How many roosters is too many?

[caleb lentchner]

With last years mail order chicken i ended up with a rooster(oops). fast forward the first round of home hatched chicks was 4 months ago. Now that they are maturing i tell 3 out of 4 of them are roosters. So that puts my flock at 4 boys and 18 girls. Yesterday morning one of the young roosters was all bloody. Still hoping they all will live happy happy but that sure. Is there a rule of thumb on what is a good ratio???.

Im not at the point of doing anything drastic but i don't want to ignore reality.

 

[azygous]

Broadly speaking, you would bring the ration more into balance by getting rid of half the boys.

But pay attention to behavior and try to weed out the aggressive ones, keeping the peaceful boys.

 

[Chicks in VA]

I think you need to get rid of the bloody one and maybe 1 more and a big factor is are they in a coop and run or are they able to free range
and if they are in a coop and run how much space is it

 

[Obsessed With Silkies]

Usually it's a good rule of thumb to have 1 rooster per 12 hens. As they age and start mating, more fights will probably break out between the roosters because some of them may have "claimed" some of the ladies and that's where things will get challenging. Keep an eye on them and their behavior. If more fights break out it would probably be best to just keep one. Hope this was helpful. Good luck!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I've noticed numbers fluctuate. Right now i have a group of about 5 maled and 12-14 females, including nonlaying pullets. But its also winter now, and no one is breeding. I'll break this group to 2-3 males and 8-10 females (preferably 12 femaled though) in one group and 1 male and 4 females in the other group, with the 5th actually being a cull that got lucky with the early winter.

I also have a large mixed flock with a ratio between 1:2 and 1:4 males to females. Ocassionally i go down and someone has a bloody chin, but i know its mainly because of one trouble maker that wont be around come spring. Everyone else seems to respect who belongs to which male and they respect the totem order

 

[early riser]

I free range on ten acres Next to state forest. Have tons of wildlife. I find a rooster for every 3 to 4 hens is good. I also have two australian shepherds. Never lost anybody. If in a confined situation that’s different. Then the old 10/1 is probably best. I had a rooster years ago covered in blood. Back up with his “buddy” on the roost that night! In free range one rooster will dominate and will move around to separate “harems”. No fighting. The girls always seem to like the older big guy best but will go back with their original boyfriend. Chicken TV at its best!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

if i let them go in a forrest in the spring do they have any chance of surviving ?

If you're suggesting dumping them, then absolutely do not. If you mean the dangers of free ranging, that depends on what types of predators you have around

 

[OzarkChooks]

Maybe choose the best behaved one and eat the rest? Or re-home them? I have 5 cockerels currently and 18 pullets. I plan on only keeping 2 of the cockerels though.

 

[nuthatched]

if i let them go in a forrest in the spring do they have any chance of surviving ?

They have 2% chance of surviving over a month, and it would be a cruel death.
Dispatch them or find someone to do it.

 

[3KillerBs]

if i let them go in a forrest in the spring do they have any chance of surviving ?

Would you dump a cat or a dog?

It's just as evil to dump a chicken as it is to dump any other animal.