How Many Roosters Is Too Many?

[RileyB]

I have 8 (7 week old) chicks and 3 ducks (aged 2-4 weeks). One of the chicks is definitely a cockerel, and I am pretty sure the smallest chick is also a cockerel (although it could just be an aggressive pullet). Also, I think one of the ducks is a drake. I have a few different breeds of chicken, one of which is buff orpington (I have 2 pullets). My husband and I would like to breed the buff orpingtons only and have begun looking for a single buff orpington rooster. However, since all of our chicks and ducks currently get along great, will the addition of another rooster definitely create havoc? Or is there a way to make this work with the male/female ratio I have. If not, is it better to rehome one of my other males in order to get the BO?

 

[mstricer]

It will stir the pot. Once his hormones kick in, the chase is on. Some like roosters, I'm not one of them. I have a couple right now, one that runs when you get near (like that one) The other is a bantam and can be chased back in easily. This is the time of year I usually will have a lot of extras from hatches.I take them to the auction and make a few bucks on them.

 

[AlienChick]

I've had as many as 12 roosters with my 14 hens.
The roosters were barnyard mixes that I hatched and were so cute I wanted to keep them all.
Unfortunately, once those hormones kicked in, they chased and harrassed my poor hens so much that the hens spent most of the day hiding.
We finally ended up eating all the roosters.
It took my hens a few months to get over the trauma.
I would say keeping one rooster for every four hens is a good ratio if you need to have more than one rooster.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

For a small family flock such as you describe....2 ROOs is pleanty. Keep your best for the flock and process the rest or find a nice home for them.

If you get "TOO Many ROOs" they will run your girls ragged. The hens will spend all their time hiding, egg production will suffer. I was recently at a farm looking at a flock that had seen a drastic decline in egg production. When they called, I was given the impression that maybe the girls had just gotten to old to be productive any more. It didn't take long to see the real cause of the decrease...having 18 ROOs mixed in with 35 hens was a few ROOs to many.

I felt for those poor girls in that flock. Those poor hens had bare backs and several of the ROOs even looked like they had seen better days.

My advice to them was, "Keep this one...and that one....and maybe that one as well...make the rest the center piece of a dinner. Do it soon."

 

[foghorn8ladies]

I really have a problem. I have a Rhode Island Red rooster (Foghorn) with 9 girls that are over a year old. Back in March I purchased 9 pullets ( the lady said she could sex them) well one of them is a rooster and I can't get a 5 mo old hen from her. Can I keep both of them. The new rooster is an EE. I want to keep both of them. Please do not tell me to put one in the center of my table. Just can't do that.

 

[chickenzoo]

Two Roos can normally get along fine . I have a bunch of Roos, because I really like them. They all get along well but I try to keep my girls in a seperate area so they don't get harassed too much. I also have good head Roos that will keep their girls safe from the younger boys.
I found myself laughing today because of my older teen Roos found a treat. He began his I found something call..... Well all the girls ignored him, but he still continued his clucks. One of my younger Roos came and took the treat. The older one just looked at him and let him have it. I often have older Roos that will feed the younger ones

 

[Rock Home Isle]

............ I want to keep both of them. Please do not tell me to put one in the center of my table. Just can't do that.

I can understand that...once they have names, attachments are formed.

 

[County Boy]

The recomemded ratio is 1 roo for every 8- 11 hens. I put my breeding roo and the hens I want to continue the reproduction of my flock in a seperate pen during hatching season so I can have multiple roos without crossbreeding. I breed Cochins though and they aren't as "aggressive" with people and the hens so you can have multiple roos. I tried and Orp once and a Partridge cochin and the partridge cochin couldn't get up and each day the Orp got meaner. I think it was from having another roo. I've had them alone without other roos and they were fine.

 

[brahmabreeder]

I have one rooster on two hens now. His hens look real nice but I recently separated them. He now has two different hens . I only separated them because I have a show to go to soon so I want the hen I am showing to look her best. My rooster is real gentle though and doesn't try to over breed. P.S. my birds are LF brahmas.

 

[RileyB]

I've read elsewhere that multiple roosters can live together if there are no hens. Is that true? If my little guys turn out to be two extra roos I'm thinking maybe I could just put them in a separate coop. Like foghorn said, I'm not gonna eat these ones. In future hatches...maybe. But these chicks were raised to be our own little flock. Eating this batch is not an option for me.

However, I also get encouraged when I read that some people can keep a lot of roos with hens. Since they've all been together since they hatched I'm hoping the bigger roo will put the other two in line. But...only time will tell.

So...does anyone have success stories about separating extra roos into a different pen and having a few roos living together while having one rooster with all the girls?