How many roosters per hen?

[Lady of McCamley]

Excellent responses to the OP on this thread.

How many and which roosters is so dependent upon so many variables.

To say only this number and no more would contradict those that have that many and do fine. It really depends on the owner, the roosters, the environment, and the flock situations. For some situations, one rooster is one too many.

However, there are general rules that apply.
More than one rooster means there will be the possibility of tussles.
Never keep an aggressive rooster.
Never let a rooster bully you or the flock.
Those that are mean and will not accept proper attitude adjustment are best in the crock pot (with garlic, onions, carrots and some salt)....don't re-home your headache to someone else.

I just culled a very hopeful Cream Legbar rooster because he had all the signs of being just plain mean. He was not willing to be "adjusted" even with proper management. (the BeeKissed style of kind but firm). He became more aggressive each day. It broke my heart, but I snapped his neck. He wasn't worth sending to someone else's flock to breed other mean roosters that eventually hurt a kid.

My beloved Barnevelder has always had especially good temperament (while his brother was less so and was re-homed).

Even then, my sweet Barney challenged me after about 2 years of stellar behavior. He came up behind me and I felt this fluttering of his wings on the back of my pant legs. He had been eyeing me earlier, so I had an alert in my mind. I spun around in startled reaction to being attacked and instinctively kicked out. I happened to catch him solidly on the shoulder. (Didn't hurt him, but fully made a point).

He ran screaming like a little girl all across the yard to hide behind the coop and remained there until I went back into the house. He now remains out of my way. It only took a little response to the show down.

I still watch him and make sure he moves out of my way and knows I am boss...which he has fully accepted...for now.

So always, always watch your back with your roosters. Always, always watch out for your kids around a rooster.

Good roosters get the point quickly. Bad roosters, in my opinion, only escalate in bad behavior and are best "voted off the barnyard."

LofMc

 

[RodNTN]

1 rooster per 10 hens is a general rule of thumb.

It largely depends on the roosters... and hens...of course.

Too many hens to roosters, you aren't sure about fertility. Too few, and the girls are tattered with over breeding.

A senior roo can keep juniors in line if their temperaments are right. Older hens often teach a young roo how to be polite.

27 hens to 4 roosters would be about 6 to 7 hens each, however, likely the boys won't divvy things up neatly. Since you are introducing 4 roosters of the same age together, you'll likely see some tussles for the hens with a few over mated. Then likely you'll see an alpha rooster take charge with a junior at his side with the others lurking in the corners in submission.

How that all works out for the girls will vary. You may wish to divide the flock if troubles develop or get rid of a rooster or 2...or create a bachelor pad.

My thoughts.
LofMc

Thank you! Great points. So far, the roosters have got the pecking order all sorted out, and are being polite for the most part.

 

[RodNTN]

I have the same thread up

Are you having trouble with too many roosters?

 

[RodNTN]

Excellent responses to the OP on this thread.

How many and which roosters is so dependent upon so many variables.

To say only this number and no more would contradict those that have that many and do fine. It really depends on the owner, the roosters, the environment, and the flock situations. For some situations, one rooster is one too many.

However, there are general rules that apply.
More than one rooster means there will be the possibility of tussles.
Never keep an aggressive rooster.
Never let a rooster bully you or the flock.
Those that are mean and will not accept proper attitude adjustment are best in the crock pot (with garlic, onions, carrots and some salt)....don't re-home your headache to someone else.

I just culled a very hopeful Cream Legbar rooster because he had all the signs of being just plain mean. He was not willing to be "adjusted" even with proper management. (the BeeKissed style of kind but firm). He became more aggressive each day. It broke my heart, but I snapped his neck. He wasn't worth sending to someone else's flock to breed other mean roosters that eventually hurt a kid.

My beloved Barnevelder has always had especially good temperament (while his brother was less so and was re-homed).

Even then, my sweet Barney challenged me after about 2 years of stellar behavior. He came up behind me and I felt this fluttering of his wings on the back of my pant legs. He had been eyeing me earlier, so I had an alert in my mind. I spun around in startled reaction to being attacked and instinctively kicked out. I happened to catch him solidly on the shoulder. (Didn't hurt him, but fully made a point).

He ran screaming like a little girl all across the yard to hide behind the coop and remained there until I went back into the house. He now remains out of my way. It only took a little response to the show down.

I still watch him and make sure he moves out of my way and knows I am boss...which he has fully accepted...for now.

So always, always watch your back with your roosters. Always, always watch out for your kids around a rooster.

Good roosters get the point quickly. Bad roosters, in my opinion, only escalate in bad behavior and are best "voted off the barnyard."

LofMc

I will definitely keep an eye on all 4 roosters.

My other Dom, "Linus" is very well behaved, he knows not to mess around with people or other chickens.

As I've said, "Charlie", my other Dom is behaved to a certain extent, he likes to peck and be rough with the girls.

"Ping" the head rooster, an Ayam Cemani; is well behaved and knows to respect me and the girls.

"Satchmo" my other Ayam, is next to head rooster. He is polite around me but sometimes grabs the girls heads trying to mount them until they finally scream long enough for me to push him away.

 

[RodNTN]

Do they sound like average roosters?