Rooster to chook ratio

[Angel07]

If you want pure breeds, you'll have to keep them separated by breed.

Yeah, I'll be letting them free range for the most part but when I want to breed I'll separate them for a couple of days before collecting for incubating.

 

[aart]

Yeah, I'll be letting them free range for the most part but when I want to breed I'll separate them for a couple of days before collecting for incubating.

It takes 3-4 weeks for a hen to clear 'unwanted' sperm.
So you'll need to house your breeds separately and range them on alternate days.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Yeah, I'll be letting them free range for the most part but when I want to breed I'll separate them for a couple of days before collecting for incubating.

Not going to happen. Might I suggest reading up on chciken reproductive systems?

Start here.

If you want pure bred birds, you will have to keep the flocks separated at all times.

and the 1/10 ratio is a thumb rule for fertility - how many hens, on average, can a healthy mature rooster of typical breed "cover" with near 100% fertility. (Eggs may still fail to develop, of course - but they at least had a chance). If you are willing to tolerate lower fertility rates, and have a young rooster, they can likely cover more. What ratio is "too few" and results in overmating? Highly rooster dependent, and age disparities may play a factror too - older hens **seem** to put up with less behaviors from young roos than younger hens do, and can often convince the young boy to be more well mannered.

 

[Shadrach]

There is no fixed ratio of rooster to hens. Game fowl manage very well one to one. Jungle fowl manage and have managed one to one for centuries.
This 10:1 is such a lot of nonsense and it seems form what little evidence I can gather it is based on how many hens a rooster can successfully mate with per day.
I've gone for three to one whenever possible. This kind of ratio becomes important if you free range. You will understand why this is if you try it and watch how the hens and rooster behave.
Yes, it is true you will have many less problems if you house each rooster and his hens seperately. Chicken are tribal creatures, not flock creatures.

 

[Angel07]

It takes 3-4 weeks for a hen to clear 'unwanted' sperm.
So you'll need to house your breeds separately and range them on alternate days.

Not going to happen. Might I suggest reading up on chciken reproductive systems?

Start here.

If you want pure bred birds, you will have to keep the flocks separated at all times.

and the 1/10 ratio is a thumb rule for fertility - how many hens, on average, can a healthy mature rooster of typical breed "cover" with near 100% fertility. (Eggs may still fail to develop, of course - but they at least had a chance). If you are willing to tolerate lower fertility rates, and have a young rooster, they can likely cover more. What ratio is "too few" and results in overmating? Highly rooster dependent, and age disparities may play a factror too - older hens **seem** to put up with less behaviors from young roos than younger hens do, and can often convince the young boy to be more well mannered.

Sorry, I don't think I worded it correctly. I don't want to be constantly breeding them because that would be too many chicks. My plan is to free range them with all the other birds. I'll be putting each breed together at the start and then slowly working them all out into the paddock.Then, when I want to breed them I'll separate them before hand if I want purebreds other wise I'll just leave them. Also, I'm really bad at this but when I say a couple of days I can mean anywhere from 1 to like 100 days. Thanks for the advice anyway. Sorry if I confused you.

 

[Kirmi8]

I have 2 roosters and 39 hens. My girls are getting trashed. Go with one rooster. Or make sure you have a breed that is a lot more chill (mine are Easter eggers). Mrs. K has great advice.

 

[ElizaMay]

I have 2 roosters and 39 hens. My girls are getting trashed. Go with one rooster. Or make sure you have a breed that is a lot more chill (mine are Easter eggers). Mrs. K has great advice.

Lord, what age and breed rooster?? My orpington roo has 7 hens and may breed a few of them once per day, some not at all.

 

[Kirmi8]

Lord, what age and breed rooster?? My orpington roo has 7 hens and may breed a few of them once per day, some not at all.

He *was* and Easter Egger. And about 7 months. I made the decision to cull him last week and things are soooo much better in the coop. I still have one boy who is also and Easter Egger (but doesn’t look to be Americana dominant) and he is much more polite with the hens. Everyone is calmer and no more feather destruction.