. Especially if you plan on hatching chicks. It is VERY important to have a plan for any chicks you hatch. Will you have room to expand your flock? As stated previously, it can be a disaster if they are over crowded. What is your plan for the extra males you will end up with if you hatch? It's really not the best idea to keep them all together with the established rooster and hens. As also previously stated, they will gang up on the females, continually harassing and gang breeding them to the point where they may not be able to eat, drink or dust bathe in peace. (This is the voice of experience speaking. That situation didn't last long.) It's not the best management to cause your hens/pullets that kind of stress. That can also affect their laying. I wish you the best with your new hobby. Chickens can be a lot of fun, but if not managed properly, chicken keeping can also be heartbreaking.

 

[Girly White Silkie]

So... you don't have them yet. Good. Do you have the coop built? If not, I would suggest you build it bigger than you think you need. Especially if you plan on hatching chicks. It is VERY important to have a plan for any chicks you hatch. Will you have room to expand your flock? As stated previously, it can be a disaster if they are over crowded. What is your plan for the extra males you will end up with if you hatch? It's really not the best idea to keep them all together with the established rooster and hens. As also previously stated, they will gang up on the females, continually harassing and gang breeding them to the point where they may not be able to eat, drink or dust bathe in peace. (This is the voice of experience speaking. That situation didn't last long.) It's not the best management to cause your hens/pullets that kind of stress. That can also affect their laying. I wish you the best with your new hobby. Chickens can be a lot of fun, but if not managed properly, chicken keeping can also be heartbreaking.

I should get get one online...

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

You may also want to pick up the book "Storey's Guide To Raising Chickens" by Gail Damerow. A wealth of information in that book.

I have this book and I absolutely love it.

 

[lazy gardener]

I should get get one online...

Are you talking about your coop? Beware, prefab coops are over priced, poorly designed, poorly built, poorly ventilated, and a prime example of false advertising. A coop that is advertised as "Will hold 8 birds" will, most likely only provide room for 3 birds, and even at that, will still be poorly designed to meet the needs of ANY chicken.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

The spot my rooster is perched on is the roof of the vents. 2 on each side.
I bought a coop online. It was expensive. The run was too small for 5 light brahmas but the henhouse was a good size and very well ventilated. I guess I got lucky. I’m building my new coop this month because I can’t drop $700 on a coop that’s too small for 6 hens.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm glad you are here trying to educate yourself before you get the chicks. There are a lot of adults that are not that clever.

Silkies are notoriously hard to sex until they get older. Are you planning to start with older Silkies or chicks? If you do start with chicks be aware that it may be difficult to know their sex.

Many breeders keep one rooster with one or two hens throughout the breeding season without the over-mating problems people talk about. The secret to this is that they are using mature roosters and hens, not immature cockerels and pullets. When those cockerels and pullets are going through puberty and adolescence it can get really wild and physical. Just like you can get some people that never really mature you can possibly get some cockerels or pullets that never grow up, but usually they do. It's also possible to have a hen or rooster that is just a brute and a bully, that no matter what they are going to disrupt your flock and be a danger to the others. I don't get many of these but when I do I do not allow them to remain with my flock. There are too many good hens and roosters out there to put up with a bad one.

To sum up, you may or may not be OK with one rooster and three hens when they grow up. A lot of that depends on the individual personality of the individual chicken. Extra room helps. Be prepared when they are adolescents for it to get really rough in the coop and run. You may be OK but you may need a separate place to house that cockerel until he grows up.

An obvious question is what ages are we talking about for adolescence? That question does not have an easy answer. Some cockerels can start as early as 12 weeks, some may wait until they are 5 months old to start. I've had some cockerels act pretty mature at 5 months, I've had some that were 11 months before they really hit maturity. For pullets they usually mature a lot when they start laying eggs. I've had some pullets start to lay at 16 weeks, I've had some not start until they were 9 months old.

I assume since you plan to hatch chicks that you will be integrating them with your flock. If you have a broody hen raise the chicks with the flock or raise them separately and integrate later don't believe any magic number as to how much room chickens need based on a square foot per chicken. I do not have a specific size in mind for you but you can follow the link in my signature to see some of the things I'd consider. The important thing is that they have enough room to get away from each other when you are integrating.

This is the hard one, especially if you don't have he experience to base it on, but design as much flexibility into your facilities as you can. A part of this is to provide as much room as you can. You may need to add some things, room to add them is important. I find it is very handy to have a separate place to isolate one or more chickens from the flock. I don't know what your budget for this is or how much room you have to work with.

One last thing this morning. It might be a real good idea for you to just get the three pullets or hens the first year. No male. Get some experience keeping chickens before you start hatching. There is a learning curve to all of this. To just keep hens you do not need as much room. This might keep your initial costs down and help you a lot in deciding how to expand your facilities to get ready for hatching.

Good luck!

 

[oellian]

I was worrying about a rooster mating only one hen, can you please tell me if the rooster can mate only one hen?

If you mean "...at a time...", then yes. Otherwise, just imagine when they might be called "cocks". Just sayin'. I had one rooster, and a dozen hens, and he wore bald patches off of more than one of them.

 

[Girly White Silkie]

I have this book and I absolutely love it.

Is there an online version of this?

 

[Girly White Silkie]

Are you talking about your coop? Beware, prefab coops are over priced, poorly designed, poorly built, poorly ventilated, and a prime example of false advertising. A coop that is advertised as "Will hold 8 birds" will, most likely only provide room for 3 birds, and even at that, will still be poorly designed to meet the needs of ANY chicken.

Yes

 

[Girly White Silkie]

View attachment 1191460 The spot my rooster is perched on is the roof of the vents. 2 on each side.
I bought a coop online. It was expensive. The run was too small for 5 light brahmas but the henhouse was a good size and very well ventilated. I guess I got lucky. I’m building my new coop this month because I can’t drop $700 on a coop that’s too small for 6 hens.

Your roosters cute