Separating hens and roosters

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rborin119

rborin119

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Hello everyone! I have two roosters only but looking at getting some hens this spring. Well, that was my husbands idea and I want to run with it before he changes his mind! Here's the hitch. I don't want to let me hens and roosters together. I don't want to take the chance of having babies. I would never let any of them go and I would be over run with chickens! Not that I would complain! Here's my question. I don't currently have an enclosure for my roosters. They're totally free range. I have a very small coop that I only put them in if whether is crazy, but they've gotten to where they're getting in the road and harassing the neighbors dog. So we're going to build a very large enclosure for them. Is it possible to make a divider in the enclosure and keeping hens on one side and the Roos on the other? Would this just cause the roosters to fight and be anxious trying to get to the hens? And advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
You will only have chicks if you allow eggs to be incubated for 21 days. Simply collect your eggs daily to prevent any incubation and you don't have to worry about it. There is no difference with regards to suitability for eating in eggs that are fertilized vs. unfertilized. Yes, housing them as you are proposing would lead to issues of aggression and fighting in the males -- if you insist on housing them separately you will need to construct an entirely separate housing unit out of sight of the hen's pen to keep the males in an "out of sight/out of mind" state of mind. Being able to see but not reach the hens will lead to frustration and they will take it out on each other.
 
Hello!
400

Welcome to BYC and the coop! There's a lot of great peeps here! Feel free to ask lots of questions. But most of all, make yourself at home. I'm so glad you decided to join the BYC family. I look forward to seeing you around BYC. X2 on Ol Grey Mare advice. Good luck!
 
Yea. Maybe I'll just put them together and just collect eggs daily. But I also don't want to put the hens through being constantly bred. Thank you. I appreciate the insight. We raised chickens when I was a kid but I wasnt involved in the logistics of it all!
 
rborin119 said:
Yea. Maybe I'll just put them together and just collect eggs daily. But I also don't want to put the hens through being constantly bred. Thank you. I appreciate the insight. We raised chickens when I was a kid but I wasnt involved in the logistics of it all!
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This is where tough decisions have to be made sometimes - how many hens will you be keeping in your flock? How much space do you intend to provide in the enclosure you are planning to build? This will factor into whether your hens will be more or less likely to be overbred.
 
I was scoping out spots today. My initial plan was to do like 7 hens. But if we put the Roos in with them, we will need more. I found a spec that said there needs to be at least 8-10 square feet per bird. But we were planning on doubling that per bird. I just want them to feel like they're free range with the protection of the enclosure. We have plenty of space so I want to make it as big as possible.
 
Hi and welcome to BYC - glad that you have joined us.

The Learning Centre is a great resource, even for experienced chicken keepers - loads of info on anything chicken. https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center

Joining your state thread may be useful as it will put you in touch with other BYC members in your area - just type the name of your state in the search box.

All the best
CT
 
The roo to hen ratio is just a general guide.. and a lot depends of the breed of chicken too.

I have about equal numbers of rooster to hens.. I think I have about 60 chickens in my orchard.

The hens are not harassed and they are all in perfect feather condition. The roosters get a pecking order and only the top ones are allowed to mate with the hens.. and the hens stick in groups with the top roosters.. the other roosters just hang around in their own groups on the outside.

You are unlikely to get any chicks hatch.. because the hen would have to go broody and incubate the eggs for 21 days.. and I am sure you would notice if you get a broody hen!

My advise is let them all live together and only worry about them getting over bred if you see them getting feathers missing from their backs.

The only issue I can see it you must wait till the hens are at the age when they start laying eggs before you add them to your roosters.. otherwise they will be too young to breed and MAY get bullied by the older roosters.
 
The best solution for your problem is to rehome your roosters. They are mostly useless in protecting hens and cause more damage than they are worth. Plus you don't want chicks, and with NO roosters around - there will be no chicks hatched.
 

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