Chicken Breeding

[kitchwitch]

I know next to nothing about chicken breeding. I used to only have hens but now I have a full grown rooster that I can confirm is now doing his rooster "thang" with at least one of my hens. Unfortunately, she's one of the younger hens (they just started laying this week) and the older hens are always chasing her out of the coop. I'm afraid that if he's successful in making chicken nuggets with her, she's going to be unable to sit on her nest. This isn't a problem because I have an incubator. What is a problem is how would I know if he's successful? Do I just need to start candling all of her eggs?

 

[slickchik]

Collect some eggs and put them in the bator... Within 5-7 days you can tell if they are fertile or not. Or you can crack them open to look for the "bullseye" but I think incubating would be easier to confirm fertility rates.

 

[SmartyChick]

There is no sure fire way to know except to start incubating them (unless of course you crack them open). Depending on how long he has been with your hens, it is very possible he is getting everyone, even though you haven't seen him. Also, to get the most fertile eggs it is good to have a 1 rooster for every 8-10 hens.