I got 12 chicks from Tractor Supply this past April. And this is my first time with chickens. One of them turned out to be a cockerel, and we are going to keep him. Last night, we were talking about letting the chickens raise the baby chicks from next spring (which we aren't really sure about). Or just putting the fertilized eggs in an incubator and selling the chicks when they get old enough. But, like I said, I got the chicks from tractor supply so I don't know whether or not to actually let them mate, because they may be related. Is there a way I can find out? Also, I have 6 Light Brahmas (including the cockerel), 3 Rhode Island Reds, and 3 Tetra Tints. Will he mate with each breed?
Roosters aren't prejudice & he wouldn't know who his daughter is & wouldn't care if he did. LOL. His instinct's tell him to mate them all. But if your looking for purebreds that's a whole different ball game.
Your rooster will mate with any breed of hen. Since they came from tractor supply there is no sure way to know if they're related, but it won't hurt to raise chicks from them.
Quote:Oh, okay, that's what I was worried about. I didn't want the babies coming out with birth defects. Thank you !
There are so many chicks hatched of the same breed at the hatchery that I wouldn't worry about it. It looks as if all hatchlings get put into trays together to be sexed and then put into another tray once sexed. From the looks of it, there are several hens of the same breed hatching at the same time. Some hatcheries has millions of chicks. They are sorted one by one all mixed together. I'd be more concerned if bought from a breeder or from an auction. There you have a bigger chance of receiving hatchmates.
Quote:I used to work at a commercial hatchery.. we had tens of thousands of laying hens.. producing as many eggs.. and tens of thousands of chicks hatching almost every day of the week.. the chances of any chicks from a single batch ending up at the same store being related.. well.. lets just say you have a better chance of winning the lottery than having to worry about a little inbreeding!
