Rooster to hen ratio

[Ridgerunner]

Read my post just above yours.

So 20 hens is too many for one rooster? Should I get a second rooster to be safe

I don't know what you mean by "too many". It's hard to respond to such a general question. What are you specifically concerned about? Why do you think 20 might be too many? How might a second rooster be safer?

can they all live together?

Sometimes multiple roosters can live together in the flock, sometimes they cannot. There are different factors in that. A big one is the personality of the individual roosters. How much room you have can be important, the more room the better. Them growing up together, either as siblings or as father/son can help but is no guarantee. How you manage them can be important. Do you force them to stay together or can they get away from each other if they need to?

There is no easy answer to this, you won't know until you try. They may fight to the death or they may get along fine. Often it can get pretty rough when they are first introduced or when they decide who is boss, even if they eventually reach an accommodation.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Breed and personality are also a factor of course

This is very true. I have one tiny tiny tiny bantam rooster. He had 9 girls, but he really has his favorites, and they seemed harrassed at times (the little fella is eager!). I got 3 more girls, and he's calmed down.

I have a friend who has several roosters in a single flock, and they do fine. It's kind of astonishing, really. I don't know exact numbers, but she's got at least 5 roos in with a couple dozen hens, and everyone gets along. I'm always amazed.

 

[User105877]

1 to 5-10. Depends on the roosters really.