Two Questions

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The Kerleys

The Kerleys

In the Brooder
5 Years
Jul 22, 2014
26
0
24
North Carolina
Hey my family picked up six chicks from tractor supply around easter time i believe. My wife and I and both our parents have had experiences with chickens before but the kids have not and are loving them !

We have ran across a couple problems though. We have lost two chickens and replaced them already. Then turned out our two ameraucana "hens" are roosters ! So we are giving the roosters to my mother. We went and bought her two more ameraucana hens and a silkie which will all be free ranged together and she is thinking of hatching,raising and selling the ameraucanas since they are hot on craigslist where we live ! We were wondering if a one two one rooster hen ratio will be ok for them all ? We kind of doubt they will do much with the silkie since shes a lot smaller. Both our roosters and both the hens are very calm and nice but they are not in the same pen yet. If you don't think thats enough hens for two roosters let me know ! She is willing to get more hens as need be but she is not looking to make "the most fertile eggs" its just for fun at the time being.

Second question. We have one chicken laying that was older than the other when we replaced the two we lost. The only problem is she wont lay in our nesting boxes ! We are hoping the other hens will lay there but we dont know yet. We built our wooden coop ourself and there are three nesting boxes at the back each a foot long. One box has wood shaving one has straw and one has a mix of the two. Another thing we decide could be a problem is the whole back wall comes down to grab the eggs and maybe that disturbs the hen but we don't know ? Maybe she just likes laying in the front of the coop ? I don't know haha ! We just hope the next hens lay in the boxes !

Any suggestions are appreciated ! :) If you have an answer/suggestion to either one or both questions we would love to here your thought

Thanks, Glenn
 
You'll definitely want a greater hen to rooster ratio... somewhere around 10:1.

As for getting your pullets to use the nests, you can train them by placing artificial eggs...or golf balls in the nests and they'll get the idea.
 
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Ok thanks thats a great idea with the golfballs ! And wow thats a lot of hens haha but yes i have seen there backs get all torn up. Is 10 the least you should look at ? I don't know if she wants 20 hens lol
 
Welcome to BYC! Glad you decided to join our flock.

In answer to your first questions a one-on-one rooster to hen ratio is a disaster in the making. At some point your roosters will be constantly fighting and tearing each other up, and will majorly over-breed your hens, battering them, tearing feathers and flesh from them, and likely even causing some fatal injuries. It will be even worse for the Silkie as she is so small (her size will not protect her from the roosters attempting to mate with her). The recommended ratio of roosters to hens is 1 rooster for every 10 hens.

In answer to your second question, it is relatively common for a hen not to lay in the nest box and nothing to be too concerned about. There are several reasons this could be happening. The old hen could be resenting the addition of the younger hens which could make her cranky and restless and not want to use the same nest boxes that they are using. She is simply dropping her eggs in front of the nest boxes. When she gets more used to the new hens, she may start using the nest boxes. Occasionally a hen refuses to lay in nest boxes, simply because she prefers to lay in a different spot that is appealing for some reason we may not understand. Birds are creatures of habit, so if this is the case, you will have to make your nest box very enticing. Maybe put a separate nest box or bedding-filled basket in the coop close to where she is laying and put a couple of golf balls or ceramic eggs in the nest and she will likely start laying in it. Also, make sure your nests are in a quiet spot in your coop, and that they're lower down than your roosts (or else your hens may be tempted to sleep in the nest boxes). Hens typically prefer dark, quiet, private places to lay, and if they see other eggs in the nest, they will be even more encouraged to lay there. Once in a while, a hen that has been laying in a nest box for a while will suddenly decide to lay her eggs somewhere else. Again using the methods described above should help get her laying in the nest box (or basket again).

Hope this helps. Good luck with your flock.
 
Thanks for the suggestions ! And goodness glad i asked about the hen to rooster ratio sounds like i definitely need to get my mother some more hens.
 
The Kerleys said:
Ok thanks thats a great idea with the golfballs ! And wow thats a lot of hens haha but yes i have seen there backs get all torn up. Is 10 the least you should look at ? I don't know if she wants 20 hens lol
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I think it depends on the roo. I had a 3:1 hen to rooster flock and they were marvelous though I never saw him try to mount any of the girls. I had another who definitely needed a lot more hens. If the two your mother now has are kept together they'll need a lot of hens to keep them occupied so they don't fight.
 
Yea i think we might try to trade one of the roosters to a family friend who sells chickens for another hen so it would be less roosters to one hen then maybe we wouldn't need quite as many.
 
Alright
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great to have you joining the BYC flock
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