Can I get by with 2 roosters and 6 hens?

[Kisura]

I am new to raising chickens. Can I keep 2 roosters with 6 hens? Or would that be a major mistake?

Backstory: My friend and I each got six chickens, born April(ish). We were both expecting 6 hens, but it turns out we each have atleast one rooster. I am fine with mine, but she can’t keep hers due to neighbor noise concerns. I’d take him but am concerned about the rooster / hen mix and limited space.

I have 2 bantam Americanos, 2 bantam blue laced Wyandotte’s, and 2 full size Orphington’s. My rooster is one of the Blue Laced Wyondotte’s. (Another friend is giving me a Cochin hen that doesn’t fit in her flock.) The rooster in question is a full size Rhode Island Red. She says he’s very friendly and lets her pick him up, but he is still young and hasn’t even started crowing yet.

I‘ve found two people who’ll take him with plans to put him in the freezer right away.

Would it be a mistake for me to take him in?

 

[LadiesAndJane]

From what I understand, and I am no expert, is general rule of thumb is 12 hens to 1 rooster. There are of course exceptions if you have plenty of space and the birds were raised together. The roosters are territorial and also the hens can be overbred if there are not enough of them per rooster.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I keep an odd number of roosters, & hens, & have very few problems with it.

If anything, a hen saddle for your ladies is a must.

 

[OmnipotentOrpington]

I'm not sure of the ratio of roosters to hens, but you definitely want to only have one rooster. There are other options, of course. You could keep two roosters, but you would have to keep them in their own enclosure; away from the hens. They would definitely fight over the hens.

 

[MysteryChicken]

The ratio is 10 hens per rooster.

 

[Kisura]

Sounds like my instinct and limited research is proving correct - unless i have the ability to keep them separate, which I don’t currently have, 2 roosters would be asking for more trouble than I’m ready for.

I keep an odd number of roosters, & hens, & have very few problems with it.

If anything, a hen saddle for your ladies is a must.

Do you recommend a hen saddle even with one rooster? I’ve seen comments about them, but I really am so new at this, I’ve held off on pursuing that. I also just recently confirmed I do, in fact, have a roo.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Sounds like my instinct and limited research is proving correct - unless i have the ability to keep them separate, which I don’t currently have, 2 roosters would be asking for more trouble than I’m ready for.


Do you recommend a hen saddle even with one rooster? I’ve seen comments about them, but I really am so new at this, I’ve held off on pursuing that. I also just recently confirmed I do, in fact, have a roo.

If the rooster is rough on the ladies, then a hen saddle will help.

For awhile in one coop I had 2 roosters with 5 hens that worked out fine. Both were brothers of different ages.
Had to separate them recently, because the younger brother tried to take (Alpha) The older brother's place, & beat up really sore.

 

[FlocksOfFluff]

Rhode island red roosters need more hens and are known for being more agressive, so 12-14 hens for 1 rir roo, but if you have 1 bantam roo with 3 bantam hens and 3 standard sized hens you can probably keep them all together without having to use saddles, but it does depend on the attitude of your roo and the space you have for them.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’d take him but am concerned about the rooster / hen mix and limited space.

I don't believe in that magic number ratio of hens to rooster. I base that on my experience and what a lot of other people do. Plenty of people don't come close to those magic ratios and do fine. Others have a lot more hens and still have issues.

What are your goals for chickens? How do males fit in with those goals? The only reason you need a rooster is if you want fertile eggs. Anything else is just personal preference. Nothing wrong with personal preferences, I have a few myself. But that is a want, not a need.

I typically suggest you keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. That's not because you are guaranteed problems with more roosters but because problems are more likely. In your specific case I advise against it. I think you are asking for trouble.

First, these are not mature roosters but cockerels. Their hormones are going to go wild, they will probably be out of control as they go through puberty. They are likely to fight with each other and they will probably be really rough on the girls. Those have nothing to do with boy to girl ration. They will fight just as much over 20 girls as they will over one. You can have over-mated pullets whether you have one pullet or 20.

The other issue is that your space is limited. Having more than one boy gets a lot harder unless you have a lot of room. By a "lot of room" I don't mean a few square feet per bird. I mean enough room that they can totally get out of sight of each other. Even then it's not a guarantee that it will work, but the less space you have the harder it is.

 

[Kisura]

I don't believe in that magic number ratio of hens to rooster. I base that on my experience and what a lot of other people do. Plenty of people don't come close to those magic ratios and do fine. Others have a lot more hens and still have issues.

What are your goals for chickens? How do males fit in with those goals? The only reason you need a rooster is if you want fertile eggs. Anything else is just personal preference. Nothing wrong with personal preferences, I have a few myself. But that is a want, not a need.

I typically suggest you keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. That's not because you are guaranteed problems with more roosters but because problems are more likely. In your specific case I advise against it. I think you are asking for trouble.

First, these are not mature roosters but cockerels. Their hormones are going to go wild, they will probably be out of control as they go through puberty. They are likely to fight with each other and they will probably be really rough on the girls. Those have nothing to do with boy to girl ration. They will fight just as much over 20 girls as they will over one. You can have over-mated pullets whether you have one pullet or 20.

The other issue is that your space is limited. Having more than one boy gets a lot harder unless you have a lot of room. By a "lot of room" I don't mean a few square feet per bird. I mean enough room that they can totally get out of sight of each other. Even then it's not a guarantee that it will work, but the less space you have the harder it is.

Thank you. All good info and advice.

My original goals were eggs and some pet-focus. When I realized I likely have a rooster, I started thinking I could look forward to some breeding for a continued cycle of birds. I’ve helped my son-in-law on his poultry farm, so I’m not opposed to idea of raising birds for meat alone, but I’ve never kept birds myself so haven’t been faced with the need to cull. I know it’s different when they are “pets”. Even he has some he is personally attached to.

I do have potential for a lot of space, but we have a lot of very aggressive and predatory hawks; we’ve had hawks take large robins within feet of us, so we don’t trust our presence alone would deter them from hunting the chickens. I’m looking at building a mobile tractor to get them out during the day (and to mow the lawn...). I guess this says as much as anything- I’m being very cautious due to the hawks, as I don’t want to lose a chicken to the hawks. Having two roosters fight each other and cause injury to the others is likely more than I’m ready to take on right now.

Thanks for the info!