Introducing hens?

[Cavendish Chickens]

Okay, so in May I incubated 6 eggs. 1 hatched, we thought it was a boy and was told it was a girl, so we bought a boy that is a month older. Our hen turned out to be a rooster. So now we have two roosters, and no hens. We really wanted hens, but now we don't know what to do. To get a hen or two, would we have to give up one of the roos, or is there a way to introduce a hen or two into the coop and run with these two roosters without them fighting? Our roosters are going on 4 and 5 months of age. They have spur bumps, but no spurs. One is more outgoing than the other. They haven't asserted a pecking order yet, so we are unsure of who the top roo would be. What can we do to have hens? Does anyone have any advice?

 

[Judy]

A hen or two with two roos would most likely be a disaster. The ratio to aim for is one roo to 10 hens. The roos will probably be OK together as long as you have no hens, but will fight for dominance and compete as soon as a female is around.

It might work out to get several sexed female chicks. Separate them with a fence at first and use your judgment. Most likely, one roo will have to go.

 

[sixxchixx]

I think you really only need one roo for every small flock of hens. so unless you are planning on getting tons of hens they probably will fight each other. sorry, one of my "pullets" will probably turn out to be a roo also (and he/she's my favorite)
good luck

 

[Cavendish Chickens]

Well, we ended up giving up one of our roo's. The older one was bullying the younger one. He forced him in a corner and wouldn't let him come out to eat or drink. We replaced him with two leghorn hens, one white (Gloria) and one light brown (Mable). So since they're a different breed from Precious Boy (who is a speckled sussex), we're not sure if we'll let them have any chicks. But so far everyone is getting along. Precious is trying to establish his dominance over the girls, but they're getting along a lot better than we thought. We were worried he'd really hurt them. I'm so pleased. And the girls apparently like me too. They sat on my lap, and Gloria even perched on my shoulder. (Who needs a parrot when you can have a chicken? lol)