Two roosters in a small flock?

[hokankai]

I've got a small banty flock of 3 or 4 pullets and 1 to 2 Roos. If the silkie does turn out to be a roo is it bad to have both a silkie and a cochin roo in such a small flock?

 

[hokankai]

*bump* anybody have any advice

?

 

[ranchhand]

Chances are that the rooster(s) will overbreed then hens, leaving their backs in bad shape. And they may fight each other.

I usually aim for 10 hens to every rooster.

 

[donrae]

Yeah, your hens are gonna have it rough. Too many roos per hen. Solution: get more hens

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
Agree!

 

[chicmom]

I also agree with the other members. A good ratio is 1 roo for every 10 hens....Plus, they will have their battles for dominance. The poor hens will be mated WAAAAY too much and then they'll start looking scraggly, with feathers missing from their backs and necks, and then they will be stressed.

So it would really be a kindness to keep only one, and truly, with just a few hens, none is actually good. I know people who breed will have a trio or whatever, and then the hens are bound to look crappy. But you can put hen saddles on them to protect their backs.....

I just like to see my hens looking beautiful and happy......

 

[Flawedatdesign]

Well I have 2 roos and 13 hens. My roos were raised together . The dominate one does all the breeding the other guy is just kind of there. They don't fight but I think maybe because they have been together since hatch.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

If they are raised together there is a good chance they wont fight. It doesn't hurt to try as long as you keep an eye on the hens to make sure they are not loosing feathers. Some people put hen saddles on them to protect their backs.

 

[hokankai]

Ok great, I'll keep an eye on how things turn out. I can't bear to get rid of my gorgeous mille fleur cochin roo I hatched

. However, if my silkie turns out to be a boy I'll happily find him a home if my girls are run ragged, LOL.

They've been raised with each other since hatch and are only 5 weeks old, so I've still got some time to observe how they do. But yes, I think I definitely need more hens!

Also, will a roo from one flock try and mate with hens from another? We technically have two flocks, one standard and one bantam, but they'll be in close proximity and chances are they'll be mingling with each other during free-range time. Do you think he'll go after the other hens?

 

[RareBreedFancier]

Quote:
Yes, they will and this is dangerous for the bantie hens. Large roos and easily hurt them. They can also hurt you bantie roo.

A bantie roo chasing standard hens is usually amusing, he can't do much damage but depending on size and determination it is possible for them to mate successfully.