How many roosters can we have?

[ChickenThunderdome]

We have 20 chickens. 10 weeks old. 5 are bantam silkies(they seem to hold their own though in the pecking order).

Two of our houdans are roosters, none of the other chickens appear to be roosters(yet).

I've heard 1 rooster per 10 birds and then 1 rooster period.

Any advice? Just wait and see? So far there's been no aggressive behavior just lots of crowing.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

2 roosters will often continue to focus on each other. Best to keep one or more than 2 to prevent one rooster killing the other eventually.

I would not want a standard breed rooster mating those silkies. Some can end up with brain damage if they get pecked in the head. Some young roosters can be a bit brutal as they start to mate.

Silkies are best kept with silkies or other gentle bantams to avoid injuries.

Every rooster is different. Some are good with a few hens, others need more. Some roosters just mate the easy hen repeatedly until she's bald.

 

[ChickNanny13]

I'd wait and see ... As the cockerels mature, their personalities will come out which may help you determine which is "better" to keep. I don't know the ratio but sometimes keeping an extra (if they get along) maybe a good idea in the event you loose one.

EDITED - 2x oldhenlikesdogs on keeping standards with bantams/Silkies

 

[bobbi-j]

There is no hard “rule” about roosters to hens ratio. The 1/10 you read about is something the big hatcheries use for optimum fertility. In a smaller, backyard flock or even a farm flock, there are too many variables for anyone to say, “This is how many you can have.” Generally, the fewer the better in my opinion. How much space do you have? Do they free range at all? Why do you want roosters? Do you plan on hatching from your flock? Are there small children that will be interacting with the flock?

They’re young yet. Generally, cockerels reach breeding age around 4-5 months. I’d keep an eye on things and have a plan in place in case things get ugly. When it happens, it can happen pretty quickly.

 

[crazy4ChickensNducks]

I have a 1 and a half year old bo roo, I have 20 girls and I still don’t think that’s enough for him. Although 2/3 of the girls are 14 wk old pullets, he might not be mounting them yet

 

[bobbi-j]

It's not always a matter of there being "enough" females. You can have a flock of 20 hens and one rooster, and you still may end up with a few (or all) of your hens being barebacked because he either has favorites or may just be rough or so big that he causes feather loss or damage. Breeders will often have 1 rooster and 2 hens together without problems. There really are no blanket answers as to what will or will not work.

 

[Shadrach]

As @bobbi-j has written, different ratios will work in different circumstances.
I keep varying numbers of roosters, from 8 to 5 all free range. What makes this work here is a multi coop system where related groups live together. Related roosters tend to fight less, especially fathers and sons.
Another factor to be born in mind is it is generally accepted now that roosters will have their favorite hens which he will mate with more than any others. In my experience the number of favorites is normally 3. After this number it doesn't matter how many hens there are; the rooster will favor these 3 in mating, providing food and in protection.
Considering the natural arrangement for roosters and hens is 1:1 ratio given the right keeping arrangements this can also work.
My advice to anyone who wants an easy life and chickens as pets with the minimum work and research is to just have a single rooster and keep the hen numbers low if free ranging.
If confined to a coop and run a rooster won't be able to carry out many of the duties he would undertake free ranging and as long as you provide sufficient space and take into consideration that as far as the rooster is concerned the hens belong to him and not you, you may be able to keep both him and his hens as pets.