Real world experiences with rooster to hen ratios 18 to 2?

[Echelontheory101]

I used to have one very sweet gentleman - Bielefelder Rooster for my 13 hens. One chick started brooding and we got a brother and a sister. I could not eliminate the young rooster and they are all getting along fine. It probably depends on the temperament of the breed.

Thank you for telling me! I figured there were folks out there with higher ratios having no issues! Seems like the plan will be just wait and see how everyone does and hope that atleast one of the 3 isnt evil haha

 

[Echelontheory101]

Our chicken coop is a little over 350sf. We have a couple dozen hens and one rooster. We may have a roo growing up in a batch of chicks we acquired a couple of months ago. We shall see what we shall see. The adult roo we have had for 3 years and he has had as many as 3 dozen hens to care for and has done a fabulous job. I would recommend choosing the best tempered rooster you possibly can and go with that. One thing that is certain when you don't have enough hens they get mounted too often and their back will begin to show it with missing feathers and bleeding skin. That is something you do not want to happen. As far as I'm concerned 10 hens is not enough to keep the average rooster happy. You should consider 20.

Im always looking for an excuse to get more hens but yes I think that's the plan, 11 current ladies and then 6 more for 17 total hens and then sounds like I'll have to wait and see which of the 3 boys is the least of an a-hole haha and that one will get the flock. What age did your rooster settle into his permanent personality? I know they can be extra roostery early on and then mellow out so wouldnt wanna risk eating one before they have a chance to show they'd actually be great haha

 

[angiebean]

Hi all!

Adding some additional birds to my flock in the spring, I currently have 11 hens I plan on adding 7 more hens and I want to also add 2 roosters. BUT I know when I look online it says 2 roosters to 18 hens is not good they should have 8 to 10 hens each to prevent issues which I'd basically be just short of, but I'm curious about the people in here's real world experiences with it if I'm raising the roos and understand that I may need to remove one if it becomes a problem but curious if it's worth trying at all.

if needed info their coop/run is 128 sq feet of floor space and they have at least 200 sq ft of "free ranging" chicken tunnels all over the property that they have free access to all day. The only thing I don't have enough space of right now, is roost bar space for the additionals. I'll be hanging an additional 8 ft long roost bar to accommodate the 8 additional birds.

Thoughts?

As of now I have 30 hens and 3 roosters - about 5 of those are bantam hens and 1 rooster is slightly disabled and young. No issues but I do think it comes down to the temperament of the rooster. My oldest rooster Thanos is the worst rooster because he doesn't protect the flock, not a single fertilized egg when it was just him and straight up is the first in the coop when danger appears lol by my boyfriend is attached to him soooo

Now my Mottle Ancona rooster is straight up the best rooster. Not too rough with the hens and respects if they shrug him off. Leaves my bantams alone even if they're willing. Calls the girls over when he finds treats and is the last in the coop when he suspects danger. He even protects my disabled rooster from my alpha hen.

I do think it's because I raised him with a group of chicks which included bantams. If you lived in NE USA I'd give him to you as I'm not looking to add his coloring into my flock.

My disabled RIR rooster was previously super mean and thought he'd be an issue...until he picked a fight with a wall and broke his leg. It's healed and he's walking whine, just a little limp but now he's super sweet. He's very protective of my polish and silkie as they don't roost with the others and the three of them are on the floor at night.

Bottom line, it's down to temperament. But some roosters are ok with few hens without over mating them

 

[Echelontheory101]

As of now I have 30 hens and 3 roosters - about 5 of those are bantam hens and 1 rooster is slightly disabled and young. No issues but I do think it comes down to the temperament of the rooster. My oldest rooster Thanos is the worst rooster because he doesn't protect the flock, not a single fertilized egg when it was just him and straight up is the first in the coop when danger appears lol by my boyfriend is attached to him soooo

Now my Mottle Ancona rooster is straight up the best rooster. Not too rough with the hens and respects if they shrug him off. Leaves my bantams alone even if they're willing. Calls the girls over when he finds treats and is the last in the coop when he suspects danger. He even protects my disabled rooster from my alpha hen.

I do think it's because I raised him with a group of chicks which included bantams. If you lived in NE USA I'd give him to you as I'm not looking to add his coloring into my flock.

My disabled RIR rooster was previously super mean and thought he'd be an issue...until he picked a fight with a wall and broke his leg. It's healed and he's walking whine, just a little limp but now he's super sweet. He's very protective of my polish and silkie as they don't roost with the others and the three of them are on the floor at night.

Bottom line, it's down to temperament. But some roosters are ok with few hens without over mating them

He sounds like a perfecf gentleman! I am in New England, unless you mean Nebraska which also makes sense haha. I already ordered my 3 blue splash ameraucana boys, I wanted them for their small combs and wattles for the cold winters here and the 2 blue egg genes and theu look so cute with their fluffy cheeks haha but thank you so much for the offer thats super sweet!

And yes I definitely dont plan to keep all 3 I ordered 3 in addition to more hens just in case there are any issues raising them up, so I dont have to start over again with more chicks if theres an issue with 1 or 2 of the boys.

 

[Aheid]

u

well i have a wyandotte rooster and apparently 14 hens isnt enough for him so.

Haha! We have 8 girls and 2 boys, they all grew up together. After puberty, Chester was boss. He was tough on Festus and fought with and bit him whenever he was 'out of place' even just for looking at the girls. After one year, he hurt his beak and couldn't put Festus back in place. The tables turned. Turns out Chester is the better 2nd rank boy, more submissive and playing by the rules, even after his beak recovered. No more blood, no fighting. Occasionally a brief mutual wing flapping. Festus is rougher on his humans than Chester was, but well, what's an occasional bruise on the shins or ankles?

 

[Perris]

I ordered 3 in addition to more hens just in case there are any issues raising them up, so I dont have to start over again with more chicks if theres an issue with 1 or 2 of the boys.

I urge caution when it comes to making decisions about who to keep and who to cull. If I had followed through on my early ideas I would have made a lot of mistakes. You really need to let them grow up to maturity (by which I mean at least sexually mature, if not a year old) to see their true abilities and shortcomings.

My current flock consists of 28, of which 17 are female and 11 are male, and they form one big happy family. E.g. here a group photo of 5 roos and 1 hen dustbathing together in harmony, no battle or over-mating scars

Just saying.

 

[Echelontheory101]

I urge caution when it comes to making decisions about who to keep and who to cull. If I had followed through on my early ideas I would have made a lot of mistakes. You really need to let them grow up to maturity (by which I mean at least sexually mature, if not a year old) to see their true abilities and shortcomings.

My current flock consists of 28, of which 17 are female and 11 are male, and they form one big happy family. E.g. here a group photo of 5 roos and 1 hen dustbathing together in harmony, no battle or over-mating scars
View attachment 4261352
Just saying.

Thank you! Ive been trying to ask folks when is best to make those decisions and hadn't gotten an answer yet so this is great!

 

[CATRYNA]

Im always looking for an excuse to get more hens but yes I think that's the plan, 11 current ladies and then 6 more for 17 total hens and then sounds like I'll have to wait and see which of the 3 boys is the least of an a-hole haha and that one will get the flock. What age did your rooster settle into his permanent personality? I know they can be extra roostery early on and then mellow out so wouldnt wanna risk eating one before they have a chance to show they'd actually be great haha

My daughter in law brought him home along with a hen. They are both bantis. They were both 6 months old and we thought they were both hens until he started crowing. He has always been terrific.