Insemination & Inbreeding

[philliptrout]

Can't tell by my user name, but newby here! Two questions I haven't been able to find an answer for. Does the male have to inseminate the female in order for her to lay eggs? Does she store semen some how or do they have to actually mate every time before an egg can be layed? Will she lay without a male present? What about inbreeding, is it ok for father to daughter and mother to son, or brother to sister, or any of it vice versa or any which way? What procedure in pairing do I need to practice? I appreciate any help anyone has to offer! I have read that trying to pair male and female from different broods won't work, they'll fight? Is this true? I guess that's three questions, oops, that's six, maybe seven. Contrary to the saying, ignorance is not bliss, it's trouble!

 

[Kherome]

I am no expert so I cannot answer most of your questions but I do know that the female will lay eggs with or without males around. Without the male, they just won't hatch as they aren't fertile.

 

[philliptrout]

Very useful answer, thank you.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Does the male have to inseminate the female in order for her to lay eggs?

No, a hen will lay eggs or go broody without a rooster present. The only reason you need a rooster is if you want fertile eggs. Anything else is just personal preference.

Does she store semen some how or do they have to actually mate every time before an egg can be layed?

The last thing a hen does after a mating is to stand up, fluff up her feathers, and shake. This shake gets the semen in a special container inside the hen near where the egg starts its journey through the hen’s internal egg making factory. The semen can remain viable anywhere from two to three weeks after a mating so a rooster only has to mate with a hen once every two weeks to keep the eggs fertile.

Will she lay without a male present?

Yes, a male does not have to be present. The commercial operations have thousands of hens in a hen house laying eggs with no males present.

What about inbreeding, is it ok for father to daughter and mother to son, or brother to sister, or any of it vice versa or any which way? What procedure in pairing do I need to practice? I appreciate any help anyone has to offer!

Every chicken breed out thee was created by inbreeding. Practically every grand champion at a chicken show was created by inbreeding. This can become an extremely complicated area but there are several techniques to maintain genetic diversity while inbreeding. Spiral breeding and pen breeding are two different techniques. There are others. Another technique is to introduce new genetics every 4 to 5 generations to keep genetic diversity up. If you do the math (and it gets complicated) there is no genetic difference from a genetic diversity perspective to mating father-daughter, mother-son, or brother-sister. If you are trying to enhance certain traits a parent-offspring match usually works best.

A simplistic way to look at this is to be very careful which chickens you let breed. If they show flaws don’t let them breed. If they don’t show flaws, go ahead. It is also important to know what your goals from breeding are. If you don’t know what you want it is hard to select it when you see it.

I have read that trying to pair male and female from different broods won't work, they'll fight?

I’m sorry but you read wrong information. They will establish a pecking order and the male will dominate the female, but the issues are the same whether they are hatch mates or total strangers.

 

[philliptrout]

Very good to know. Just breeding for eating eggs and meat until I understand more, thanks.