Breeding Chickens

[Miranda Huber]

Hey Everyone! So I have had chickens for years! This year we accidentally got two Roosters. One Modern Red Game Rooster and a Silver Leghorn Rooster. I would like to breed them to their breed of hens because we show chickens for 4-H (so they can't be mixed). I need a lot of information on breeding? When to breed? What do I do? Hatching eggs?
Also how to tame a rooter?? And to teach him not to be mean?
Thanks
~~Miranda~~

 

[Pyxis]

Congrats on your new endeavor!

Chickens aren't like mammals. There isn't a 'time' to breed them. You just keep the rooster in with his hens all the time. He mates with them frequently to keep all their eggs fertile. When you're ready to have chicks, you just take the eggs and incubate them. There's lots of good information on that in the Incubating section of the forums and Learning Center here.

As for the roosters, you can't really teach them not to be aggressive. Either they are or aren't. If you have a mean one, eat it. No sense keeping an aggressive bird around. Worse yet, he could pass that temperament to his offspring. I never breed a mean rooster. If you absolutely have to because you have no other options, hatch a batch of chicks from him, then eat him and keep one of his better-behaved sons as a replacement. In the meantime, there are things you can do to try to fix the behavior, but if he doesn't shape up, into the stew pot with him.

 

[Miranda Huber]

Great, Thanks for all the information!!

 

[Ridgerunner]

On breeding them, a hen is fertile two to three days after mating with a rooster so they don't have to be together that long for you to get fertile eggs. The rooster's sperm is stored in a special container near where the egg starts it's internal journey through her internal egg making factory where it can stay viable for anywhere from 9 days to over three weeks. That means two things. He does not have to mate with a hen every day to keep her fertile but also the hen has to be isolated for over three weeks from any rooster you don't want her eggs to be fertilized by.

How old are those males (and females) and what do you mean by "mean"? Are they attacking humans or are they rough with the females? Those are to totally different "means" and age can have a lot to do with that.

 

[ChiefSuperFly]

I agree with the mean rooster part and learned from here first hand! I have an aggressive Rhode Island Red rooster and when I would feed he would run all his hens out and basically starve them plus he bit me one day when I was feeding and just scared the crap out of my and my 8yo. Best info I got and it worked the same day believe it or not was this:
Take a switch (grandma would be proud)
I used a tobacco stick and when I would go into feed and he came running ready to knock me out I swatted the ground around him. He just ran around waiting for an opening to attack so I patted him under his tail feathers with it and he jumped and out the door he went! Then I put the feed down and he came back for more so again I swatted the ground and he ran! Later I returned to the coop and if he came in I had my stick swatting around him. Out he went! I took it in with me in case for the next couple of days and if I was in his coop he was not. Showed my son how to swat the ground when he free ranged and now both of us scare him- not really but he knows we're the big roosters in town! There is a very helpful post about dealing with aggressive behavior-sorry I can't direct you I'm on a phone but I'm sure someone can! This method worked for me and he steps aside as I casually stroll anywhere near him switch not needed!

 

[lazy gardener]

This excellent post by my friend Bee kissed should tell you everything you need to know:

