“So who’s the father”

[Ilovesilkiechickens1]

I have 8 Silkies. They are all 7 months old. 4 males and 4 females. I’m near tears as I type this because I had to rehome two of my Roos today and I originally typed “10 Silkies” but had to correct it to 8. ( I care about my chickens very much so it was quite sad). I had to do it because I had too many males...and still do. Anyway, I plan throwing some chicken weddings and giving some of the hens the option of motherhood. I’d like to know if there’s anyway to “choose the father” as I have one outstandingly beautiful male. If anyone knows how to do this, information would be appreciated greatly.

 

[FuzzyCritters]

Put the desired rooster in a pen with the hens you want to breed. You will have to wait at least a week before the eggs are fertilized by him.

 

[Ilovesilkiechickens1]

Put the desired rooster in a pen with the hens you want to breed. You will have to wait at least a week before the eggs are fertilized by him.

Alright. Thank you. I’ll put together some sort of plan on doing this while allowing all chickens to get “out of pen time” next spring perhaps. I’m assuming I’ll need an additional sleeping quarters. Thank you.

 

[featheredplanets]

Separation is the only way. But you will need to wait 3-5 weeks. Hens can store sperm for 3 weeks. Any eggs within the first 3 weeks of separation still run the risk of having another father. Personally I’d wait 4-5 weeks.

 

[Ilovesilkiechickens1]

Separation is the only way. But you will need to wait 3-5 weeks. Hens can store sperm for 3 weeks. Any eggs within the first 3 weeks of separation still run the risk of having another father. Personally I’d wait 4-5 weeks.

Alright, that’s quite a long time. Thanks for the advice. Does all that take a toll on the hens do you know?

 

[featheredplanets]

Alright, that’s quite a long time. Thanks for the advice. Does all that take a toll on the hens do you know?

The only negative I see is if you do 1 on 1. It may be a good idea to separate them from the males for a few weeks, then put each of them with your selected males for a couple days, or for as long as however many eggs you need.

 

[aart]

The only negative I see is if you do 1 on 1. It may be a good idea to separate them from the males for a few weeks, then put each of them with your selected males for a couple days, or for as long as however many eggs you need.

Or keep all the males in a bachelor coop, than add back the chosen male after 3-4 weeks.
Hatching just makes more males, ~50% of a hatch, so better find a good way to manage that.