how many roosters can one flock handle??

[lauren6]

I have 10 chickens 2 ees 2 brs and 6 silkies, turns out 3 of the silkies are roos and I was wondering how many are ok to have in one flock?? should i go ahead and rehome one or two of them?? i dont want them to start fighting and hurt each other they are 4 months old right now.

 

[Chickenmaven]

I max out at 2 roos in a flock of 30. I would recommend that you only have one. Or none...

 

[TurkeyMountainChickens]

I've had three roos get along well before. BUT, while the roos were fine with each other, it was horrible for the hens! I had only 13 hens with the 3 roosters, and they got over bred. I ended up getting rid of the extra roosters and making hen saddles for the girls until their feathers grew back.

I've read that you only need 1 rooster to 10 hens for fertility. I don't know if it is different for silkies, though.

If they were mine, I'd try to rehome at least 1, maybe 2, of the roosters.

 

[teach1rusl]

Yeah...some breeds are different, and some individuals are different. Silkies are known to be fairly mild, so your roosters may do well together. However, 3 roosters with 7 hens most likely won't. Many folks create bachelor quarters for roosters who get along well...give them their own run, etc. Or you can wait and watch, and see how they do with each other and your hens. It's always possible that it could work. Some just have one rooster with 20 birds, and STILL end up with their hens looking rough. And some have a rooster with just a few hens and the hens look fine. So there's really no telling until the time comes...