Roosters to hens ratio

[BigBlueHen53]

The hen may influence the sex of the chick in some way, but she doesn't "determine" it in any significant sense as far as deciding it cognitively, any more than a human "decides" its child is going to have blue eyes or brown. This is obvious but I wanted to point it out.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I can’t do it!
Did it once and I had nightmares for weeks. Thanks goodness I have a friend that would do it for me though

Oh, I can't either! I mean, I can cull a chicken if it's suffering (through tears!), but I hire out my butchering, I'm old and beyond learning how to do it efficiently. I'm fortunate to have an Amish woman in the community who dresses them out for a dollar a head. Can't beat that.

 

[Manhen]

Oh, I can't either! I mean, I can cull a chicken if it's suffering (through tears!), but I hire out my butchering, I'm old and beyond learning how to do it efficiently. I'm fortunate to have an Amish woman in the community who dresses them out for a dollar a head. Can't beat that.

Mom tells stories about her grandma butchering. The rest of the chickens fought over the guts in a major tug of war. She never forgot it...
Didn't eat dinner one night either... pshaw.

 

[ariri30]

Oh, I can't either! I mean, I can cull a chicken if it's suffering (through tears!), but I hire out my butchering, I'm old and beyond learning how to do it efficiently. I'm fortunate to have an Amish woman in the community who dresses them out for a dollar a head. Can't beat that.

 

[Mosey2003]

Mom tells stories about her grandma butchering. The rest of the chickens fought over the guts in a major tug of war. She never forgot it...
Didn't eat dinner one night either... pshaw.

Mine recognize when I'm processing and will line up at the side of their run and wait because they know I'll toss them hearts and testicles. Little savages

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Mom tells stories about her grandma butchering. The rest of the chickens fought over the guts in a major tug of war. She never forgot it...
Didn't eat dinner one night either... pshaw.

The one time we tried this, we kept everyone closed in their little run unless they were being processed. Made them easier to catch as needed, of course, but also we didn't have this problem. I'm glad! This would have made an unpleasant, difficult task even more unplasant! Don't know if I could have done more than one if this had happened.

 

[ariri30]

Mine recognize when I'm processing and will line up at the side of their run and wait because they know I'll toss them hearts and testicles. Little savages

 

[Manhen]

The one time we tried this, we kept everyone closed in their little run unless they were being processed. Made them easier to catch as needed, of course, but also we didn't have this problem. I'm glad! This would have made an unpleasant, difficult task even more unplasant! Don't know if I could have done more than one if this had happened.

I dont think they considered it a problem. Disposed of the guts and fed the chickens. Gruesome and bad husbandry these days.

 

[wleigh1021]

I didn't have time to read through all the posts, but I'll tell you my experience. If there is no dominant rooster then yes, the hens will end up over-bred. You can use saddle aprons to help with this problem. If you have a dominant rooster this will keep the others from breeding or at least breeding a lot and may keep them quiet too. I have a "main" rooster and then the other less dominant ones usually don't crow or crow less often or go near his designated ladies. They don't fight since the head honcho was there first and the others hatched into the flock and knew their place from the beginning. They also usually don't fight when hatched and raised together. If you were trying to add an adult to an established flock that would be different. And of course it all varies by breed temperament and the individuals but I have found these to be the general "rules" with my flock.

 

[Fueron]

I am looking for advice please. I thought I had five hens and two roosters. It turns out I have four hens and three roosters! They are in a large pen in the barn in the winter. I haven’t observed aggressive behavior yet but are there enough hens to keep the roosters happy?

Keeping three males and four females may not be an issue if they were raised together and get along fine. If there isn’t any aggressive behavior, then they’re fine. Just keep an eye on their behavior. If fighting or over mating does occur, than pick your best rooster and cull the other two.