Should I Be Keeping My Roosters In With The Hens 4 Egg Results?

[RUMBLON]

We have had free range chickens for years and they stayed in the barn for th eost part and it was a daily egg hunt. Now I have given the ckickens their own area. However I have three roosters in with the hens? Should I have them seperated???? for the best egg production or does it matter?

RUMBLON

 

[HEChicken]

It doesn't matter for egg production - it only makes a difference whether the eggs are fertile or not.

 

[moodlymoo]

Only reason for a roo is fertile eggs and protection. Oh and for an alarm clock lol

 

[bobbi-j]

How many hens do you have? If you have too many roosters, the stressed out hens could decrease or even stop producing.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Quote:
x2 In a flock with the right number of roosters your hens will lay as well as they would without a rooster. If you have too many roosters, the stress of being bred so often will cause then hens production to drop.

 

[RUMBLON]

22 hens three roosters?

RUMBLON

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Quote:
Thats not bad, a tad heavy on the roo side. Have the roos grown up together? I find that if they have grown up together they are more tolerant of each other. It depends on the roosters. If you observe your flock, do the roosters chase the hens around a lot? Do they breed them a lot? Do the roosters fight amongst themselves? Are the hens missing feathers on their back? Those are a few of the signs that you have too many roosters.

 

[Katydid2011]

I agree with everything that's already been said. I wanted to add that I keep a roo simply because my hens seem more relaxed with a roo than without and happy hens are better layers. : ) Of course my rooster to hen ratio is 1:30, so there's no harassment or over-breeding, which would stress them out. I don't want or need fertilized eggs so the ratio works for me.

Edited to fix a typo!