How many is too many roos???

[taraann81]

Out of my 12 sexed barred rock hens I ordered I ended up with 3 roos.

Out of my 7 silkies I hatched I ended up with 3 roos.

I can't sex my White Chanteclers yet. They all look the same to me at 3.5 months. They all get along so far but is this too many?? If raised together will they be okay?

I hate the thoughts of rehoming them

 

[fordmommy]

They say 1 roo to 10 hens.

 

[juliecox]

I don't know what a typical ratio is, but it seems to me your best bet it just watching them very closely. The pecking order in chickens seems to be pretty complex, and each one is different. I'd say remove repeat offenders, like if one rooster is just beating the snot out of everyone. You may have to rehome some, but I would hold on to the roosters you have until you see aggression. If they've been raised together, they might all be cool with each other. Only time will tell! Good luck!

 

[tackyrama]

What fordmommy said. They may get along for a while but when the hormones kick in lookout! I had four roos and 10 hens all winter and they all got along fine until the snow melted. Then it was murderers row! Also it is too much of a good thing for the girls, if you know what I mean. I believe that the strongest most aggressive roo should be the one kept. You want them to do a good job guarding and protecting the flock. After all was said and done my big tough and mean rooster that kicked all the other roos butts turned out to be a teddy bear to his flock (now that there is no more competition). The other day a half grown pullet came up to him and started pecking on his face feathers right in front of me. I thought Uh Ohh! here comes trouble! Then the fool pullet grabbed onto his wattles and gave them 3 (THREE) good hard tugs. He just took it like any good hen pecked husband would. If chickens can have facial expressions his was something like "Ho Humm are you done with your little game now?". What a HOOT!!

 

[farmerjill]

If you end up feeling attached to them, there is always the option of building a smallish pen (we have a chicken tractor) to house the roosters. Sort of a bachelor pad. That's what we did with all three of our roosters. Now the 24 hens live in bliss and we still get to hear plenty of crowing.

 

[ging3rhoffman]

My one SLW rooster has 20 hens. I couldnt handle more than one rooster and my girls couldnt handle more than one rooster.

 

[taraann81]

I figured as much. Oh well. Poor roos!

 

[Equus5O]

Out of my ten chickens, I had four roosters. I rehomed two roosters a few days ago. Already, the difference is noticeable. I now have one Silky and one RIR cross rooster. All of the hens are much larger than the Silky. They seem much more comfortable now, especially the new Polish hens, now that the other Silky and RIR cross roosters are gone.

I miss the boys, and I did feel badly about getting rid of them. But, I know where they're at, and it's definitely a good home.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The 1 to 10 ratio is about fertility, nothing else. There is no magic number that will stop roosters from fighting or stop barebacked hens. The rooster to hen ratio is a factor, but there are no guarantees.

Roosters fight for flock dominance and for pecking order. Sometimes they can work out there differences and work as a team protecting the hens. Sometimes they fight to the death. If they are raised in the same flock, such as brothers or as father-son relationships, they are a lot more likely to work out their differences. Having more hens to share, more room, and separate feeders-waterers all improve your odds, but there is no magic number. And there will be fights. It is how hens and roosters establish pecking order and roosters establish flock dominance. They are social animals and that is how nature has worked out for them to get along. It is the severity of the fights that can be a problem.

Some people have just one or two hens with a rooster and don't have barebacked hen problems. Sometimes a rooster with a large choice of hens will pick favorites, and especially if he is larger, has really sharp spurs, and his technique is rough, you can have barebacked hens regardless of the ratio.

In both these cases having more hens to roosters helps your odds of not having these problems. My advice is to keep as few roosters as you can and still meet your goals to reduce your chances of these problems. And if you have to rehome some, do them all at the same time if you can. You are going to change the pecking order, so they will have to sort that out. I think it is better to do it one time instead of dragging that process out. Less chance of injury.

 

[deidreschultz]

I have 8 chickens. 4 are roos 2 rir and 2 silkies. they do have a large house and run. they are 21 weeks. the roos are already mating the hens. and getting their spurs. they do have their favorite hen. so far no problems. we really worried about them fighting and being too much for the hens, and we took the wait and see position. everyone has their place in the pecking order. the head roo keeps everyone in their place, and they do know their place. we have not seen any fighting what so ever. oh we did get them all at the same time, and they were supposed to be hens. so i would just wait and see. good luck