roos with hens or separated

[GreenDragon]

I have read on lots of post that people keep their rosters separate from their hens. im planing on leaving mine with the girls I don't think that will be a problem.

what do you all do and should i rethink my plan?

 

[ShaylaFox]

I have never heard of someone owning a rooster and not leaving him with the other hens! That sounds crazy... well I guess they have a reason. I leave my rooster with the hens he is not mean, he did try to flog me but I kicked him three times and he never tried it again. It sounds kinda mean but I cant have a mean rooster. My sister takes care of the chickens when I cant be there. If she got flogged ever she would never go back up there to take care of them. As long as you dont have too many roosters, your hens should be fine. Not only that the roosters help herd the hens mine move the hens from one part of the yard to the other. If you want chicks, you have got to have fertile eggs. Sooo its your call really.

 

[bobbi-j]

There are a lot of variables that determine whether or not people leave their roosters with their hens. Right now I have an adult roo, a 3-month old and at least two 1-month old cockerels. They're all together with the rest of the flock, but as soon as the young ones get to breeding age, they will be separated and placed in a grow-out or bachelor pen. I don't have enough hens to make it feasible for them to all stay together. A couple of years ago, I had 50 straight run chicks. At least half of them were male - they also got separated from the hens when they got to that age. I will, however, keep my mature roo with the hens.

 

[Stiggy]

It really does depend on the situation. I have 2 roosters running together but I also have enough hens for both . but when you get to many roosters and not enough hens or the roosters start to fight then its time to separate. If your breeding then its good to have a plan as to what will happen to the roosters that aren't needed

 

[GreenDragon]

As long as you dont have too many roosters, your hens should be fine. Not only that the roosters help herd the hens mine move the hens from one part of the yard to the other. If you want chicks, you have got to have fertile eggs. Sooo its your call really.

It really does depend on the situation. I have 2 roosters running together but I also have enough hens for both . but when you get to many roosters and not enough hens or the roosters start to fight then its time to separate. If your breeding then its good to have a plan as to what will happen to the roosters that aren't needed

how many hens should i have per rooster? i know my pen is big enough for more chickens than i have, so space is not my worry. tomorrow im getting 8 chicks that are strait run that hatched on Monday. im hoping to get 2 roosters in the mix that way i will have 26 hens and 2 roosters. will that be enough hens per roos?

 

[osiel]

That's sounds good. A good rule is 1 roo to 10 hens. I usually do 1 roo to 8 hens

 

[aart]

The 1 to 10 ratio so often thrown around comes from the commercial production fertility objectives.

......otherwise the number of roos to hens depends on the roos, the hens, the space available and your own objectives for keeping a roo(s).

No matter the numbers, a roo can over mate a hen or certain hens. You kind of have to play it by eye and see how it goes, always having separate enclosures ready in case a certain bird(s) needs to be segregated.