Birds, Bees, and Roos

[Super Admin]

We have had hens for a few months now and have a broody mom setting eggs. We are considering keeping A roo from our hatch of BO. We know about hens and egg laying, but almost nothing about mating chickens. Here are our questions
1. Is in-breeding OK? I know other animals from the same litter mating can cause mutations and stuff.
2. At what age do roos reach sexual maturity?
3. Do chickens mate only one time a year or do they mate whenever?
4. Do chickens need a special pen to mate or will they mate where ever?
5. Will a young rooster mate with an older hen, say, one, two, years older them him?
6. Will a hen automatically go broody when her eggs are fertilized?

Is there anything else we should know before we have a hormonal male around our girls??

 

[mrbstephens]

 

[cgmccary]

1. Is in-breeding OK? I know other animals from the same litter mating can cause mutations and stuff.
Yes, inbreeding is OK as long as you are not breeding brother to sister (so OK to breed Father to daughter to granddaughters, & mothers to sons, grandsons and so forth. Be aware to that you must be careful not to inbreed a bird with a fault to another one with the same fault. What you are trying to do with inbreeding is to get the desirable traits of the line amplified.
2. At what age do roos reach sexual maturity? Breeds are different but actually about the time they start crowing, they are "capable of fertilizing but may not be efficient enough. I generally like to wait until my Sire is a year old.
3. Do chickens mate only one time a year or do they mate whenever? They mate everyday, whenever.
4. Do chickens need a special pen to mate or will they mate where ever? No special pen is needed but I am told not to use wire floors.
5. Will a young rooster mate with an older hen, say, one, two, years older them him?They will mate with whatever bird they can get. I heard of a young rooster covering a Cooper's Hawk once.
6. Will a hen automatically go broody when her eggs are fertilized?NO, broodiness is a hormonal thing. Some hens never go broody as it has been bred out of the breed or particular line. Some breeds are more likely to go broody than other breeds. The hen does not "know" whether an egg is fertilized. A broody hen will sit on nothing but air or say a golf ball. You cannot "make" a hen go broody.​

 

[cgmccary]

Is there anything else we should know before we have a hormonal male around our girls??

In general, the Roosters from egg laying breeds are gentler than those of those of the Roosters from the meat breeds. Dual purpose breeds are generally all over the place in this regard. An older Rooster is better than a younger one. Roosters develop favorite hens but as a general rule of thumb, 1 Rooster per 8 hens at the most. Obviously, less is better for fertility and you can have up to 12 with Bantam breeds.

And, there will be a skirmish as the hens fight the Rooster initially, but the Rooster will prevail (unless is he terribly young) and his dominance will win them over. Make sure your pullets are not too young; I have had a big rooster break a young pullets wing and I have seen a 9 lb (Std) rooster try and cover a less than 1 lb (Bantam) hen, so be careful.​

 

[CSolis]

Is there anything else we should know before we have a hormonal male around our girls??​

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In general, the Roosters from egg laying breeds are gentler than those of those of the Roosters from the meat breeds. Dual purpose breeds are generally all over the place in this regard. An older Rooster is better than a younger one. Roosters develop favorite hens but as a general rule of thumb, 1 Rooster per 8 hens at the most. Obviously, less is better for fertility and you can have up to 12 with Bantam breeds.​

​

And, there will be a skirmish as the hens fight the Rooster initially, but the Rooster will prevail (unless is he terribly young) and his dominance will win them over. Make sure your pullets are not too young; I have had a big rooster break a young pullets wing and I have seen a 9 lb (Std) rooster try and cover a less than 1 lb (Bantam) hen, so be careful.​

Just the answers I was looking for. I have been waiting on my young cockerel (now 16 weeks of age) to mature a bit more before putting him in with his future flock of 3 (19-23 week olds). I did have to move an 18 week old (then) cockerel out of the pen and put him in with some year old hens.. He didn't start breeding at first but... made friends with the 3 black hens. They accepted him, and now that he's maturing have accepted him as their 'flock papa'.
One question I have left. Since my 16 week old had to have his left wing amputated a few weeks ago, will he be able to breed?