Chicken math S.O.S.

[Batty about Banties]

So to start off I have 6 hens with my EE roo. I have people wanting to buy eggs...problem solved buy more egg laying hens. But in my batch of 8 chicks that are almost 9 weeks old I think I have 3 roos, one of which is very friendly, I would like to keep him. So that would mean 2 roos to the 6 current hens plus the 5- 9 wk old hens and however many more I buy this weekend. Plus I have a roo that is 3 weeks old who is looking like he may be very pretty, if he turns out to be a knockout than I would like to keep him as well. So how many hens do I roughly need to accomodate 3 roosters, granted that they get along? Any suggestions, comments, opinions are much anticipated.

 

[lady feathers]

General recommendations are around 7-10 hens /roo if you want all the eggs to be fertilized.... depending on personality you may need a few more or few less hens, good luck!

 

[DancingHen]

I'm not an expert on this, but I think approximately a 12 hen to 1 roo ratio is pretty good.

 

[donrae]

I think a lot of it depends on your set up and the individual birds. I currently have three roos and seventeen hens. They all free range 24/7 and I have no problems. The newest roo has moved to top dog status, I did see him chase one of the older roos away today but as everyone has plenty of room, no biggie. The older roo yielded to the younger, that's all the younger wanted. My hens aren't overbred at all. I did have a roo who was fixated on two hens and had them scared and bald--he tasted like chicken

 

[dreamer4217]

Love it I would keep them all if you can make them all get along. I have 1 roo right now but had 2 up untill last week (my Blind Wiener dog attacked my favorite rooster and killed it) the persons house I bought my coachin's from had 4 roos and I think only about 15 hens they seemed to be doing well and healthy

 

[gryeyes]

I have a slew of roosters with my hens, a very high ratio of roos to hens. They all get along. There was one pretty wild fight between a young cockerel and the dominant roo, but the challenger lost. Other than the fight, all he lost were a few feathers - no blood drawn. Nothing since then. Now and then two "identical" bantam cochin roos will square off against each other, but again, just a lot of display and noise, chest bumping, leaping about, but no injuries. Everybody else is really mellow.

All the roosters have grown up together, the younger ones growing up in the same yard as the older ones. Everybody ranges freely, and there are multiple coops for them to choose to roost in at night.