What are your goals with the rooster stocking density? Are you aiming for fertilized eggs? Protection of the flock? Minimizing aggressive rooster behavior?
I will give you an example from the bovine world to help you consider the poultry world. In general, one bull is needed for every 25 non-pregnant cows. Many farmers, however, will stock more cows than that. But the problem is that bulls will sometimes breed only a few cows over and over when they are in heat. Or perhaps they were sick and are infertile, too young and not producing quality semen, too fat and not having the libido needed to do the job, lame or injured or with foot problems.
And it is the same with roosters. Too many in a flock and there may be fighting for dominance, and with too few the rooster may not have the energy to do the job. It also depends on the breed and age of the rooster. There are a lot of factors that go into the stocking density or rooster ratio. Experimentation with your flock or talking with producers who have years of personal experience is always a helpful way to go.
Please let me know if this is helpful or not, or if you have more particular questions based on your context.
Julie, thank you for your thoughtful response. My question is prompted mostly by curiosity of trying to understand the seemingly conflicting numbers provided by experts on rooster mating. We have been raising chickens for eggs and for hatching for years without complications but whenever I read these conflicting numbers, I wondering how the inconsistencies are explained. One possibility is roosters have their favorite hens and neglect the others… thus more roosters are needed. Thanks, Glen