hello backyard chicken forum

[cherdy]

I have 20 hens, 6 roosters and 9 ducks and a variety of other animals. I am new to this thread and look forward to being a part of your discusions.

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. You might want to consider re-homing some of your roosters. 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 that regard. In addition, hens that are less stressed by an over-abundance of roosters will lay better. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Cheers.

 

[FridayYet]

Welcome to BYC! Lots of forums to check out and the learning center has lots of great information.

Glad you are here.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and a warm welcome to BYC - I hope that you enjoy being part of our community.

Ct

 

[N F C]

x2 on Michael's comments re: roo to hen ratio. What breed of ducks to you have? If you haven't found it yet, there's a great forum for duck members on BYC:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/42/ducks

Good luck with all your animals. It's nice to have you join us!

 

[theoldchick]

I bet there is a lot of clucking and quacking at your house!

 

[cherdy]

Haha, there sure is a lot of clucking and quacking especially when they hear my car pull up the drive. We have wonderful neighbours, thankfully !!!!

 

[cherdy]

  I bet there is a lot of clucking and quacking at your house!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[drumstick diva]

Michael speaks the truth -roosters can be extremely rough on hens especially when you have too many roosters / too few hens.