So I was thinking about my favorite hen today and realized that in May, she will be 4 years old. She's currently still laying eggs, but I know she will soon stop... I love this hen so much and decided I want to try to get her bred so she can have an attempt at raising a batch of her actual chicks on her own, before she's 'too old.' She's cute, has a great personality, etc, and she does go broody from time to time, so I'm sure she'll be a great mother.
I currently do not have a mature roo and was planning on borrowing a friend of mine's to do the deed. He also has a great temperament and his really handsome.
My question is, how exactly do I go about this? - How long would I have to borrow the rooster for? How often do I let them breed? How many matings insures a fertilized egg (I understand matings aren't 100% guaranteed)?
I know this whole situation sounds kind of stupid - normally you have your own roo, out with your own hens, and things just happen... but currently we don't have any eligible bachelors here at home and her "times a tickin'". lol.
Currently we're in the process of building a new coop/adding an addition on. I'm sort of keeping my ornamental fowl separate from my "normal" chickens because the normal ones just peck the feathers out of the "exotic ones." So the hen I want to breed (an EE x) is currently in a coop with 2 other hens (red sex-links). The red girls are past their egg-laying prime... Would it be ok to house the rooster with them (so three hens total), or would that still result in over breeding and harm to all of those girls? Would it be better to keep the roo separate, let him do his job, then put him back away, and repeat this for however number of days? Should I take my hen to my friend's house and let her keep her out with him for a bit?
I just want to know what the best, less stressful, and safest way going about this is...
(NOTE: we have raised chicks before, just not "straight from momma." I want to give her the chance to raise her babes, but we are prepared to step in and raised them if necessary. We also have a really nice-sized egg box that she's very comfortable in using.)
Again, I know this seems kind of odd, but I think, if it's not too late, and I can get everything organized, this would be a great experience.
So any suggestions and advice?
(thanks in advance)
I currently do not have a mature roo and was planning on borrowing a friend of mine's to do the deed. He also has a great temperament and his really handsome.
My question is, how exactly do I go about this? - How long would I have to borrow the rooster for? How often do I let them breed? How many matings insures a fertilized egg (I understand matings aren't 100% guaranteed)?
I know this whole situation sounds kind of stupid - normally you have your own roo, out with your own hens, and things just happen... but currently we don't have any eligible bachelors here at home and her "times a tickin'". lol.
Currently we're in the process of building a new coop/adding an addition on. I'm sort of keeping my ornamental fowl separate from my "normal" chickens because the normal ones just peck the feathers out of the "exotic ones." So the hen I want to breed (an EE x) is currently in a coop with 2 other hens (red sex-links). The red girls are past their egg-laying prime... Would it be ok to house the rooster with them (so three hens total), or would that still result in over breeding and harm to all of those girls? Would it be better to keep the roo separate, let him do his job, then put him back away, and repeat this for however number of days? Should I take my hen to my friend's house and let her keep her out with him for a bit?
I just want to know what the best, less stressful, and safest way going about this is...
(NOTE: we have raised chicks before, just not "straight from momma." I want to give her the chance to raise her babes, but we are prepared to step in and raised them if necessary. We also have a really nice-sized egg box that she's very comfortable in using.)
Again, I know this seems kind of odd, but I think, if it's not too late, and I can get everything organized, this would be a great experience.
So any suggestions and advice?
(thanks in advance)
