How many?

[horseyjess]

How may hens/roosters? I feel I have to many Roo's and someone needs to go! We currently only have 8 hens and 5 roos. Now one hen is a odd Banty and one of the Roos is just a Banty Cochin so he is staying but the others? I feel like there is too much testosterone in the coop. Plus we just ordered some chicks and will for sure get some roos but my girls will show some in 4-H this year. But what is a good ratio?

 

[M To The Maxx]

That is way to many roos!!!!

You should only have one or two roosters with those hens.

 

[popcornpuppy]

the usual ratio is 10 hens to one roo. If there are not enough hens to keep the boys buisy, they can start fights.

 

[Akane]

What you can actually get away with will depend on the roos but odds are with those numbers you will have hens being over mated. You really don't need more than one in that size flock and could probably keep 2 without problems. 3 may or may not cause issues. Beyond that you are likely risking your hens being stressed and missing feathers from the roos mating all the time as well as more chance of the roos fighting over the hens. Adding a few more hens might let you keep another roo or 2 depending how they get along and how they treat the hens.