sex ratio question

[BigBuckSnort]

I just got 4 chickes, I think 1 ended up being a roo. I do not want to breed them. How many hens do you need for 1 roo? Or would it be easier to just get rid of him since I only want eggs?

 

[shelleyd2008]

You only 'need' one hen for a rooster. On the other hand, depending on the size of the rooster, you only need 1 for 5-10 hens. But if you don't want to raise chicks, why keep him? That's just a 'useless' mouth to feed.

 

[usschicago1]

I agree with shelly on the ratio 5-10 but since you don't want hatching eggs you could put him in wiht 100 if you wanted too. I think you should keep him anyways since rooster are so much more pretty, and he deserves to be in your flock

 

[shelleyd2008]

I just thought of another reason. If you plan on free-ranging at all, roosters are much better 'protectors'. They'll alert the hens to any flying dangers, and lead them to safety

 

[doublebow]

That's true about the roosters. If it wasn't for my two roosters, I would have lost several chickens this summer. They fought off raccoons and possums until we could get out there. I am pretty new to all things chicken but having two roosters for eight hens (what I have) makes for worn out looking hens.

 

[BigBuckSnort]

I heard that if you didn't have enough hens, the rooster could be a little ruff w/ the hens? I don't really want to get rid of him, I really like to have a roo, but don't want a bunch of problems.

here he is ( I think he is a roo, white legged like a marans, but is light in color, like the males...) calling him Nugget, actually the smallest chicken I have right now.