Hey folks,
I've got the construction of a new chicken coop underway in which I plan to house about 150 laying hens, a small number of roosters, and the overflow of cockerels produced each year (up to week 20) from the annual hatch. I'll be raising and breeding all six breeds in an effort to get better and better chickens each year. I'm guessing I'll have 2 dozen or so laying hens of each, along with a couple roosters, all in their own 10' x 16' coop and attached run. I'd really like to get people's feedback about the number of roosters you folks feel I should have of each breed if my goal is to make sure I've got a good pool of genes to work with each year.
I'm currently thinking of going with 4 roosters of each (24 total,) but I don't have any idea what kind of pandemonium I'll be creating with these roosters all trying to establish a pecking order within each coop. Would three be sufficient? Would two be too few?
Given the space I'm working with and the number of laying hens I'll have, how many roosters would you suggest of each breed?
Thanks!
Diavolicchio
P.S. I do understand that housing all the chickens in one large open coop will likely be recommended by a few on here, however I am committed to keeping the breeds separate in their own individual coops/runs.
I've got the construction of a new chicken coop underway in which I plan to house about 150 laying hens, a small number of roosters, and the overflow of cockerels produced each year (up to week 20) from the annual hatch. I'll be raising and breeding all six breeds in an effort to get better and better chickens each year. I'm guessing I'll have 2 dozen or so laying hens of each, along with a couple roosters, all in their own 10' x 16' coop and attached run. I'd really like to get people's feedback about the number of roosters you folks feel I should have of each breed if my goal is to make sure I've got a good pool of genes to work with each year.
I'm currently thinking of going with 4 roosters of each (24 total,) but I don't have any idea what kind of pandemonium I'll be creating with these roosters all trying to establish a pecking order within each coop. Would three be sufficient? Would two be too few?
Given the space I'm working with and the number of laying hens I'll have, how many roosters would you suggest of each breed?
Thanks!
Diavolicchio
P.S. I do understand that housing all the chickens in one large open coop will likely be recommended by a few on here, however I am committed to keeping the breeds separate in their own individual coops/runs.
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