Roosters??

[janramsey]

Ok here's another question.....Yes I am full of them!! And I hope this is the right spot for it. If not I am sorry.

Ok we are planning 36 chickens. We would like to make sure our ladies have plenty of male companionship...with as few men as we can get by with. How many Men do we need to make sure all the ladies are tended too??

Thanks for all your help. One day I hope to sound like I know what I am clucking about!!

(guess I should mention we plan to hatch more chicks next spring with our very own eggs)

 

[chickbea]

If you just want eggs and aren't planning to breed from your chickens, then you don't need any roosters at all. The hens will establish their own order with dominant hens playing that role.
If you do want to breed, the general rule of thumb is 1 roo to 8-12 hens for regular breeds. I believe banty roos can handle a few more ladies than that.
You could conceivably get away with one roo for 36 hens, but he would be very tired, and your fertility rate would be low. However, when you were ready to breed, you could pen him up alone with selected hens and have a successful rate that way.

 

[4H kids and mom]

The accepted rule of thumb is roughly 1 roo to 10-12 hens. You can have more, but they may fight more, and fight over the hens and hurt them. You can get by with less, but they will wear out quickly, and wont be doing much of a service anyway (less fetility, and less viable chicks). I'd be safe and go with at least 3 roos for your 36 hens.

Or you can do as stated above and use a breeder pen. Keep the roo in the pen and when ready to breed put two hens in with him. You'll have a happy roo and you can cycle through the hens occasionally so you can breed everyone and not wear him out.