Full sized mixed with bantams? Why the one rooster rule and does it apply to a mixed flock?

[samanthaacbrown]

I just adopted 3 roosters!?!? I really wanted one but they were free and it was an all or nothing deal. Two are bantams and came with a bantam hen one is full size like my other girls. I have only been a chicken owner for seven months so I still have so much to learn. I read that you don't want more than one rooster, why? One of the bantams did try to mate with one of my welsummers but she is so big she just sat there almost daring him to pull it off, lol! I am considering keeping the bantams separated, what do y'all think?

 

[junebuggena]

How many roosters you can keep depends quite a few things. Temperament is a big factor. So is space and the number of hens. Too little space, or too few hens, and the girls end up so stressed out that they won't lay. Most bantam roosters have no problems with fertilizing standard sized hens. Some boys do quite well with a small flock of hens. Other boys need at least 10 or more to keep from wearing out the hens' back feathers.