How many cocks/cockerels does everyone have?

[Free Feather]

Please record the total number of males you have, then specify how many are in with the females. Perhaps include the breeds and the amount of space you have for the males in with the females as both of these factors can greatly effect the amount of roosters you can have together with girls.
I am curious to see how many actually follow the set 10 to 1 hen to rooster ratio, and what other people find works for them.

I currently have 18 known males, but have had many more in the past. I have them free ranging with my 25 females while it is warm, but by Saturday I am putting all but four of them in a couple bachelor pens(hoop houses) for the Winter to prevent over mating due to boredom.

 

[donrae]

I've never worried about one to ten. I've had way more and way less. I just watch my birds and let them tell me how things are going.

Right now my main flock has 15 females. 5 are immature pullets. My main rooster Eric is the head bird there. I added my kinda "special" juvenile Faverolles cockerel a few months ago. He's not at all interested in mating (well, just started crowing so I'll have to keep an eye on things). A month ago I added a potential keeper cockerel from the grow out pen. He's interested in mating, but Eric and the hens are having none of it. He's not putting the moves on the immature pullets (yet), so things are fine in that coop.

Next coop has some 3 year old Marans. Four hens and a rooster. These birds have been together all their lives and have no drama. I'm not sure there's any mating going on, there's no egg production to speak of and I've never seen him mate. I'm thinking it's a combo of age and time of year.

Next coop is a silkie rooster with five bantam Cochin hens. No one is laying, not sure if he's mating. There are also juvenile birds in this pen, probably around 4ish months old. 4 pullets and 2 cockerels.

Then I have a pen of 5 cockerels awaiting a break in the weather for processing.

None of my hens have feather loss or damage.

 

[Macis Papa]

1 Buff Orpington rooster with 28 hens in a 5000 square foot run.

 

[jak2002003]

2 Roosters with 4 hens and some newly hatched chicks.

They are Japanese bantams.

I usually have up to 7 roosters and about 10 hens.

They all live together and no problems with fighting or over mating the hens.

I think the breed is a very placid breed.. and I have also been breeding them for their temperaments.. selling any flighty hens, bad mothers, or aggressive roosters in the past.. only breeding from the most friendly docile birds.

 

[Free Feather]

My males are 1 Jersey Giant, 1 American Game Bantam x White Silkie, 1 Icelandic, 1 OEGB, 1 Lavendar Ameraucana x White Easter Egger, 2 Cochin x (American Game Bantam x White Silkie), 2 Nankin x (American Game Bantam x White Silkie), 2 Silkies, 1 Silkie x OEGB, 1 Icelandic x (American Game Bantam x White Silkie), 1 Production Red, 1 Wheaten Marans x Black Copper Marans, and 3 bantam White Ameraucana x American Game.

 

[lazy gardener]

I have one roo (avatar) with 24 pullets/hens. I just took out 2 of his sons last weekend. My roo easily covered 17 gals last summer, and I doubt that he'll have any difficulty covering 24 this season.

 

[shortgrass]

Well, my daughter has one silkie roo to go with her 2 silkie gals, and they get their own little coop. He isn't much of a rooster, lol very loud and amorous but that's it

I have one house that has 22 layers and a young Blue Andalusian cockerel who replaced my Red Star roo that went to my aunts' flock, and hecand 4 Black Australorp pullets will be joining them to make 26 hens with one rooster. He is very docile and the girls just ADORE him; they are all impatient for spring

Then my third house has 7 Silver Spangled Hamburgs, one of them the rooster, and 5 Anconas, so he has 11 ladies. Nobody questions it, he is the alpha.

Then I have my Red Stars' son, he's only 3 months old, but he will go in the big flock with Blue when he is properly acclimated from the brooder house. He's just m spoiled baby, half banty so he probably won't get culled lol.

So, 4 roos, and about 35 hens

 

[BantyChooks]

I have two 7 month olds (silkie and sultan) with my 15 hens (three are bantams) in a 100ish sq foot coop, with a 1,500 sq foot run. I have had up to 4 roosters sucsessfully like this, (2 adults and 2 young ones) but sold the adults before the young ones grew up.

However, I am plannin to get more hens next year.

There is no rooster damage on any of my hens.

 

[CGilbert]

Previously I had 2 pens, one of which was a bachelor pad that housed 5 cockerels. They free ranged daily... until the neighbors dog killed one of them and took the tail feathers off another. At which point I put all the boys in my main pen. Currently, I have 5 mature cockerels and 1 3 month old cockerel who will be put in a breeding pen come spring/summer. 7 girls (4 pullets, 3 hens)

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I voted 2 as that is the winter plan every year.

Two weeks before Christmas we were down to 5 cockerels. Currently have 3. Sometime this January will select the last one to eat and keep 2 until after breeding season. Neither of those two are worthy enough for another year of mating so will cull one after his time in the breeding pen then other after his turn. From there half the chicks will be cockerels so will have over 50 where some sold straight run, most culled for summer grilling 12-14 weeks to get down to 4-6 finalist for breeding evaluation. I winter 2 cockerels/cocks for spring breeding. If any are exceptional they'll stick around for many years.

Currently we only have 8 pullets (new flock this year). I've housing and plan to keep around 15 pullets/hens through winters. I've kept two cockerels to 6 pullets before without issue (borderline) but now have a larger coop. There was definitely too many cockerels for pullets but not to the point of feather loss just general panic from the girls when one was amorous. These Plymouth Rocks are exceptionally well mannered and that's definitely attributed to the breeding stock. Minor chasing of lower cockerels from the dominant male each morning and a few times a day the pullets will be stressed running from an admirer for less than minute. I'm pleasantly shocked how tolerant they are to my 3 year old. He's done things out of line where I want to flog him but the cockerels have not.

My rotation of pullets/hens is to sell off laying hens at 1.5 years very cheap. Only hens of good quality are kept longer which counter intuitively means the best are rewarded with dumplings at dinner after 2-4 years of exceptional service to me. The rotation is heavy enough to leave room for pullet majority flock each winter when they are further evaluated for breeding. I'd like to get to where I can use 4 breeding pullets/hens. Certainly don't have that this first year. Two and still thinking on a third will be bred under both cockerels in rotation. And of those I'm not ecstatic about quality but need to get numbers on the ground for evaluation. Likely will only use 2 pullets this spring and doubtful they'll be bred again.

Forgot the square footage. My least square footage was 2 cockerels to 6 hens/pullets in a 10x10 kennel. That worked but with more space and females the flock would have been happier. Currently we use electric netting in spring/summer/fall to move around and this winter they've a roofed area 12x8, coop of 4x7 and as much area as I shovel for them when snowing. When thawed they've 6,000 or so square feet in winter.