Breeder Pen Plan

[Indiana Chicka]

Thanks! Guess it is going to take longer than I expected it to. I'm on day 2 with no eggs. Will the hens be alright staying with the roosters for a week or two?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

What they said about it taking up two 2 weeks for a hen to lay eggs fertilized by the rooster she is currently with is true, almost. If you want to be absolutely, positively, 100% sure, you will need to let the brood hen lay out then sit on a clutch of eggs for 21 days before you introduce her to the new rooster. That is if absolutely, positively, pure blood lines, are important to you.

 

[aart]

What they said about it taking up two 2 weeks for a hen to lay eggs fertilized by the rooster she is currently with is true, almost. If you want to be absolutely, positively, 100% sure, you will need to let the brood hen lay out then sit on a clutch of eggs for 21 days before you introduce her to the new rooster. That is if absolutely, positively, pure blood lines, are important to you.

It sounded to me like the hens had not been exposed to any roosters for quite some time.....so hens should be clear of any undesirable sperm that would need those 3-4 weeks to clear out.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

That may be true but I was only interested in the ugly truth about breeding chickens. If you have the place and time you can tie out a rooster on a tie cord part of the day (one rooster only) and any hen that is interested in laying and/or sitting will visit the stud rooster, usually in the late afternoon.

When breeding chickens in this manner, I have seen hens slip up behind the rooster, squat and stay squatting until the rooster turned around. Of course once the hen went to roost I returned her to her own pen so that I could be sure which hen laid which egg the next day. I guess if you used trap nests that you could allow 20 or so hens to run with one rooster as long as the hens laid in a trap nest every day. If hens are given a choice then this becomes a big IF.

As we were discussing it is unnecessary for a hen to be covered by the rooster every day for the eggs to hatch. Once every 3 to 5 days (depending on the breed) should be more than enough. If it is not then your rooster is worn out. I was just short of pens at the time is the only reason I bred like this but I guess that you could use a trap nest and allow your hens to run together and still keep up with your chickens lineage because when you gather eggs the hen that laid each egg is still in the nest with her latest egg.