easter eggers and black sex link

[kristin06]

so i have 2 cockerels(easteregger) and 1 female easteregger and 1 female sex link .. i know you not suppose to have 2 roos with very few females, but i have noticed that they have seemed to pair up, one ee stayed with the sex link and the other sticks by the the other female ee.. could this actually work out with out hostility?

 

[junebuggena]

The boys not get hostile, but the hens will get over bred. They could get so stressed from the roosters' constant attention that they stop laying.

 

[Michael OShay]

X2 on junebuggena. The recommended ratio of roosters to hens is 1 rooster for every 10 hens. As they mature and their hormones kick in, too many roosters will become very hard physically on your hens; over-breeding them, biting and plucking the feathers from their necks and backs, battering them, and potentially, seriously injuring them. The only reason you really need a rooster is to fertilize eggs for hatching, and 1 rooster can easily handle 10-15 hens in this regard.

 

[kristin06]

Thank you. i was aware of the ratio. I just didnt know if some breeds were different and since they seemed to pair themselves that it would bother the other if i separated them. lol i need a chickens for dummies!!

 

[donrae]

How old are your birds? If they have not reached sexual maturity, things will likely be fine until then. Once the hormones start flowing, behaviors change dramatically. Unfortunately, cockerels get hormonal first, and it can be not a pretty picture for pullets of the same age.

 

[Michael OShay]

Thank you. i was aware of the ratio. I just didnt know if some breeds were different and since they seemed to pair themselves that it would bother the other if i separated them. lol i need a chickens for dummies!!

You're welcome. Some breeds do tend to have gentler roosters than other breeds and within any breed, some roosters can be gentler than others of that same breed. However, as donrae indicated, once those hormones start flowing, you better have plenty of hens for your rooster to spread his attentions around on or you will end up with some hens in bad shape.