Rooster to Hen ratio

[imaleomom]

Background : I found some cheap hatching eggs for sale on craigslist. I'd really like to give myself a leg up in all possible ways for the next pile of eggs that will go into the incubator, so even if I'm not spending a lot money, I'd still like the lot of them to be fertile.

The seller said that he has 2 roosters to 20-30 hens. That seems like a low ratio to me.

What do you guys think? For optimal fertility in hatching eggs what would be a good roostern ratio?

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

Ive heard anywhere from 1 roo to 8 to 12 hens. If hes got 30 hens and 2 roos, that is really pushing it, but 2 roos and 20 hens is about right.

 

[Lollipop]

I agree. I/10 is about right. 1/12 is pushing it.........Pop

 

[deerman]

Depend on breeds, but most 10 hen max per rooster. more like 8.