how many roosters for my silkies?

[joe17]

I am just getting into breeding silkies. I have 3 splash pullets right now and I just hatched out a couple silkies from the eggs I got from Bobbi Porto. I was wondering, if the two silkie I hatched were roosters, can I put both roosters with my three splash pullets? Whats that maximum amount of roosters you have per pullet in a breeding program? I know some people have one roo for each pullet..... just curious!

*Ohh and what age should I be able to hatch their eggs? A year?? Or 8 months?

 

[suebee]

I've got 3 roosters to 8 girls...way too many..BUT...The whites separate into a flock, and the blues, splash, black separate into a flock. So it all works out. The roosters' tactics are soooo much like a chess game. If one's not paying attention, the other moves in. They will fight to start out with, but if it get's nasty I'd separate or sell the offending roo. I'm trying to sell one now with no luck....he wants to fight them all!

 

[silkieowner]

i believe its 10-12 hens for 1 rooster

 

[suebee]

Quote:
Yes! I have a different situation because mine all free range.....forgot to say that!

 

[Fay at Frizzled Feathers]

I use 1 Roo per 8 hens on my silkie and Bantam breeds. The silkies usually start laying around 7 months and you can hatch them as soon as they start laying as long as they are fertile.

 

[apc]

I keep my bantams mostly in pairs. Sometimes one compliments the other, and its easier to tell which chicks came from which pairing.

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

I personally have found silkies do well with 1 rooster to 4 hens. I've had silkies for a few years (just got some more again back in April after losing all my chickens last year) but at the moment I have 1 adult roo with 3 adult hens (thought I was getting 4 hens but i got 2 roos so roo #2 went) but having them in the same 'observation' pen for 30 days and now in my tractor for 9 days, the roo has been very good with the hens, no lost feathers anything. I've had similar experience as well. 2 years ago I got 4 hens and 1 roo and he did good with them for the year I had them all together.

Of course before I was keeping my birds in large runs and this year they are in a coop n run and allowed to free range for a few hours in the middle of the day now that they have established where 'home base' is.

my silkies I have now (1 roo - 3 hens - 3 youngsters) are too funny, they don't go very far from the coop/run though that may change as they get braver (only been 2 days of free ranging) but they all go running right back in the coop at the littlest things, especially my cats who are curious as to what the fuzzy things are. XD

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Which pen? Several of them have more boys than girls

 

[Picklestix7866]

I have four roosters and only six Silkie hens. I know, I'm terrible. Thing is, they were all from the same hatch 4 years ago and get along great. They very very rarely fight, and its never anything serious. They just puff up their neck feathers and smack into each other once and then give up. I'm considering selling one of them, but I just feel bad because they've been together so long.

I'm hoping adding a few bantam Polish will help even out the ration, along with four more Leghorns.

Oh, and the hens don't look beat up at all. No lost feathers, etc... I guess if I find a home for one of them, then he can go, but I'm going to be picky. I don't want him ending up on the dinner table...

 

[suebee]

Quote:
I'm trying to sell a silkie roo with absolutely no luck on Craigs List. He's in a separate pen by himself while all the others free range. He just started fighting with the others and screwed up my mojo, so he's outta here......I hope! So far, no takers.