should I get one more hen?

[sunket77]

I have 2 bantam's that I plan building a separate place for, not with my standards b/c by the time they are old enough to be put with the others I am afraid it just won't work. I believe I have to roos and one hen. (one cochin roo and one polish pair) Should I get one more hen to even the odds?

 

[Schultz]

You should ALWAYS get just one more hen!!

Make sure to practice good bio-security before introduction!

 

[Judy]

10 hens to one roo is the usual standard, though many on here get by with fewer hens to a roo. Depends on the personality of the roo.

Don't see why mixing bantams and large fowl should be a problem; many do.

 

[sunket77]

I am just concerned b/c 2 are polish and might get pecked on.... I have 3 hens that are mutts that where given to me. They where malnourished when I got them but are catching up with the rest. They are still quite small for their age and don't have all their feathers ( 9 wks) They are with the rest of the flock now but are the lowest on the totem pole and get chased around quite a bit. I am thinking of putting them with the banty's when the banty's are large enough for their own place.

 

[mamaKate]

I have something similar at my house. I bought 2 "pullets" from Orscheln's in March. They're both roos. They are my only chickens, so I'm trying to decide my next step. The dominant roo is a BO and they're so notoriously sweet, I think I'll be ok to get 3 or 4 pullets as long as they have lots of coop space and free range during the day.The up side is they CAN free range without worry about the neighborhood (and my) cats. In fact, I''l probably have to keep one of my old guys safe from the chickens. lol

 

[sunket77]

I love your avitar! thats great!

 

[mamaKate]

Thanks, it made me laugh.

 

[19hhbelgian]

ALWAYS get just 1 more

I found that it depends on the roo's personality. I had gotten 12 roos as packing peanuts, and kept all of them (don't ask me WHAT I was thinking

). Even though they would go over to the neighbors who only had a few hens, I had no problems with them fighting or being aggressive. Maybe I just got lucky though