Breeding Roosters

[mason123h]

I have two young roosters that have just gotten big enough to be in with the rest of my chickens, and I was wondering how old a rooster has to be to breed with a hen. And if there are any other things that I should know before breeding chickens to get my own fertilized eggs.

 

[gryeyes]

The roosters will naturally have an idea what to do. As a matter of fact, round about 12 - 14 weeks of age or so, they become raging sex machines and will attempt to mount just about anything. They may not have very much finesse, but they know what they want to do.

The pullets and hens may have other ideas, so there will be chasing and squawking going on. But, basically, you won't have to put them in honeymoon suites or anything (unless you are selectively breeding a specific breed separate from others in your your flock) because the hormones will be driving those little roosters to mount whatever they can catch.

I mean, if having your eggs fertilized is your only reason for putting the roosters in with the hens, that's all you need to do. They'll take care of it. If you have 20 hens, 2 roosters will easily cover the flock.

Just understand that some hens refuse roosters, and some hens become rooster favorites. So you might still have a few eggs not fertilized. Just sayin'......