just curious...i have four hens (3 baby chicks and a bantam)...how many can i have without a rooster?
You don't need a rooster unless you want to hatch. Then you need a rooster, no matter how many hens you have.
but what about the whole pecking order thing???? is that a myth??? i am SO excited if i can have alot more!!!!!!
IMHO, once you have more than, say, 2134 hens, you should throw in a rooster or two, just for fun. However, some sources put the upper limit at 5678, others feel more comfortable with 7621. It's all your choice, though people have strong opinions about the "perfect number", I tend to shoot lower than the "experts"
If you WANT a rooster, the general ratio is one roo for about every 8-12 hens. Any more roos than that and you will have excessing fighting, any less and your fertility rate will go down. If you DON'T want a roo, just get as many pullets/hens as you want. They will work out their own pecking order with or without a roo.
They will only fight if you have less than like 15 hens to each roo. (So if you have 30 hens, you could have 2 roos). If you only have 3 hens I wouldn't even get a roo, unless you are hardcore about getting babies, I think thats too much "action" to distribute among only 3 birds. If, on the other hand, you did have 2134 hens, a couple of roos would be VERY happy!