I'm going to give you a clue on "rooster speak"....holding him down doesn't mean anything to him. If you'll watch how roosters interact between dominant ones and subordinate ones, there is rarely any, if ever, holding a bird down for a long time when there is an altercation. There is very quick flogging, gripping by the back of the head and flinging him away or getting him down and giving some savage pecking to the back of the head or neck. No holding him down and nothing else. That's a rooster on a hen maneuver, not rooster on rooster.
Because your rooster is attacking you, you are the subordinate in this picture. You are getting dominated by your bird simply because you are walking where a subordinate isn't supposed to be walking when a dominant is in the area. What you never see is a dominant rooster getting attacked by a subordinate rooster unless there is going to be a definite shift in power, at which time the sub will challenge the dom and win...or lose. So far you are losing and not even challenging.
If you want to win this battle, you must go on the offensive, not the defensive. He who attacks first, and is still claiming the area when the other guy leaves it, is the winner. Some people never have to go on the offensive because their movements in the coop are so decisive that they move and act like a dominant and a 2 ft. rooster is smart enough to recognize a dominant attitude and behavior...which is likely why he's never attacked your husband. Most men move more decisively than do women and children and they rarely step around a bird, but walk through them.
Carrying him around also doesn't mean anything to him...it just doesn't translate at all. His environment is that coop and run floor and that's where you need to speak to him, in a language he understands. Because they are quick on their feet and can evade you, you need a training tool like a long, limber, supple rod of some kind...cutting a nice switch from a shrub or tree that will lengthen your reach by 5 ft. really helps in this. Don't use a rake or broom because they are too clumsy and stiff and can put the hurts on the guy when you don't really mean to.
When you enter your coop, walk with decisive movements and walk directly towards your rooster. Move him away from the feeder and the rest of the flock and keep a slow, determined pressure on him until he leaves the coop. The stick will help you guide him. Then...wait patiently while he gets his bird mind around what just happened. He will try to come back in the coop...let him. When he gets a good bit into that coop, take your switch and give him a good smack on the fluffy feathers under his tail if you can aim it well. If you cannot, just smack the floor near him very hard and fast until he hops and runs and keep at it until he leaves the coop once again. Repeat this process until he is too wary to come back in the coop.
Feed your hens. When he tries to come to the feeder, you "attack" him with the switch...smack the wall by the pop door just as he tries to enter. If he makes it inside, pursue him with the stick either smacking the floor or tapping him on the back or the head until he leaves in a hurry. Make him stay outside while you sit there and enjoy watching your hens eat. Use the stick to keep him from the flock..just him. Don't worry about the hens running and getting excited when this is happening...they will get over it. This is for the future of your flock and your management of it.
When the hens have had a good tucker....leave the coop and let him come back in. Go out later and walk through that flock and use your legs to scatter birds if they get in your way...top roosters do not step to one side for any other bird in the flock. You shouldn't either. Take your stick and startle him with a smack on the floor next to him when he is least expecting it...make that bird jump and RUN. Make him so nervous around you that he is always looking over his shoulder and trying to get out of your way. THAT'S how he needs to be from now on in your lives together. Forget about pets or cuddles...this is a language and behavior he understands. You can hand feed him and such later...right now you need to establish that when you move, he moves...away. When you turn your back, he doesn't move towards you...ever.
Then test him...take your stick along, move around in the coop, bend over with your back turned to him, feed, water, etc....but keep one eye on that rooster. If he even makes one tiny step in your direction or in your "zone", go on the attack and run him clear on out of the coop. Then keep him out while everyone else is eating.
THAT'S how a dominant rooster treats a subordinate. They don't let them crow, mate or even eat in their space. If the subordinate knows his place and watches over his shoulder a lot, he may get to come and eat while the other rooster is at the feeder...but he doesn't ever relax if he knows what is good for him. At any given time the dominant will run him off of that feed and he knows it, so he eats with one eye toward the door. If he feels the need to crow, it's not usually where the dom can reach him...maybe across the yard.
If your rooster crows while you are there, move towards him and keep on the pressure until he stops. He doesn't get to crow while you are there. He can crow later...not while you are there.
It all sounds time consuming but it really isn't...shouldn't take more than minutes for each lesson and you can learn a lot as you go along. And it can be fun if you venture into it with the right attitude....this is rooster training that really works if you do it correctly. This can work on strange roosters, multiple roosters and even old roosters...they can all learn. You rule the coop...now act like it. Carrying is for babies...you have a full grown rooster on your hands, not a baby.

 

[Miranda Huber]

The Roosters and the Hens were all born on March 27th, 2017.
HeiHei, the rooster just fluffs up his feathers and comes after you. He did jump up sideways and scratched my sister. So she doesn't feed him anymore. He does come at me a bit, but then I say "HeiHei No" and he'll stay away a bit.
Thanks so much for the all information on the Training Mean Roosters!!!! Thanks! It was very very helpful!