How do I make my chickens a flock?

[neener]

I was given three baby chicks (Bantams)hoping at least 2 of them would be hens so that I could get eggs from them. Turns out they're all roosters, and now I'm quite attached. They get along great now, but I want to introduce a hen I was just given, and eventually, when they're bigger, 6 chicks I just got as well. Will introducing the hen create havoc amoung the boys, and how exactly would I do this if it is possible. I love all of my boys and would hate to part with any of them. They are free ranging in the day, and cooped at night, and the hen for now is in a separate cage getting aquainted with her new surroundings. She has not been out yet. Also, how and when do I introduce the new chicks I just got?

 

[Carolyn]

How old are your chickens? The oldest may pick on the younger. Is the hen older?

If they are all a few months old I think your roosters will not be as good of friends when they start competing for Miss Hen's attention. I was planning to keep 3 roos with my 7 hens (all the same age) and finally had to cull down to 1 rooster because of the fighting. Maybe you'll have better luck.

As for the babies I have no experience with introducing them.

 

[keljonma]

FIRST I would quarantine the new birds for 30 days. Also, I would quarantine the chicks separately from the new hen. And all the new birds should be quarantined separately from the roos. This is to protect the flock of roos you have from any bugs or germs the hen or chicks may have brought with them.

3 roos to 1 hen is not a good situation for the hen. And once you introduce the hen to the roos (after 30 day quarantine) I think all heck will break out. First off, the boys, because there is now a female around, will probably start fighting each other to see who gets to be alpha male. And they will all try to mate with the hen. With all that stress, the hen will probably not lay eggs.

And unless your 6 new chicks are sex-link, so that you already know they are pullets, you may end up with more than the 3 roos you already have.

Wait and see what you have before you start integrating the chicks. You don't want to overwhelm the hen.

As a side note: One of my friends just hatched a clutch of Black Copper Marans chicks - out of 24 eggs, she has 18 roos. All the boys went to auction last week, as she already has 2 BCM roos.

 

[neener]

Sorry I meant to add that detail but forgot. My roosters are 3 months old, and the hen is less than a year I would say.

 

[rooster-red]

You're going to need about 30 hens if you're going to keep 3 roosters.

I'd put the boys in one pen, and keep the girls in another until you get more hens or decied which one of the three roo's will lead your flock that you already have.

Putting three roo's in a run with those few hens is begging for trouble.

 

[wyliefarms]

I agree with the others. The roosters will fight and the hen will get beat up.

 

[neener]

So how do I decide which rooster will work best with the hens?

 

[flakey chick]

You can keep your three roosters as long as you do not introduce any girls. As long as they stay virgins (and don't see any hens) they will get along ok. If you start introducing girls, You will need over 30 hens. If you do want to keep your boys, you can- just keep them away from the girls.

 

[americana-chick]

way back when, when i had 3 hens and like 2 or so roos they would fight once to see who is dominate and then it is over the one who won will be the winning roo until the others get big enough or gain there strength up enough to fight again and possible switch who is in-charge.

way back when, also, we had 5 roos and one hen. they fought once and then it was over. now i only have 2 of those 5 roos "fox problems" and have now 2 other roos one EE and the other bantam they are only about 5 months old. and then i have about 8+ hens the only one who is fertile is the little EE and the elder roos dont even seem to mind they just let him do whatever. i am also getting more hens soon.

 

[Alpha Roo]

So how many hens to a roo? I have 6 hens under a year and 6 three week old chicks I'm hoping are all pullets. Wondering what experience anyone else has had with a ratio or what has worked best for them. Also, do different breeds make a difference in the ratio?