We're looking to try out a few breeds this year to try and settle on which one or two we want to work with. We have some odds and ends here that we're going to practice our hatching skills with first.
I have two breeding pens (Well, I will once I go back and make them escape proof!
) and possibly a third.
What is a good number of hens to Roo for good fertility in the eggs? Three? Six? I guess I am wondering what the max # of hens I would want in with the Roo. Plus they would be free ranging (aka running amok) when not in the breeding pen, so I don't really want hoards of chickens here, seeing as how they roost and poop and lay anyplace but where they are supposed to!
I was thinking I would need to rotate the birds out of the pens if I was playing with more than one breed, how long do the hens need to be in with the Roo before "he's the Daddy?"
We're familiar with genetics and breeding of rabbits, but no so much in the chickens!
Is there a good chicken color site that explains what color goes with what? If I get Cuckoo Marans and Copper Black Marans, can I breed the two colors together? What would I get?
I have two breeding pens (Well, I will once I go back and make them escape proof!
What is a good number of hens to Roo for good fertility in the eggs? Three? Six? I guess I am wondering what the max # of hens I would want in with the Roo. Plus they would be free ranging (aka running amok) when not in the breeding pen, so I don't really want hoards of chickens here, seeing as how they roost and poop and lay anyplace but where they are supposed to!
I was thinking I would need to rotate the birds out of the pens if I was playing with more than one breed, how long do the hens need to be in with the Roo before "he's the Daddy?"
We're familiar with genetics and breeding of rabbits, but no so much in the chickens!
Is there a good chicken color site that explains what color goes with what? If I get Cuckoo Marans and Copper Black Marans, can I breed the two colors together? What would I get?