Living with chickens

[Fisher hen]

12 4 week old chicks were relocated to my porch this past June. A kindergarten hatched them and needed a home at schools end. Yours truly brained stormed my sister a veteran hen keeper could use a dozen birds. Before I could say chicks she got wind of it and nixed the idea. Now they are all mine, six roosters and six hens. The state tested for diseases so I could move the roosters to a new home( not to be eaten home). They are clean. The boys are still here on probation for future behavior. We named all 12, hold them, use them for anxiety relief by listening to night cooing and watching daily antics. Taking one day at a time reading BYC info and checking the blog for experiences hands on.
Thanks.

 

[Free Spirit]

Six roosters and six hens. Wow, that may cause a few problems. I realize that they are "not" to be eaten but that may be way too many roosters.

Just letting you know so you are aware of potential problems such as fighting or over mated hens.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. X2 on Free Spirit; I would strongly advise you to either re-home those roosters or get a lot more hens. The recommended ratio of roosters to hens is 1 rooster for every 10 hens. As they mature and their hormones kick in, too many roosters will become very hard physically on your hens; over-breeding them, biting and plucking the feathers from their necks and backs, battering them, and potentially, seriously injuring them. The only reason you really need a rooster is to fertilize eggs for hatching and 1 rooster can easily handle 10-15 hens in that regard. If you haven't done so already, definitely check out our Learning Center at https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center. There is lots of useful information there. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Cheers.

 

[drumstick diva]

Welcome to the Backyard chickens flock, so glad you joined us

 

[Frindizzle]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you joined the flock!

 

[BantamLover21]

I'm glad you joined our community!

I agree with the other posters: unless your roosters are kept separate from the hens, the hens are going to get very stressed out from overmating/harassing.