How many hens does a rooster need?

[elisemarie]

I bought 3 chickens over a month ago (2 pullets and an adult). They were supposed to be all hens, but one of the pullets turned out to be a rooster. He's a Silver Laced Wyandotte, about 3 months old, the hens are both Orpingtons. Do you think a roo would do well with only 2 hens, or is it a bad idea?

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• elisemarie
• Jul 21, 2017

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

It depends on the rooster, they usually need more hens than two, but if the rooster isn't over-mating them it's probably fine just to have two hens.

 

[SueT]

The ratio should be greater, 6 to 1 at least, to prevent overbreeding

 

[Mace Gill]

Keep an eye on them. Two hens is probably too few. A rooster can handle about a dozen hens. I started with seven hens and one roo ... he was rubbing the backs of some of those hens raw and with the feathers gone, they were getting a little sunburned (poor babies) ... we ended up getting chicken saddles for them that first year. He's a little older now and we have nine hens, so the love is more spread out.

 

[sourland]

He is going to mature into a large and probably clumsy rooster. Chances are that you will need more hens.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You don't have a rooster, you have a cockerel. At three months he probably hasn't even knocked on the door of puberty yet, though it won't be long. Immature adolescent cockerels can be extremely obnoxious when those hormones hit. The vast majority of "rooster" problems on this forum are really cockerel problems.

If you can get through his adolescence without deciding he would be worth more as the guest of honor on your dining rom table it's possible he will mature into a nice mature adult and treat your two hens fairly well. After all, many breeders keep one rooster with one or two hens throughout the breeding season and generally don't have the problems associated with over-breeding. But the secret is that they are roosters and hens, not cockerels and pullets. That doesn't always work, each chicken has its own personality so you can't get guarantees, but your odds of having a peaceful flock are tremendously better with adults than with juveniles.

Some people may tell you to get more pullets and life will be great. Don't count on it, especially during their adolescence. As someone on here once said, watching them going through adolescence is not for the faint of heart. She did not rely on any male-female ratios when she said that. It can be rough watching one cockerel with 20 pullets.

The only reason you nee a rooster is if you want fertile eggs. Since you did not intentionally get a rooster that's probably not one of your goals. If you are thinking about getting more pullets anyway in the hopes that the flock will be better, I'd suggest getting rid of him and replacing him with another pullet or two. You and your flock will both be much happier in the long run.

 

[Abriana]

As long as he doesn't over-mate, they should be fine. As someone said above, about 6 hens to one rooster, and if you have two roosters, ten to twelve hens per rooster. Just keep an eye out and they should be okay. Roosters are also great protection, and since your flock is relatively small, you might want to hatch out some baby chicks, for a bigger flock and more eggs. Just make sure you know what to do with any extra roosters you get, because say you in your first hatch you get one hen and five roosters. Six roosters would kill the remaining three hens! Keep them until you are positive they are cockerels and then give them away to avoid over-mating. Good luck with your flock!

 

[lazy gardener]

If a hen were asked, she would say, "The more hens the better. Less attention from an amorous roo". And, of course if you asked a roo, he would say, "The more hens, the better!" for obvious reasons! My EE roo easily handles 24 hens with good fertility, though he did show preference for the colored egg layers last spring. (brown eggs weren't fertile, while the green, blue, aqua and olive eggs had 95% hatch rate.) In the case of a small flock with a roo, you will just have to wait and see. If you have problems with overbreeding, you may have to remove the roo, or get more hens.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

If you do decide to hatch chicks, I suggest starting a rooster flock for any extra roosters. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rooster-flocks.1174877/

 

[keesmom]

The only reason you nee a rooster is if you want fertile eggs. Since you did not intentionally get a rooster that's probably not one of your goals. If you are thinking about getting more pullets anyway in the hopes that the flock will be better, I'd suggest getting rid of him and replacing him with another pullet or two. You and your flock will both be much happier in the long run.

I agree with this wholeheartedly.

I assume since you were searching for pullets and hens that you want chickens for eggs, not for breeding. He's not going to give you any eggs. He could also cause drama in your small flock that you didn't ask for and that could be overwhelming if this is your first experience with chickens. I agree with the suggestion of homing him elsewhere and sticking with a female only bunch for now.