Is 2 Roos too many for 10 Hens?

[bobby2170]

Hey everyone! This spring we decided to add 8 new chickens to our flock of 4. I ordered 1 cockerel and 7 pullets, but we ended up with 2 cockerels and 6 pullets. We have 1 Buff Orpington Roo and 1 SLW. Out of the hens we have 2 Buff Orpintons, 2 EE's, 2 Speckled Sussex, a SLW, a Leghorn, a BR, and an Isa Brown. The two flocks have been integrated for about a month and everyone is finally starting to settle into the new environment. My question is can we keep both roos? Neither of them have shown any aggression toward us although they are only 13 wks old. Is 2 roos to 10 hens an okay ratio or is it too many? Thank you!

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

I think you should be ok. It would be good to get a couple more pullets, but that is a decent ratio. If you have problems, get more girls or get rid of a cockerel.

 

[bobby2170]

Okay! We had originally wanted to give away the SLW but no-one wanted him. We're going to see how things go and if it docent work out we'll look to give him away.

 

[Molpet]

depends on the birds, usually the rule of thumb is 10 hens per roo... but sometimes one roo is very subordinate and it works if there is plenty of places to hide/get away.... most of the time that one gets chased and hides alot.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

If the hens have enough space to escape. Roos compete for hens. Sometimes the hen will get tagged a second after the first one mates. Stress for the hens, mentally and physically.

 

[lazy gardener]

You may end up having problems with 2 cockrels, and I'm surprised you have not yet. When they get their hormones, they can be little beasts, and will often gang up on your weakest pullet. You are also likely to see a lot of bare backs with that ratio. As for providing fertility, my roo easily covers as many as 24 hens with good fertility. Do you have room to segregate them if you have problems down the road?

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

I like to have four or five hens to a roo and have no problems. That ratio fluctuates. I have a lot of roosters/cockerels.

 

[summerb123]

as long they don't stress the girls out or fight with each other it should be fine! make sure they have plenty of space!

 

[AquaDuck]

If they've an established hierarchy system and big enough space, it shouldn't be a problem. One roo will be the boss, and the other will naturally fall in behind him. If they keep fighting after the age of 4-5 months, then separating them by selling might be the best.

 

[song of joy]

You may end up having problems with 2 cockrels, and I'm surprised you have not yet. When they get their hormones, they can be little beasts, and will often gang up on your weakest pullet. You are also likely to see a lot of bare backs with that ratio. As for providing fertility, my roo easily covers as many as 24 hens with good fertility. Do you have room to segregate them if you have problems down the road?

I agree, for that number of hens, 2 roosters is one too many.

I've found it helps to keep the cockerels penned separate from the pullets between about 3 and 5 months of age as they're so hormonal.

If you really want to keep a rooster with the flock, it may be helpful to keep both cockerels until they are 6 months old to see which is better. By "better", I'm speaking of temperament around people and temperament around the hens. It may be helpful to give each cockerel time with the flock of hens on a rotational basis, as the cockerels may act different when together vs. separate (e.g., more competitive when together).