Ratio of roosters to hens

[Lockamyfam]

What’s the ideal number of roosters to hens??

In our first round of pullets from a close friend of ours, 3 of the 6 wound up being roosters! Fortunately one is a MUTE and not aggressive so he’s fine. The other 2 are aggressive and complete jerks, so just because of the fact that they like picking fights with my husband and I, we’re going to have to get rid of them.

in our 2nd round of pullets, we’re thinking that 2 of the 11 are going to be roosters based on their height, combs and just overall look. The good thing with these 2 is that they are very calm and sweet (one is a Rhode island red and the other is a lavender orphington). They are about 4-5 months olde and haven’t crowed yet soooooo I’m hoping they’re relatively mute as well?? Lol I guess we’ll see!

That’s 5 total roosters right now though with 18 hens.....soon to be 3 roosters though. We are planning to get more chicks in the spring again but yea. After we get rid of the 2 aggressive ones, what’s the ideal ratio of roosters to hens?? I’ve heard so many different things.... 1:10, 1:6. I’ve heard that most roosters will pretty much have their few specific ladies, and it’s not a big deal.
Ideas???

 

[JacinLarkwell]

It all depends on the male's personality. I have a few that we're good with just one hen and never caused her problems. But other times you can have 15, 20 and still have a hen or two that are favorites and just always have a bare back

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Also just a heads up, the mute male you have will crow once you get rid of the more dominant males. He's just keeping his head down for now

 

[Lockamyfam]

@JacinLarkwell thank you - good to know! That’s what I was thinking, but not sure. We don’t NEED roosters either. We just happen to get them and after growing attached to these cute little things, it’s like “welp - here we go!” Lol fortunately 3 of the 5 are friendly - just bummed about the 2 aggressors...they’re so pretty!

Here are pics of them:

 

[FluffyBottomBantams]

I agree it all depends on the rooster. For some of my roosters I’ll have a him in with only one hen for breeding purposes and I’ll have no problem. For others they can get rough and then the hen needs a mating saddle. In general the rule of thumb is 10 hens to one rooster, but sometimes even that isn’t enough. I personally am a huge fan of roosters, and while they aren’t for everyone, there’s nothing like a good rooster.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

They are nice. And they aren't tight feathered breeds either. Breeds with tight feathering and little down are more likely to be barebacked simply because they have less feathers for the male's to get through.

A note though, just because a hen is barebacked doesn't mean the ratio is too small. There may be other factors

 

[Lockamyfam]

@JacinLarkwell good to know - he's a smart one! Lol he has his 2 or 3 favorites. Doesn’t really mount either which is interesting. I saw him try once and it was almost like he found it awkward and quickly got off LOL

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Also the 1:10 is a fertility ratio for hatcheries to be sure almost every egg is fertile

 

[ButtonHoarder]

I have 1 with 15ish hens, and one is still barebacked but otherwise happy. So

 

[Lockamyfam]

@FluffyBottomBantams we had a beautiful rooster that was amazing and HUGE! We loved him but unfortunately he died from a dog attack back in May (our neighbor’s 2 golden retrievers got out). I agree that it all depends on the rooster - they can be amazing!