Chicken breeding

[ChickenNugget123]

Hi! Sooo have a group of 4 month old chickens, 2 Crested Cream Legbars and 2 Salmon Faverolles 1 of them a cockerel. I know that hens have matured once they begin laying eggs but how do you know with roosters? I was hoping to breed this season but I don’t know when they will be old enough. Even when they are mature and the hens have been laying a while will the rooster automatically know that it’s time? And when will the hens become broody? I know that sometimes hens don’t go broody and I have an incubator in case of that but firstborn I need fertilized eggs and I don’t know when Or if they will come. I’ve never bred chickens I’ve only kept hens until now. Please answer I need all the help I can get!

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC. The cockerel will be fertile and wanting to breed before the pullets start laying. Do not incubate any excessively small pullet eggs.

 

[ChickenNugget123]

Ok thanks so much!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

As you're using the eggs take note of the yolk before you scramble them or cook. Crack into a small bowl. You can tell when they are fertile with your naked eye.

From there you are just waiting for the pullets to lay full size eggs. First eggs are small and you'd not want to incubate them as it's too small for the chick to develop to proper size. If the bird is prone to brooding it will occur next spring and possibly again late summer/fall. If you don't want more birds at a time a hen starts to brood break her of it so she gets back to laying and is not wasting energy on empty nest. Look up wire cages to bust a broody.

Propagating chickens is fun to do. When you get more experience in the chicken world you can try breeding. There is a big difference to hatching out chickens to grow out a flock and selective breeding for improvement of stock quality.