Roosters or No Roosters?

[massiveme]

We got 4 silkies this spring and 2 turned out to be roos. We just integrated all 4 into our flock (2 buff orphingtons, 2 RIR, 2 Plymouth Rocks and 2 EE). We already have a EE Rooster, who is actually a great rooster. He's not aggressive toward us and he protects the ladies. He mainly hangs out with the other EE, which makes sense since we got them together. She's a little skiddish, so we want to keep him.

The question is, should we keep 1 or both Silkie roos? First off their totally cute, but really we got chickens for the eggs, so having roosters isn't necessary. Add in the more food, more poop, etc. Is it worth it? The only reason Im thinking about keeping them is that Silkies are so much smaller than the other birds and they protect the ladies. But, truthfully the other birds don't seem to pay much mind to them so would it be that big of a deal to loose them? Should I get rid of them now before I get too attached? If I keep the roos will all 3 get along? The Silkies are only 4 months, the EE 6.

 

[QueenMisha]

I would be concerned about getting rooster-burned hens, because the hen-rooster ratio would be quite impropotianate. In order to prevent stress and rooster-burn (the loss of hen's back and head feathers due to aggressive or clumsy roosters), the recommended ratio is 8 hens:1 standard rooster, or 10 hens:1 bantam rooster. This rule can be bent some, but I still would be concerned about a ratio of 3 hens:1 rooster. Chicken saddles would be a possibility, but it would be rather pricey to purchase them for all 9 hens.

The Silkies most likely won't have much impact on the flock. I've only met one Silkie bantam who was dominant over standard-sized roosters, but he is the exception, not the norm. The EE is likely to dominate them, and they will avoid him. They won't really eat a large amount of feed, and they won't do a particularly large amount of things.

 

[DanEP]

I would cull one of the silkie roos as 2 roo's for 2 silkie hens is one too many. Most likely the ee roo will not allow them to breed with the bigger girls even if the girls would allow it so the could turn to the silkie hens which could lead to over breeding of them.