Introducing roosters & hens into a new coop

[greenacres]

Hi,
I am new to raising chickens. We got 5 silkies. Three are roosters and 2 are hens. We have the two sexes separated in two cages that sit side by side. The chicken coop we are building will be ready soon. It will house 10 chickens. I have two questions. How do you best introduce all the chickens together? Is a 3 rooster to 2 hen ratio a problem? One rooster is definetly the dominant one in the group. I have been looking for more 6 month to 1 year old silkie hens but can't find them. I have been told to wait until spring. I live in cleveland where the winters do get cold. Can I still get some little chick hens and raise them old enough to bear the winter? Or should I just have the unbalanced 5 of them and relax? I found a source to buy 1 day old silkie chicks, but I am afraid to get more roosters. Any advise would be appreciated.

 

[Southern28Chick]

Quote:
To answer the rooster question...you are only supposed to have 1 rooster to every 12 hens!!! 3 roosters will kill your 2 hens from over mating and possibly each other from fighting.

 

[eggchel]

Since they have been side by side, you can try them in together, but keep a close eye on them. Meanwhile, find some grown layers, of any breed, and after quarantining them for two weeks, add them to the group to take the pressure off the silkie hens. Then when you find more silkies, just give away the layers or send them to freezer camp.


My silkie pen is the only pen that has lots of roosters without any problems.... just noisy.

chel