Taking a hen to a rooster too be bred?

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thecreekhouse

thecreekhouse

Songster
Feb 26, 2015
306
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East Tennessee
I live in the city where roosters aren't allowed. But I'd like to try my hand at raising and possibly showing some Silkies out of my hens. I know that with dogs and horses the female is frequently brought to the male and left there for a time to be bred. Is this something that chicken breeders do? Like, could I bring my hen to the place where a rooster I've selected lives and then leave her there for a week or two to be bred before bringing her back home? Does anyone do that? Thanks!
 
Yes you can. Chickens only take about 5 seconds to mate and 36hrs later the hens starts laying fertile eggs. I mate them the initial mating then 5 days later do it again and the hen is fertile for a whole clutch of eggs. Pull the first 2or3 eggs after the first mating.
 
You can, but due to biosecurity issues most if not all breeders will not allow that. AI would be possible but probably a lot of work, I don't know.
-Banti
 
BantyChooks said:
You can, but due to biosecurity issues most if not all breeders will not allow that. AI would be possible but probably a lot of work, I don't know.
-Banti
Click to expand...

I agree with the biosecurity issues. When introducing new chickens there is usually a four week quarantine to make sure no one is harboring anything. When chickens are brought into a new environment they can fall prey to something that the chickens who live there have built up an immunity to or are used to.
Another option you might wish to consider is getting fertile eggs and letting your hen hatch the eggs and raise the babies. This would be much less risky.
But remember, 0 to 100% of any chicks you hatch could be roosters.
With cats, dogs and horses, both parents are tested for certain diseases and have health checks and clearances before they are brought together. This isn't done with chickens so you have to be more careful.
 
I agree with dekel18042. Biosecurity is a big concern, and even more so right now because of the avian flu. I would go with the fertile egg option, and get them from a local breeder or just any responsible farmer who has chickens. Since it doesn't matter what breed the eggs are (the mother hen will raise them anyway) you can experiment with some new chickens that way. Just be prepared for unwanted roosters, as they can be hard to sell or give away. I assume your hen is broody or usually goes broody around this time?
 

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