First time breeding chickens.

[cbass422407]

I've been raising hens for three years now and have gotten to the point of wanting to add a rooster to the flock to try and produce chicks of my own. I'm planning on keeping the new rooster in a separate enclosure directly next to the girls so they get acquainted. Question is, after that, what? Just let them do their thing? I don't want all of my hens bred so I'm getting no eggs and end up with tons of chicks. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[HuskerHens18]

Just because the hens are bred doesn't mean they'll stop laying eggs. My hens are bred every day and never stop laying eggs.
If you want a specific hen bred, put just her in the rooster's inclosure for about a week. Then almost all eggs laid by her will be fertilized.
BUT if you're wanting the hens to hatch eggs themselves, you need one of them to go broody. Are you using an incubator or a broody hen?

 

[Fishkeeper]

Fertile chicken eggs are functionally identical to infertile eggs for most purposes, at least when freshly laid. Hens will by and large continue to lay eggs daily when with a rooster, they were domesticated long ago and bred to do so. The eggs will have a small spot on the yolk, but are fine to eat, and you wouldn't know the difference if you weren't looking for it.

 

[aart]

I've been raising hens for three years now and have gotten to the point of wanting to add a rooster to the flock to try and produce chicks of my own. I'm planning on keeping the new rooster in a separate enclosure directly next to the girls so they get acquainted. Question is, after that, what? Just let them do their thing? I don't want all of my hens bred so I'm getting no eggs and end up with tons of chicks. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

If he's a fully mature and 'good' cockbird, the integration can be pretty seamless.
A few days in the enclosure, let him out...he should get busy wooing and then dominating/mating the girls. If he's a good cock, he'll take his time and not just go at them. Hopefully your girls are receptive, if not there could be some nasty scuffles.

After 3 years you should have a pretty good understanding of chicken behaviors.
Have you ever integrated new birds before?
If so, you probably understand the difference between pecking order behavior/assertiveness and full out aggression.
Males can be different tho, might want to read this:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/beekisseds-rooster-speak.73664/

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I don't want all of my hens bred so I'm getting no eggs and end up with tons of chicks.

How are you planning on hatching eggs (broody hen or incubator)?
Even if all your hens are mated daily (usually multiple times), you won't end up with chicks unless you set fertile eggs in an incubator or have a broody hen that you let sit.

 

[cbass422407]

I do have a hen that gets broody. That would be preferable. So, from what I'm reading, the eggs won't end up hatching if they're not incubated in some way. Correct? If I collect all the eggs as usual, nothing happens?

He's only 8 wks right now, so I think I have time to get this figured out.

 

[cbass422407]

If he's a fully mature and 'good' cockbird, the integration can be pretty seamless.
A few days in the enclosure, let him out...he should get busy wooing and then dominating/mating the girls. If he's a good cock, he'll take his time and not just go at them. Hopefully your girls are receptive, if not there could be some nasty scuffles.

After 3 years you should have a pretty good understanding of chicken behaviors.
Have you ever integrated new birds before?
If so, you probably understand the difference between pecking order behavior/assertiveness and full out aggression.
Males can be different tho, might want to read this:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/beekisseds-rooster-speak.73664/

He's only 8 wks now so he'll probably spend a bit of time away from the bigger hens. I did put 2 of the younger girls that are smaller and less aggressive with him last night. Just to kind of show him where to go in the smaller pen. He was fine this morning.

Yes, I have added new birds to the flock before. Mostly due to predation. The coop and run now resemble a supermax prison, and I haven't had any problems for quite some time now. I am in my third year of raising chickens and introduce new birds by putting them in the "run inside the run" to let them see each other while being separated. It seems to work really well, but I do keep them separate for a couple of weeks before letting them out to roam in the yard together.

Hopefully, with him being younger and smaller, he won't be too aggressive and irritate the girls. On the other hand, I remember being a teenager myself.

 

[aart]

Sounds like you've got this handled well....and are ready for any glitches.
Bonding him with some younger birds is a good idea.
He'll probably(hopefully) get his butt kicked and some manners instilled by the older hens when he 'comes of age' at around 4 months old.
Best of Luck, let us know how it goes!

 

[aart]

So, from what I'm reading, the eggs won't end up hatching if they're not incubated in some way. Correct? If I collect all the eggs as usual, nothing happens?

Correct...and Correct.
Just gather eggs daily...if you get a broody you're all set with fertile eggs for her.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I do have a hen that gets broody. That would be preferable. So, from what I'm reading, the eggs won't end up hatching if they're not incubated in some way. Correct? If I collect all the eggs as usual, nothing happens?

He's only 8 wks right now, so I think I have time to get this figured out.

Yes, that is right Collect your eggs a usual. When you have a hen that acts like she is going broody, then start saving up some eggs for hatching.
Search here on BYC (probably in the incubating/hatching threads) for details on how to store eggs you want to hatch, the fresher the better, but a lot of people collect (I think) up to 7days.