Hens to Rooster Ratio?

[dbtcowgirl]

I only keep one cock, always had good fertility on up to 20 females(all I have space for).
All hatched cockerels meet the freezer at about 14 weeks.

The 'rooster' to hen ratio of 1:10 that is often cited is primarily for fertility efficiency in commercial breeding facilities.
It doesn't mean that if a cockbird has 10 hens that he won't abuse or over mate them.
Many breeders keep pairs, trios, quads, etc ....short term and/or long term.
It all depends on the temperaments of the cock and hens and sometimes housing provided.
Backyard flocks can achieve good fertility with a larger ratio.

Thank you for the response, I'm learning towards fewer roos and larger groups of hens, I'm blessed enough to have 80 acres so space isn't an issue. My observation is my flocks seem more peaceful and happy with more hens and I just wanted to find out others experience with fertility.

 

[dbtcowgirl]

To me this depends on your goals, management techniques, and facilities (especially how much room). The personalities of the individual chickens, male and female, also play a part.

Dad kept one rooster with 25 to 30 free ranging hens. Practically every egg we put under a broody hen hatched so good fertility. My laying/breeding flock is one rooster and between 6 to 8 hens, but during the season I may have more cockerels than pullets (about 45 chicks total) that I'm growing to butcher age, about 23 weeks for the cockerels. Maybe every 3 or 4 years it gets rowdy enough that I separate some cockerels but most years it's not a problem. They have a lot of room.

Thank you for the response, I'm learning towards fewer roos and larger groups of hens, I'm blessed enough to have 80 acres so space isn't an issue. My observation is my flocks seem more peaceful and happy with more hens and I just wanted to find out others experience with fertility.

 

[aart]

have 80 acres so space isn't an issue.

Still need coops of good size...and runs aren't a bad idea either.

 

[dbtcowgirl]

Still need coops of good size...and runs aren't a bad idea either.

I agree completely, I think space is very important to health and happiness. I converted an old 8 stall mare barn so they have 12x20 coops and 32x16 runs for each flock of ten to twelve chickens. I also have my free range retirement flock that have claimed the main barn lol

 

[aart]

I agree completely, I think space is very important to health and happiness. I converted an old 8 stall mare barn so they have 12x20 coops and 32x16 runs for each flock of ten to twelve chickens. I also have my free range retirement flock that have claimed the main barn lol

Excellent!!
Would love to see pics of your coops and runs.
Maybe do a coop page article here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/member-pages.10/

 

[dbtcowgirl]

Excellent!!
Would love to see pics of your coops and runs.
Maybe do a coop page article here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/member-pages.10/

That's a great idea. I'm still learning about all the different sections on this site. It's so cool!