- Feb 10, 2008
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Hi All!
We are newbie chicken owners, and we ordered a mixed group of 25 brown egg layers from McMurray, which arrived as day-old-chicks at the first part of February.
Well, God truly does protect fools, drunks and little children, because there might not be another explanation for how we, twelve weeks later, find ourselves with 23 beautiful, healthy, happy birds who roam our yard and entertain us on a daily basis. We are having a total blast with them!
We ordered all pullets, but as these things go sometimes (apparently), we find ourselves with 22 pullets and one rooster. We specifically ordered girls because we are not in a position to keep a troublesomerooster (close-enough neighbors, young daughter).
We're not averse to keeping our rooster as long as he's well-behaved-- decently quiet and non-aggressive, and thus far he's been a total love. But he's definitely headed to the stew pot if his changes, and getting another rooster to help him manage his flock is not going to happen.
I've read on here that the ideal ratio is 1 rooster to 10-12 hens, and obviously we're well outside that, with 1 rooster to 22 hens.
My question is this: What are the risks of having one rooster for 22 hens, and what can we do to mitigate whatever those risks are, without adding more roosters?
Thanks!
We are newbie chicken owners, and we ordered a mixed group of 25 brown egg layers from McMurray, which arrived as day-old-chicks at the first part of February.
Well, God truly does protect fools, drunks and little children, because there might not be another explanation for how we, twelve weeks later, find ourselves with 23 beautiful, healthy, happy birds who roam our yard and entertain us on a daily basis. We are having a total blast with them!
We ordered all pullets, but as these things go sometimes (apparently), we find ourselves with 22 pullets and one rooster. We specifically ordered girls because we are not in a position to keep a troublesomerooster (close-enough neighbors, young daughter).
We're not averse to keeping our rooster as long as he's well-behaved-- decently quiet and non-aggressive, and thus far he's been a total love. But he's definitely headed to the stew pot if his changes, and getting another rooster to help him manage his flock is not going to happen.
I've read on here that the ideal ratio is 1 rooster to 10-12 hens, and obviously we're well outside that, with 1 rooster to 22 hens.
My question is this: What are the risks of having one rooster for 22 hens, and what can we do to mitigate whatever those risks are, without adding more roosters?
Thanks!