Maintaining a Happy Flock
Male/Female Ratios

Chickens are flock animals.  That means that they need social interaction with other chickens.  If you have hens, you should have three or four hens.  They make friends and stay with those friends.  There are also certain girls that don't get along with each other.  They will fight and bicker and choose to stay alone rather then spend time with "her!"  We have several girls that stay together all the time.  Each rooster seems to have his own harem of hens.  They make their own communities.  There are many stories of a family losing one of two chickens and soon afterward losing the other one because of  loneliness.  You need to build a little family.

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There is a balance that needs to be maintained for a healthy, happy environment for your chickens. You should have no more than one rooster for every 10-15 hens. We strongly encourage people not to go over this because of the havoc it will bring to your fowl family. There is a charm to hearing a rooster crow in the morning, and let's face it, they can be magnificent animals as they strut around. One rooster can get along with any number of hens. You can have several roosters with no hens. When you put two roosters with a couple of hens - big problems will arise! They will fight with each other, and they will both try to breed the females. Worst case scenario, they can kill each other and do major damage to the hens. If you want to have two roosters, you need to have at least 20 hens or you will need to have places/pens where you can keep roosters separated from each other. They need to have shelter, ample room and a friend as well, but not another rooster if they are near the girls.

 

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