I have 3 young roos and 11 young hens, the roos have come of age about 4 weeks ago and seem to be tearing the hens up, I'm thinking I have to many Roos. How many hens should I have per Roo, can anybody help me help the poor hens?
I understand what you mean. I have several young roosters with my flock right now. There is no ideal, perfect, magic ratio. There are so many factors involved that the answer will be different for each of us. If you can slog your way through these threads you'll get a lot of information and hopefully some help for your situation. My usual advice is to keep as few roosters as you can and still meet your goals. Breeders managing roosters https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=250327 Number of roosters thread https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=219443 Managing multiple roosters https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=229968 Good luck!
Its really weird that you have posted this question and I just read an answer for it in "A Guide To Raising Chickens". The book suggests that the ideal number for heavy breeds is 8-12 hens per roo and 18-25 hens per roo in bantams. Now that is to maintain fertility, if you have roos that are too rough you may want to watch them and cull the most aggressive roos until you find peace in your flock. I hope this helps...good luck to you.
I have experienced my hens getting ridden bare and damaged from the claws after the feathers are gone. I had 23 hens and 3 roosters. We got rid of two of them in the February-March time frame and the hens are still trying to recover. It would really depend on your situation and your goals. We found that even after rehoming the two we had good fertility and hatched about 85% of the eggs all spring long into this month. If they are all the same breed then I'd suggest keeping your favorite and rehoming the others or be ready with some Blue Kote for damage to the girls without feathers. It is all a matter of your preference and how good/bad the girls condition gets. Good luck, Bill
