questions about roosters and chickens

[Gato Moteado]

i bought a pair of polish chickens (the kind with the cool hairdos) and right now i'm keeping them in the care of someone that has regular chickens.

anyway, i want to build a large coop and try to raise these kinds of chickens and maybe some other interesting breeds.

how many roosters can you keep together? if you have more than one, will they fight with each other?

i really want to buy some more of these polish chickens and would like to know what the best rooster to hen ratio is and how many roosters i can house in the same coop.

thanks.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. My landlady has had chickens

She had two roosters and one hen. Bad idea. The roosters fought each other and then both descended upon the poor hen, who was without most of her feathers. I think it is considered best to have one rooster for several hens.

[Gato Moteado]

6. yes, definitely want more hens than roosters....

....but i'll probably want to keep more than one rooster as well, and i'm worried about fighting.

[SmokingJacket]

2. It's best to have one rooster to 10-12 hens.

Otherwise the hens get so much "attention" it's really exhausting for them. They can even go bald on their backs. Roosters pretty much like to make love all day long!

If you have enough hens it's possible to have more than one rooster, but one will be the Top Dog, and they might fight. A lot depends on the individual roosters.

Incidentally... I'd be careful mixing Polish chickens with the regular kind. Because their hairdos obstruct their vision, they tend to get picked on. You might want to give them a trim.

I raise chickens and LOVE it -- 13 hens and a rooster. Wait till spring, though, unless you live in a warm climate. The learning curve is pretty steep and it's easier in the summer.

Lots of good info over at backyardchickens.com.

Good luck!

[Gato Moteado]

7. yeah, i have the polish ones with the regular ones only temporarily

eventually i will move them over to my property once i build a coop for them.

i live in a very warm climate and i have plenty of room for the chickens to roam during the day. i just need to ensure that my coop is predator resistant since we have boa constrictors, coatis, raccoons, ocelots, tayras and other predators looking for easy meals at night.

thanks for the link.

by the way, do you know if the polish chickens are good egg producers? i want to breed the chickens to produce adults to sell, but if the eggs are good quality for eating then that's an extra bonus.

[jaksavage]

3. Roosters fight

Hens do not need rooosters to produce eggs.
If you want fertile eggs you need a rooster
One rooster will service @ 12 hens
Your pen needs at least 3 Sq ft per bird
lots of websites about chickens

good luck

[Gato Moteado]

8. yeah, i definitely want fertile eggs

the pen needs 3sq feet per bird or the coop for night roosting needs that much space?

if i end up fencing in their day time pen it will be easy to make it way bigger than 3sq feet per bird but i imagine that once they're comfortable with their living situation i will let them roam freely during the day in the sunny banana and fruit tree garden and in my cacao grove.

[jaksavage]

9. 3 ft per bird

in the total enclosed pen area, as long as they always have access to it.
My coop has to hold them during the day sometimes cause it is cold here.
Since you have banana trees, cold isn't a problem, lucky you.

[Gato Moteado]

10. i have banana trees....but i also have boa constrictors, ocelots, and...

...all types of predators so i have to make sure the pen and coop are very secure. there certainly are challenges no matter where you live!

[hippywife]

11. In your case,

with all the predators, I would definitely build a strong pen of heavy-gauge steel fencing that is also enclosed on the top and sink it several inches underground, as well. Then line it with a fencing that has much smaller openings to deter the boas.

We did get an initial small group of hens that were a couple of months old. We have smaller predators around here and, even tho the pen was enough to keep them out, the dog was another story. :eyes: So we are waiting until spring try again.

I highly recommend this book for all the general things (non-breed specific) you might want to know about keeping chickens:

http://www.amazon.com/Storeys-Guide-Raising-Chickens-Facilities/dp/158017325X

[Gato Moteado]

12. i'll check out the book.....

thanks!

:)

[uppityperson]

17. That is a good book. I had one before I got my first chicks, and still refer

to it sometimes. It has good info in it.

[Kali]

4. Mine are allowed ro range, but I have two roosters and not enough hens

- they had a good fight the day I allowed them together for about a half hour then it was pretty much over and one got one hen and the other got all the rest.

Ideally 10 hens to one rooster or the poor hens will be abused and have no feathers on their backs.

[Mrs. Overall]

5. I sort of have the opposite problem--I have five hefty hens and one

Belgium Bantam rooster, who I recently got from my brother, and he's only about one half to one third their size. I thought he could hold his own, but they have been pulling out his feathers and picking on him non-stop. The poor guy isn't getting any lovin' these days.

I have learned a great deal from: http://backyardchickens.com/
This site also has good information: http://www.the-coop.org/cgi-bin/UBB/ultimatebb.cgi

[LWolf]

13. My roosters don't fight,

but if there are too many roosters, they sure abuse the hens.

8-10 hens per rooster works for me.

[uppityperson]

14. Keep the smallest, gentlest rooster. Pick it up when young and show him

YOU are top bird. I did this with my faverolle when he was young and he's great. Watches over the hens but knows I'm top chicken. I started picking him up, holding him on his back in my arms (football or baby style) until he calmed down, holding his feet/legs so he couldn't kick me. He learned that I was top chicken, has never ever attacked anyone. I'd keep a smaller rooster if possible because they can still mate and are easier on the hens.

Polish chickens are really cool.

[Matthewtheogre]

15. Well, the difference between roosters and chickens

Is that roosters are male and chickens are females.

[galledgoblin]

16. when I was a kid I talked my parents into adopting 6 chicks

for the production of "Wizard of Oz" I was in.

my parents figured, "eh, sure, we need a few more hens anyway". we went to the local farm and country instead of mail ordering them... but farm and country didn't sort by sex, so we picked up 6 rooster chicks.

it became a nightmare when they were older.

they worked together, like the raptors in Jurassic Park, one cutting off a hen, the other 5 swooping in and having their way.

eventually the ratio became better as the roosters died off and my parents adopted more hens, but still, good lesson: keep a large ratio of hens to roosters, 3:1 or more.

[uppityperson]

18. How are your polish doing? Did they get good hairdos?