Standord cream legbar roo with bantam hens?

[treefrog95]

My flock is a mix of bantum birds and standord birds. I have a silkie rooster and 6 hens currently. 4 standord hens and 2 silkies. I have ordered 9 chicks to arrive in June. 4 bantum and 5 standord hens. I am considering adding a cream legbar roo. Will he be too large for my bantum birds and will this be enough hens for 2 roos?

 

[nuthatched]

I would keep the legbar away from the silkies.

 

[treefrog95]

Thanks, I figured that would be the case. I was hoping since the cream legbars are on the smaller side it might be ok.

 

[treefrog95]

I would keep the legbar away from the silkies.

If I get a bantum roo instead would that be too many roo's for my girls. I would have 15 hens with 2 bantum roosters if I add another roo. My concern is that when I get my new chicks my siklie rooster won't be able to watch over them all. I have 2 coops and 1 run that is 190 square feet. They free range more often than not during the day.

 

[nuthatched]

If I get a bantum roo instead would that be too many roo's for my girls. I would have 15 hens with 2 bantum roosters if I add another roo. My concern is that when I get my new chicks my siklie rooster won't be able to watch over them all. I have 2 coops and 1 run that is 190 square feet. They free range more often than not during the day.

They really don't need a roo at all, hens can take care and watch over themselves.

 

[Yardmom]

You don't need to have 2 roos with 15 birds, but a second roo would be ok with that many hens

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have ordered 9 chicks to arrive in June. 4 bantum and 5 standord hens.

Very few hatcheries sex bantam chicks. I'm not sure where you are getting them but if they are chicks it is possible you will get an extra boy or two anyway.

I am considering adding a cream legbar roo. Will he be too large for my bantum birds

Bantams come in different sizes. For Silkies, in the USA the SOP is for a 32 ounce hen, in Australia the SOP calls for a 20 ounce hen. Not sure what the UK Silkie SOP calls for. Not all Silkies follow the SOP for sure and this is for just one breed. Different bantam breeds call for different sizes. Cream Legbar roosters can weigh 7-1/2 pounds though many are smaller.

When chickens mate, the hen squats. That gets her chest on the ground so the rooster's weight goes through her body and not just through her legs. That's how a smaller hen can mate with a larger rooster without getting hurt. The more difference in weight the more the risk, but many people keep full sized fowl roosters with bantam hens without problems. I don't know if he will be OK with your bantams or not.

and will this be enough hens for 2 roos?

That magical, mythical, mysterious boy-girl ratio where everything between boys and girls is true bliss. I know, you read about that all the time on this forum. From what I've seen that doesn't work in the real world. Two boys will fight over 25 girls as fast as they will fight over one. Some girls can be over-mated or barebacked whether the ratio is 1 to 1 or 1 to 20. You just don't get guarantees with living animals, almost anything can happen. Your risks are much higher during puberty than once they all mature but the risks even then are a long way from zero.

To me, one critical factor is how much room they have. Your odds of the boys getting along are much better the closer you are to free range as opposed to the BYC minimums of 4 square feet in the coop and 10 per chickens outside. Another big factor is the individual personalities of the individuals, both boys and girls. The girls have a part to play in this too.

I do not know how the differences in sizes will work out. I don't know how two boys with your girls will work out. The only way you can know for sure is to try it. I would observe and be ready to react quickly if you need to separate some.

 

[Shadrach]

I wouldn't do this.
I know many keepers do and more often than not it doesn't end in tears.
But, chicken breeds have evolved with the males being of a suitable size for the females of that breed.
It matters for a number of reasons.
A much larger rooster is more likely to break feathers during mating.
A much larger rooster is less likely to be able to make the correct contact with a smaller hen during mating.
A much larger rooster may have a shoulder spread too wide to enable him to place his feet on the hens shoulders when mating. This can mean that during mating the roosters spurs slide down the side of the hen, partuclarly in an untidy dismounting. This can cause injuries underneath the hens wings as the spurs will tend to push the wings down which often go unnoticed by the keeper until the wound becomes infected.
A much heavier rooster is more likely to break feather on the hens shoulders and back during mating.