Can you keep one hen and one rooster

[Noah]

I have one rooster.
I was wondering if I can put one hen in with him.

 

[shellyga]

Others with more experience might chime in.. but the only thng I would worry about is overbreeding with just one hen.

Shelly

 

[Noah]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I man I know has only one hen that he is selling.
The hen is a Rhode Island Red. (I can't find anymore anywhere)
He seems to think it will be fine but I am not sure.

My rooster does seem really lonely.
I just want to make the right decision.
I hadn't realized it would be so difficult to find hens. (roosters everywhere but no girls)

 

[Amyh]

You need some more hens! Chickens do best in at least groups of three and with one of them being a rooster, he might overbreed the hens, so you need more.

Chicken math!!

 

[klf73]

It really depends on the roo, IMO. I have and oegb and he has 2 girls in their breeding pen. Both girls look great, he is not rough on them at all and all eggs are fertile so I know he is doing the deed. I also have an orp roo with 3 hens, all good. I have an ameraucana roo with 12 hens, a few are getting roughed up, but they free range while the others are penned....so maybe it's because he needs to "catch" them that he is rougher on them

then again I have another ameraucana roo that has 7 hens, all penned and he is rough on them....
so I guess I will go with my original thought...depends on the roo

it is better that he has some chicken company though, they are social animals

 

[pinkwindsong]

i agree that you need 3 to four hens.. check craigs list and even here on byc for your state thread and see who has what.... its not too late to order chicks either. as an option.

good luck and have fun with your little flockers.
)O(
Pink

 

[andalusn]

Your rooster would like the company I am sure but you should still keep looking. Possibly on Craig's List for a Want to Buy ad or network with your feed store. Many people that work at the stores also have the same chicken math skills and have many at home as well. They may want to rehome / sell a few if they know your looking. We started with one rooster and by week 2 or 3 of his move in we had 2 hens for him after looking online and then I bought 2 from a friend with too many that were not quite old enough to lay but would w/in a few months. Before I knew it there were 8 adult hens in the coop. Check the bulletin boards at the feed stores as well for posted ads.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You might find this thread informative.

Breeders managing roosters
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=250327

 

[Noah]

There are people selling chicks but I can't tell if they are boys or girls.
I had two roosters but they got into a pretty bad fight.
I found a wonderful home for one of them and kept the one who got "beat up."

I don't want to risk ending up with anymore roosters as it broke my heart to have to re-home Pepper.
I loved him.

I have been checking classified ads for weeks and have only come across this one hen.
People seem to only sell groups of hens WITH a rooster.
I don't want that problem again but I can tell that Spice rooster is not happy.

Would it be ok to get the hen and see if it works out?
My rooster is a very laid back fella. (more so now after the fight)
It's like all his "I'm a man" has been beaten out of him if that makes sense.

 

[tysonandperdue]

For many years I kept one hen with one rooster with no problems at all. He was very gentle. He was an EE. I've also had two hens with one rooster....no problems with that either (another EE).