What is the correct ratio of roosters to hens?

[Rockythgr81]

I am really new at this so I am getting conflicting information about the subject. I have 62 chickens 6 or 8 of which are roosters. 18 of the hens are from last year and are laying eggs already. The other hens are of the same batch as the roosters (bought them all together so they are growing up together) and all those are just now over a month old.
Everything I read on the internet says that the ratio should be 1 rooster per every 8 hens; but all my friends that have had chickens say that 2 or 3 roosters should be sufficient for a flock that size.
I don't want to ignore my friends advise but I also don't want to cull the rooster population too low. Please provide reasons for your answer one way or the other.
Also, is the fact that my roosters are growing up with the hens they will be mating with an advantage or a disadvantage?

Also, since I don't do well with forums, please message me and let me know of your answer so I can come to see it.
Thanks,

 

[Michael OShay]

I am really new at this so I am getting conflicting information about the subject. I have 62 chickens 6 or 8 of which are roosters. 18 of the hens are from last year and are laying eggs already. The other hens are of the same batch as the roosters (bought them all together so they are growing up together) and all those are just now over a month old.
Everything I read on the internet says that the ratio should be 1 rooster per every 8 hens; but all my friends that have had chickens say that 2 or 3 roosters should be sufficient for a flock that size.
I don't want to ignore my friends advise but I also don't want to cull the rooster population too low. Please provide reasons for your answer one way or the other.
Also, is the fact that my roosters are growing up with the hens they will be mating with an advantage or a disadvantage?

Also, since I don't do well with forums, please message me and let me know of your answer so I can come to see it.
Thanks,

This can vary a little from breed to breed, but the best ratio is probably 1 rooster for every 10-12 hens. My Pet Chicken has a good article on this at http://blog.mypetchicken.com/2012/10/26/5-rules-for-keeping-multiple-roosters/

 

[leghorn4]

I have found that rooster grow up together and have plenty of hens to share(like you have) that they should tolerate one another.
if they mate with hens that can be an advantage or a disadvantage, some people don't like eating fertile ggs. however if your eggs are fertile you can breed chickens yourselves. however i would breed the hens from the rooster with each other to avoid inbreeding. hope this helped

 

[krisch0410]

I have heard that one rooster can handle up to 15 hens. I wouldn't rely on one rooster doing that much but that is the limit I have been told.

 

[Michael OShay]

With a ratio that large, you run the risk of a number of unfertilized eggs.

 

[Den in Penn]

What are your goals fr your flock? How are you going to keep them. Those will tell you how many roosters you need. A breeding program usually puts the ratio lower to have better control over the parents of the next generation. If you are just going to hatch for you own layers then a higher ratio would work. If you are not going to hatch then you really don't need a rooster at all. If you are going to free range and think a rooster helps protect the flock then just a few will do it.

 

[donrae]

What are your goals fr your flock? How are you going to keep them. Those will tell you how many roosters you need. A breeding program usually puts the ratio lower to have better control over the parents of the next generation. If you are just going to hatch for you own layers then a higher ratio would work. If you are not going to hatch then you really don't need a rooster at all. If you are going to free range and think a rooster helps protect the flock then just a few will do it.

This.

There's no magic ratio, we need to know why you're keeping the roosters. And what's worked for me may be disastrous for you, keeping livestock is always a fluid situation.

 

[Rockythgr81]

My reasons for having roosters are these:
1) I and most people I know, prefer the taste of fertilized eggs.
2) I DO want to replenish my flock with my own stock.
3) I will sell the eggs I can not use and hope to sell chicks locally.
4) I will be eating them as well as they get older, and although I will butcher the hens as they become older and less productive, I would prefer to butcher the roosters more often than the hens, because until they are too old they serve a different purpose (i.e. eggs).
5) probably the most trivial reason is that I like the look of the roosters I bought and quite frankly, I want to see if I can do it. My thought is this; if I fail with a rooster, worst case scenario I have meat in the freezer.

All that being said, I did not set out to buy 8 roosters but when I purchased them there was a minimum order of 5 at a time (two died early, one in shipping and another in a cage accident). That is why I need to know the ratio, to know how many to keep and how many to butcher. Hope that clarifies my intentions. As it stands now, I am convinced that I need to keep about 5 with my flock size, (unless of course I run into problems, then it will be lessened).
By the way, I am keeping them in a 8X12 chicken house that I built specifically for this purpose and the run will be a little over 100sq ft.
Now that, that is cleared up, I have another question. I noticed today that some of my roosters are exhibiting "rooster behavior" in that they are mock fighting (and a few of them are starting to look like roosters with the large colorful tails starting to develop, I will try to post pictures later, fine specimens in my opinion.) My question is this, Will the rooster mock fight with the hens as well as I have seen them do, or is this just part of their early mating "practice" or do I have more roosters than I anticipated? My thought is that it is part of their mating practices because the ones they are "fighting" with that are not obviously roosters, certainly look like hens. My flock is now just over a month old so it is fairly easy to tell the difference at this point, even for an amateur such as my self.
Thanks

 

[Rockythgr81]

@ Michael O Shay, I found the article you recommended, very helpful and it showed me I am doing some things right. Thank you for sharing.

 

[donrae]

With your additional info, I'd say you could run 3-5 roosters nicely with that many hens. The exact number and which ones are just going to depend on who behaves well and is pleasing to you.

Your young birds are just around a month, correct? I have a grow out pen of birds this age, and the roosters and pullet alike spar and mock fight all the time. I can't really tell the difference between the genders, behavior-wise. They're all kids and playing rough like kids do

I'm concerned about your space, though. If the coop and run you've described above are your housing for this flock, it's not near large enough unless you're going to cull a lot of birds. A good rule of thumb is minimum 4 square feet per bird inside and 10 per bird outside. Granted, that's a rule of thumb and different folks can flex that, but overcrowding leads to unhealthy birds, physically and mentally. You may have a different plan in mind, I'm just going off what you've posted.