roos per hen?

[bufforp89]

How many roos are there supposed to be per hen? I have heard so many conflicting things from 1 roo to 4 hens up to 1 roo for 10 hens.

I ordered my 28 buff orp chicks and got them in April. 4 were supposed to be roos but it turns out 7 are. So thats 7 roos to 18 girls.

I have had no luck getting rid of any boys and I can t kill them and I dont mind keeping them I guess.

If I put them in a pen away from the females and rotated them into the flock would that be ok? Will they fight as much away from the girls? They are not really fighting now but I know that can change any day now. Thanks

 

[BigPeep]

You don't need any roos per hen unless you are going to be breeding.

I am also being plagued with too many roos and am looking for some local asian restuarant to take them. Mexicans will also buy them but you really don't know what they are going to use them for.

If you are going to breed you only need about one roo per ten hens.

 

[RAREROO]

Like BigPeep said you don't need roos unless you want to breed them. I breed and sell chicks so I keep 1 roo per 5 hens. For 18 hens I would use 3 or 4 roos. I have found that some Buff Orp roos usually have weak legs( I just had to butcher one of mine that was gong down in his legs) so I would keep one more than I really needed.

 

[classless chickens]

1 roo to every 10 hens makes a happy flock.

Davaroo answered this a while ago.
Here is the post link...
www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=59898

Also some really good information from Ridgerunner on this post.....
www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2529945

 

[amarook]

I got rid of my extra roos on craigs list. (Free)

 

[bluemoonluck]

I've been told that roosters will help protect the hens if a preditor comes into the yard.

Are the roos really that helpful, or are they more trouble than they're worth? I'm not looking to raise any babies, just get some eggs...

 

[Sissy]

A ROO will put up a big fuss if he feels
his ladies are in danger..children should be kept a safe distance
from a roo. I have ! roo to 10 ladies .. and the other
roos are kept alone
in a seperate coop with out any ladies and get along fine.
until i can find a home for them.

 

[ging3rhoffman]

I have one rooster for 19 girls. I dont want my girls over bred and featherless. Nor do i want 2 rooster fighting. The extra rooster we had look real good in the freezer.

 

[jafo]

We started with 6 Orps, 3 roos and 3 pullets, bought 2 more pullets and gave the other 2 roos away, to large (16-24) flocks that wanted a "boss" around. ( like sending a child to camp, tore me up )When we had 2, "Blue" bieng the dominate one, would feed and show the girls where to scratch, taking them daily into the woods around the coop ( we've since put up a fence, to many predators) while "Percy" kept an eye out for trouble, and usually was more inclined to keep them in order. Actually fun to watch. Percy and Blue both got along fine, as they came from the same gang when we got them. We're going to have a brood 'er two, then see what happens. No eggs yet. Roos are ok to have around, as previously stated, it makes for a happy coop. Not too many though, they will really stress the hens. Just collect the eggs every day. That dribble of blood once in a while,,,,,,,is just an extra shot of "protien"

 

[Ridgerunner]

Quote:
I believe the implication here is that roosters cause blood spots in eggs. This site explains what egg spots are and gives some causes and controls. Roosters are not involved with blood spots in eggs.

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/ourbooks/1/egg-quality-handbook/

bufforp89,

Putting the roosters in their own pen without any hens should work well. I don't do it myself but I've seen many posts where they get along well.

My question to those that do this and rotate the roosters with the flock is, how much fighting and pecking order problems do you have when a rooster has finished his tour with the flock and is rotated back to the bachelor pen? I'd expect it to be very similar to integrating one hen to a flock of hens since it is a bachelor pad, but integration can always be stessful. As I said, I don't have the experience doing this so I really don't know but would like to learn and I believe the answer could be relevent to your question. Of course, as others have said, if you do not plan on hatching eggs, you do not need a rooster with the hens and can just leave the boys in their bachlor pen. That would be my suggestion.