Roo/Hen Ratio?

[Bleenie]

I recently adopted a pretty BLRW roo for my pullets, I wanted a boy that looked different than they do. I am pretty sure now though that one of my Black "Pullets" is a Roo and I am not sure if I will be able to part with the little guy, unless of course problems arise with him later on.

I have 12 pullets right now and I am wondering if 2 Roos would be alright with them? The main thing I was worried about was them getting overbred. Also, would 1 Roo be able to keep a dozen girls fertile?


I feel like a total Newb asking all these questions but since these are going to be the ONLY chickens I have now i wanna do it right this time!

 

[alaskachick]

I have 13 hens and one rooster. They have a very happy family life going on in their coop. There is no stress of two roos trying to be king of the mountain. From what I have seen, my roo mates all the hens at least once in 2 days. I heard people say one roo per every 5 hens is good, but does that mean if you have 25 hens you should have 5 roos in one coop... no way, your asking for trouble IMO at least.

 

[cheshireboi]

Does that mean i should split up five hens with one roo. then get more hens for my other 4 roos lol cause i just lost 2 due to over rooing lol i believe that is what killed them:/

 

[Livinwright Farm]

Quote:
Okay, I will first say that we had 2 roos for our 12 girls and everyone got along fine. Eggs are guaranteed to be fertile!
Second, we now only have the BLRW roo, and my LG 9200 incubator is proof that 1 roo can adequately service 12 hens. every last egg from all 12 for 2 days werer fertile and are developing just as they should. I do suggest that if you want to eat unfertilized eggs, that you construct a seperate room for the roo/roos and only allow occassional visits when you want new stock. This is what my little farm is doing.