Is it safe to have one hen with one rooster?

[Marguerite B]

I am relatively new at raising chickens. It's been trial by fire because when we bought the property less than 2 years ago, the previous owners left their small flock. It was my intention to get chickens, so I was ok with it, however I am learning as I go. I believe they are about 4 - 5 years old. Unfortunately, I have lost several chickens, which is an issue in itself. But, right now I have one hen living with one rooster. I feel like this is not an ideal situation. I do have another hen, but she has her own space. She had gotten sick, I nursed her back to health but after numerous attempts, the rest of the flock would not accept her back. She is very happy and can still get in their coop, albeit protected by a cage, and can sit next to them through a fence. Any time I have attempted to reintroduce her with any other hen it has not gone well. I am wondering if my hen is safe living with the rooster or do I need to come up with some other situation? It has been less than a week since they have been alone and they behave when I am around them.

 

[HoneyBeeHomestead]

It depends on your rooster. With just one hen, a rooster will often overbreed her and could become overly aggressive. But some roos are gentlemen and do just fine. Long term, I'd recommend getting more hens to put with them, but they should be ok for now as long as you keep a close eye on them.

 

[charlie1051]

Yea I agree with Honeybee, it can be whatever works, I have 3 pens / runs and one run only has 3 hens and 2 roosters in it. They get along great. I do intend to add more hens at some point, but knowing my luck, it will cause problems ...So I'm just rolling with it!

 

[TheChickenGirl16]

It depends on your rooster. With just one hen, a rooster will often overbreed her and could become overly aggressive. But some roos are gentlemen and do just fine. Long term, I'd recommend getting more hens to put with them, but they should be ok for now as long as you keep a close eye on them.

I definitely agree with this.
I know you have had issues with integrating your other hen, but usually, a rooster will be eager to add more ladies to his flock.
In the past, I had a roo who was a major gentleman, and he did perfectly fine with 5 hens.

 

[Marguerite B]

It depends on your rooster. With just one hen, a rooster will often overbreed her and could become overly aggressive. But some roos are gentlemen and do just fine. Long term, I'd recommend getting more hens to put with them, but they should be ok for now as long as you keep a close eye on them.

My rooster is pretty gentlemanly. Thanks for the tip. I will keep an eye out.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Each situation is different. Not just how we manage them but each individual male and female has its own personality. My general suggestion is to observe and treat a problem only after you see a problem.

I believe they are about 4 - 5 years old.

If they were both immature juveniles the odds of you having a problem would be fairly high. But with both of them mature, there is an excellent chance they will be OK.

Watch for signs of her trying to avoid the rooster. If she is doing that there is a good chance he is stressing her and over-mating her. If they get along fine, they get along fine.

Watch for bare spots to appear, either in the back of her head where he grabs her during mating or on her back where he stands during mating. An occasional father loss is not anything unusual, but if bare spots start to appear there could be risks of her getting cut during mating.

 

[citymeetscountry]

I had 1 hen and 1 roo together because my roos had to be separate (and to is too was a klutz/terrible at mating) and the hen had been injured and wasn’t easily welcomed back. They did fine. And everyone could see one another.