Good Evening! Need some ANSWERS! How many Roosters is too Many??

[Swbuda]

I bought 34 chicks, (hens), in March, of various breeds.. my oldest daughter brought home 6 chicks from the feed store, for the grandkids for Easter,

, which of course all turned out to be White Bantam Roosters.. Is it normal for the roosters to all gang up on one hen? I literally watched one Rooster hold one of my aracuanas down, and it looked like they were going to take turns! Made me hopping mad and she was scared to death!

She ran and hid in a corner of the coop until I went and helped her. Do they normally act this way? And almost all my girls have had their tail feathers pulled out..

.. Do I give them away? I know, I know....

...

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

that happens when the roo's are young and very over hormonal, if you can seperate the hens for the roo till the hens are willing to mate everthing will calm down, the boy mature faster than the girls

 

[TexasVet]

Yes, that's what roosters do. They tag-team the hens.

Unless you want to hatch some eggs, you don't really need a rooster at all. And if you do want fertile eggs, you only need 1 roo for every 8 to 10 hens. I just culled 3 of my roosters because they were wearing the feathers off my hens!

I don't know why mother nature decided that hatching eggs should give you a 50/50 ratio of roos to hens.

Kathy, Bellville TX
www.CountryChickens.com

 

[cjeanean]

Quote:
Everything you just said is true for humans too....except the men maturing faster part...

 

[debtrag]

I believe that more than 1 rooster per 12 hens is too many. We got ours from a farm store and ended up with 18 roosters and 7 hens. The roosters fight and will eventually hurt each other, and the females.

In our case we are trying to fatten up the roosters so we can freeze them (Sorry, I hope that doesn't offend, but the way I look at it is that our roosters have had a much better life than the chicken I buy from the local grocery) Take me and my family out of the "factory" food chain and even though it's a small step, it's a step (for decreasing the demand).

Read "Slaughterhouse" the shocking story of greed, neglect, and inhumane treatment inside the U.S. meat industry, by Gail Eisnitz and you will understand where I am coming from.

 

[Akane]

It depends. Roosters vary greatly especially between breeds. My jap roos do no harm to the hens and I've kept more roos than hens to a pen. Some roosters will injure the hens if they have less than 8+. Some roosters will kill each other on sight. Some you can keep dozens together without a single fight. You are going to have to watch your roosters and hens and decide. If the hens are losing feathers then either you have too many roos or you have one or more that are too agressive and need removed. Seperating the two genders until the roos calm down some might also allow you to keep them together long term. If you want to keep extra roos. I get rid of mine because I have no reason to feed that many extra roosters even if they don't fight or injure the hens.

 

[Swbuda]

THANKS TO EVERYONE who answered my questions!

Tomorrow is endsville for 6 Bantam Roosters! I just love BYC!