Hello everyone. I am a new member. I just got a new flock of chicks after being without chickens for many years. My experience previous has been with egg production breeds like white leghorns but thus time I decided to go with the dual purpose brown egg breeds. I think they will fare better in my cold climate, be attractive in the barnyard, and give my family organic meat (eventually) as well as eggs. I am looking forward to meeting you all and learning more about my new chickens. My pullets so far are two of each Light Brahma, Dark Brahma, Buff Orpington, Dominique, Delaware, Black Australorp. I am hoping to pick up a couple of Silver Laced Wynadottes tomorrow when they arrive at my local ranch store. Can anyone recommend a rooster variety that would complement my hens, be friendly to human caretakers and each other? I think I will need two in order to keep my hens fertile and happy. I do not want any, or as little as possible, fighting going on in the barnyard. I also want the resulting second generation chicks to be acceptable and comparative quality meat and egg birds. Thank you.
Hi and a warm welcome to BYC - glad that you decided to join us. It sounds like you have everything planned which is great. I'll let others advice re: roo breeds - i live in kenya and we don't really have specific breeds. All the best CT
Will one rooster be sufficient? I was given information that recommends 1 rooster per 10 hens. I will have 14-20 hens. If that ratio is incorrect, totally fine with me as I really don't want to be forced to have the higher number of hens anyway. A flock of 15 chickens is perfect for me (14 hens, 1 rooster). I just want happy healthy birds that will be members of a sustainable flock to supply my family with eggs and meat. I would still appreciate some breed recommendations as I will be hatching out some of my eggs for replacement hens and roaster birds. Thank you for the advice.
Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. X2 on LovesAGoodYolk's recommendation of getting only one rooster as 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 causing stress and a reduction in their lay rate, 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. As for which breed of rooster, I would recommend a Black Australorp as they are extremely hardy in both heat and cold, typically calm and gentle (good lap pets), and excellent layers of brown eggs. That way the Australorp's high egg production will be infused into the offspring of your flock. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Cheers.
Hello! Welcome to BYC and the coop! There's a lot of great peeps here! Feel free to ask lots of questions. But most of all, make yourself at home. I'm so glad you decided to join the BYC family. I look forward to seeing you around BYC.
