How many roosters should I keep?

[chispaza]

A few months ago, we bought some chicks. We got 8 that were sexed and we know are pullets. Then, we got 8 that were straight run so we knew that some of these might end up being roosters. One of the straight run ones was killed by a neighbors dog. So, now we have 15 chickens that are 2-3 months old and it looks like 4 of them are gonna be roosters. We also have 2 hens that we have had for about 6 months and we aren't sure exactly how old they are but we are thinking they are probably at least 18 months - 2 years old. So, altogether we have 17 chickens and 4 of those are roosters. I am waiting until they grow up a little bit more to see their personalities and see who gets to stay and who goes. But, I am wondering, can we keep 2 of the roosters or will that be too much for 13 hens? The roosters (at least from what I think so far) are 3 Black Copper Marans and 1 Silver Wyandotte. I was thinking it would be nice to keep one of each.

 

[Megan Amber]

I would think you could keep two or three with out a problem, I do and mine are fine!

 

[donrae]

It's one of those try it and see how things go type of things. A lot will depend on how much space you have. More space=birds that get along better. If you free range most of the time, you should be fine. If the roosters decide they hate each other, you'll have to go down to one rooster. If your hens look bare backed/ragged, are stressed and continuously fight against being mated, you have too many roosters and someone's gotta go.

I've run 4 roosters with around 18 hens when I free ranged exclusively and everyone did well. I've had 4 roosters in my coop with around 2 dozen hens and the hens looked pretty ragged. Never really had a problem with roosters fighting that I noticed. Squabbles now and then, nothing drawn out or with injuries.

 

[4 the Birds]

+1

I would keep 2 and sell the other 2. Too many roos to hen ratio can cause some of the girls to have bare areas on their back from overmating. Not a big deal to me but some people seem alarmed with the missing feathers. The girls will be picked on more around the feed bowls with more roosters as well. As mentioned, free ranging can make a big difference as well.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My advice is in line with the others. Each chicken has its own personality. Each flock has its own dynamics. We keep them in so many different situations and circumstances that no one answer for something like this can be right for everyone. I do think how much room they have has a lot to do with success, the more room the better. With a bit of room, two roosters and 13 hens should be fine.

I always suggest you keep as few roosters as you can and still meet your goals. It’s not that you are guaranteed more problems with more roosters, just that you are less likely to have problems with fewer roosters.

Two or more roosters will decide which one is dominant. Sometimes that can result if pretty vicious fights. Sometimes unless you’re really paying attention you won’t even notice. Usually it involves a fairly minor skirmish that is over pretty quickly. With them growing up in a flock, either as brother-brother or father-son, it often goes fairly smoothly but do be prepared for some skirmishing, chasing, and running away. That’s where the extra space comes in. The loser needs room to run away and get away.

With two roosters and 13 hens you will probably see the flock split with each rooster having his own harem, especially if they have room. Even with that, it is also possible some hens will form their own third flock, hanging out together away from both roosters. They are living animals with their own personality. You really can’t tell for sure what will happen.

It is certainly possible with many roosters and especially with little space that some hens can be overmated. But it is also possible with one rooster with perfect technique and 20 hens for some hens to have a bare back. Some hens just have real brittle feathers. Through no fault of the rooster their feathers are going to break and they are going to be barebacked. It’s not always the rooster’s fault, but that’s one of the reasons I suggest you keep as few as you can and still meet your goals. Two roosters with 13 hens sounds like a very reasonable goal to me but due to your unique circumstances it may not work. Good luck!

 

[chispaza]

Thanks everyone. We do free range during the day (they have about 1/2 an acre). At night, they all go into the same coop (it's big, used to be an outdoor shed/storage building that we made into a coop). We'll see how it goes. After posting pictures on here and asking for others to help determine the sex, it looks like there are actually 6 roosters and 9 hens out of the younger chickens that we have. So, a total of 11 hens and 6 roosters. The roosters are all Black Copper Marans and Silver Wyandottes. We are thinking of maybe keeping one of each. we'll give them another month or so and then see what their personalities are like and go from there.

 

[roostersandhens]

keep 2 and try to find a good home for the other 2! Good Luck!