I'm finally figuring out which chicks are boys... how many can I keep?

[huckleberryfarm]

I'm new to chickens! We started in January with chicks and eggs. Now they are growing and I'm beginning to see I have roos and pullets. I just read that I you should have 10-12 hens per rooster. Is that right? I have 3 Marans. Two are roos. I guess I was thinking I'd keep one roo and one pullet but now I see that might not work. I have 5 Ameraucanas. I think 3 are roos and 2 are pullets. I also have LF Cochins, Silkies, EE. I didn't really want all the breeds mixing since I invested in good quality stuff to start with. I'm getting confused!

Any advice for a suddenly overwhelmed chicken lover? I have the Marans and Ameraucanas each in their own coop. The cochins and silkies are all together right now but I'll have to move the LF cochins soon I think because they are getting bigger than the silkies. I need help!

 

[TurkeyMountainChickens]

If you have the breeds in their own coop, (and they don't free range together) then you don't need to worry about mixed offspring.

I've found that when I tried keeping too many roosters, they made a mess of my poor hens! They pulled out feathers on their heads, and wore their backs bare. I wouldn't put in more than one rooster unless there are at least 10 hens.

Do you have a cochin rooster, or are they just hens? If just hens, you could put them in with either the marans or ameraucanas, since the eggs would be easy to tell apart. It would also help out by giving the roo some other hens to pay attention to.

You could put the EE in the with Marans, too - just not with the Ameraucanas - then you'd get eggs confused!