Correct ratio (if it exists) for Hens to Roos

[CrazyTownChick]

Maybe, and most likely, this question has been answered elsewhere on BYC, but I haven't found it. Is there a recommended number of how many hens to how many roosters? Not breeding or planning to hatch chicks. Have 13 total, and at 8 weeks they have not yet declared their gender status to me. So what would be a good guideline for hens-to-roos? If we ended up with 4 roos, would we need to make sure there were 5, 6, 7, or 8 hens for each? (Or re-home a couple. Two roos would be our absolute max and we're actually hoping for 0) And if you have two roos, do you keep them and their girls separate from each other? So many questions....

 

[angela hernandez]

i've heard a lot of different things reguarding this topic, some saying 10 hens per rooster and others saying your flock shouldn't have more than 25% roos. and on top of that whether the birds were raised together or not becomes a factor in it too. personally i haven't had problems with roos that were raised together, on terms of fighting. however I'd definitely invest in a saddle for your girls if the ratio is off by a lot

 

[lovesfarms]

I agree with the last post and I'd like to add if they free range it is less fighting then if they are penned in. They can run, exercise, scratch in the dirt. If they don't have enough room to get away from each other you may end up with injured birds.

 

[FortCluck]

I do 4-6 pullets to every cockerel. This seems to work best for my flock.

Extra cockerels are used for meat for the fam and furry pets. We usually keep the nicest and remove the meanest ones.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

I say cull or rehome all but one or two boys.

 

[CrazyTownChick]

i've heard a lot of different things reguarding this topic, some saying 10 hens per rooster and others saying your flock shouldn't have more than 25% roos. and on top of that whether the birds were raised together or not becomes a factor in it too. personally i haven't had problems with roos that were raised together, on terms of fighting. however I'd definitely invest in a saddle for your girls if the ratio is off by a lot

Thanks for that input. Interesting on the ratio percentage. Yes, they're all raised together from 2 weeks old. I am not familiar with saddles. Is there an article on that on this site? Or a particular forum to look at? Not knowing anything about it, a chicken saddle sounds awfully uncomfortable and a nuisance for hens, but that's just my initial reaction. Thanks again.

 

[CrazyTownChick]

I agree with the last post and I'd like to add if they free range it is less fighting then if they are penned in. They can run, exercise, scratch in the dirt. If they don't have enough room to get away from each other you may end up with injured birds.

That is also a great point about space. We have a neighbor who has a crowded coop and small run and his hens are pecked by the one rooster and (I think) pretty miserable looking. We have a run that gives them more than 10 square feet per chicken and they seem pretty happy. We're going to expand it with an addition for even more space. We will likely free range once a week for a couple hours, closely supervised because of the hawks and predators in our area. Thanks!

 

[ILoveBabySilkies]

I’ve had a roo with 6 hens and they did fine, for me I’d do NO less than 4. It really depends on the roo and how often he mates them.

 

[ILoveBabySilkies]

That is also a great point about space. We have a neighbor who has a crowded coop and small run and his hens are pecked by the one rooster and (I think) pretty miserable looking. We have a run that gives them more than 10 square feet per chicken and they seem pretty happy. We're going to expand it with an addition for even more space. We will likely free range once a week for a couple hours, closely supervised because of the hawks and predators in our area. Thanks!

If you have pics we could probably tell you their gender? 8 weeks is almost the perfect age to guess gender.

 

[CrazyTownChick]

I do 4-6 pullets to every cockerel. This seems to work best for my flock.

Extra cockerels are used for meat for the fam and furry pets. We usually keep the nicest and remove the meanest ones.

Thanks for that, it gives us another possible guideline. So if we ended up with two roos, we would be ok with 11 hens. But if we ended up with 3 or 4, we may have to rehome the meanest ones.
So far at 8 weeks, none of them are mean. They all seem quite sweet and friendly. A few are starting to assert their dominance but I haven't seen any meanness yet. A few squabbles in the coop at night once the door is closed, but we don't know who's doing what to whom. I think that's normal as they decide their pecking order and claim their roost space?