OK, for all you experienced chicken people out there, I have some rooster questions.
How many hens should you give to one rooster to get good fertilization?
What is the "ideal" size pen for breeding groups? Is too much room detrimental?
Do roosters develop faster with ...or not with hens?
Has anyone noticed a difference in the rate of development of a rooster who is lower in the pecking order then the top rooster in the flock?
These questions have come about partly because I have two "brothers" from the same hatch who started out looking exactly alike. The first one to crow I pulled & put in the bachelor quarters. The second is the "second string" rooster in a pen full of hens and one older roo. The one in the bachelor quarters is bigger, more mature and more interested in the girls then the one living with the flock & the older roo.
Any thoughts???
Sarah
How many Roosters does it take to......
I have one rooster to a dozen or so hens. I'm sure he could handle more or at least HE thinks so. I don't think they can have too much room. I found that roosters develop at their own rate. SOme get bigger than others and a rooster in a pen with a dominant rooster, will not nessisarily crow or jump the females....at least when the other is watching.
Right now, my silkies have a numbers of roosters with them and one of the young males is much bigger than the rest even though they are all siblings. The younger ones rarely crow if they are with the flock and I've only seen the older bird mate with the hens.
#1 My experience is a rooster will have his favorite hens and those are the ones he mounts the most.
I have for 100% fertile eggs Trio's this give's the roo 2 hens so he doesn't pick on 1 hen more than the other.
I have been told a roo can handle up to 5 hens but any more and fertility can't be garenteed i have observed in a flock of 5 i had the roo only mounted 3 hens.
#2 There is no such thing as too much room but a larger pen does give the hens a chance to get away from the roo more often.
#3 I have observed that bachelor roo's do grow bigger than roo's with hens. My theory is that the batchelor has nothing to do but eat while the other roo has ladies to attend to and catches a meal when he can.
#4 The head roo will always be bigger he gets more food because he eats first and they are under stress worrying if the head roo will beat them up. They also will not ever crow only the head roo is allowed that priveledge.
Hi there Sarahssizzles! Roosters are much like people, they all have their own personality. They all mature in their own time. However I have three mature roosters in with ten ladies. All three roosters crow, yet there is a more dominate one when it comes to the girls. They all eat together with no problems, but in some cases the dominate roo is mean and can be confrontational. The best set up for mating is one rooster with three-five ladies. Generally he will mate with all of them, while yes he does have his favorites. If you can spend an hour or check on him often you can soon find out who his favorites are, and, pull the others. Good luck with your breeding and don't forget that the rooster will mate for approx five -seven days with the ladies before eggs will be fertile. Haystack
My roos stop paying attention to each other at about 8 hens apiece...any fewer and they covet their neighbor's 'property'...