How many roosters for 18 hens?

[EricaD]

I currently have 18 hens, all varieties (barred rocks, leghorns, welsummers, wyandottes, salmon favs, brahmas, EEs, ameraucanas) and only one rooster (salmon fav).

I do want fertilized eggs and to be able to hatch chicks every year - is my ratio too high? Should I get another rooster? Or will my single rooster be enough to, ahem, keep all the ladies happy?

The chickens are all kept together as a single flock, and I don't want to keep separate flocks, so I worry that adding another rooster just means we may have fighting and the submissive rooster may not do much mating anyway, defeating the purpose of having two.

Thoughts? Advice? Our flock has been raised together since babies, so they have a great dynamic that I don't want to screw up!

Oh, and if I decide to keep the single roo, how can I ensure that he mates with the specific hens I want to breed at any given time? Just segregate them in part of the run together for a few days and then begin collecting her eggs for whichever hen is broody?

Thanks!

 

[bloonskiller911]

i keep one rooster to 20/25 hens and have great fertility rates

 

[EricaD]

Ah, that's terrific!!!! And my hens shouldn't be over-worked this way, I'm thinking. Thank you so much!

 

[Fred's Hens]

For just a week or two, before collecting eggs for the incubator, you could just pen up you best 5 or 6 hens with the rooster. Instead of collecting eggs indiscriminately from everyone. Just a thought. Depending on how large your incubator is, 6 hens in prime, will lay 30 a week. Holding eggs for a week's gathering is just fine.

Just a thought.

 

[Fred's Hens]

A little breeding pen like this is pretty simple to make, for example. These also could serve double duty as a juvenile grow out pen, segregation for health reasons pen, etc. They are pretty handy to have.

 

[donrae]

I wouldn't try to add another roo at this point. It'll just create drama.

If you can note who his favorite ladies are, you'll know their eggs are fertile. Or as mentioned, you can just contain him and a few specific hens for a few days--really, shouldn't take more than 3-4 days, esp if you're using a broody hen vs an incubator, that hen can only cover so many eggs anyway.

Sounds like you'll get some cool mixed with your flock.