newbie

[sunflour]

Glad you joined us. I have 3 BR hens and they are very easy to love.

 

[drumstick diva]

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

 

[bemory13]

Thanks for the warm welcomes. I think I may just get two of the BR roos with the two hens if the seller will still give me a good deal that way I don't have too many roos until I can find more hens in my area. Also can I mix in other breeds of hens such as american game?

 

[losttexan]

Most people here suggest a ratio of roos to hens more in the realm of 1:8 or 1:10. Less than that, and the hens get worn out, more than that, and not every hen gets tended to. If the roos are relatively young, and were raised together, it will buy you some time, but a 2:4 is likely to cause you problems before too long. However, if you are indeed going to be adding hens fairly quickly, it may be good to have a backup roo ready to go in case something happens to alpha. As always, YMMV.

 

[bemory13]

Meet the group. 1 BR roo, 2 BR hens, 1 red hen, and 1 game hen. They are in temporary housing till I can get more supplies Tuesday

 

[Michael OShay]

Most people here suggest a ratio of roos to hens more in the realm of 1:8 or 1:10. Less than that, and the hens get worn out, more than that, and not every hen gets tended to. If the roos are relatively young, and were raised together, it will buy you some time, but a 2:4 is likely to cause you problems before too long.

X2 on that. As they mature, 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 need a rooster is for fertilizing eggs for hatching and 1 rooster can easily handle 10 hens in that regard.