Is there way to control which roo mates hen without breeding pen?

[chicklets81]

I have a mixed flock. 9 LF laying hens with 1 bantam mature roo, and 5 growing out hens and 2 juvenile LF roos. I also have (7) 6 week old chicks in basement, that include 4 roos. I know I won't keep all of these roosters in the end, still deciding which ones to keep.

Now with the mixed flock, I have 2 or 3 of each breed of hen that match the roosters. My flock free ranges during the day, with no fenced in area. I have an acre of land on private property, so this is easy.

I have not built a "breeding pen", nor do I have plans this spring to(perhaps in future...) But wanted to know if theres an easy way to know which roosters are breeding their own hens? And do multiple roosters breed the same hen? If so, which fertilization actually stays in the egg and helps it develop if multiple roos mate? This might sound like a really stupid question, just wondering if people breed their chickens without special pens, and how people might do that.

Thanks!

 

[Kiki]

Short answer is NO, roosters don't care about what breed they are or their girls.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi.

You can do it by getting rid of your extra roosters.

Not only will they mate the same hen... but if they hit breeding age and you don't have them separated, they may all chase the single weakest hen and hold her down while they take turns mating her in a gang assault style!

Also, if you aren't hatching.. it doesn't matter who breeds. So you may be fine until next spring, but not with that many boys.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

If you only want a mixed barnyard flock then it doesn't really matter what the mattings are. If you only want eggs from a particular hen then get to know her egg and collect those for hatching. The other factor is the male and that can be controlled by getting rid of all the other males or putting them in a bachelor pen so they don't have access to the females.

Sometimes a male to six hens works out and sometimes not. More hens is better if they are kept together all the time. Breeding quads or trios work out as the male isn't with the hens all the time so their backs don't get worn bare. But that means having separate pens/coops.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Which sperm is used to fertilize the egg I believe is chronological. As the sperm is stored in tubes it makes sense that the first in storage are used first then next in line with a little jumbling between donor sperm in the transition areas. But that cold be completely wrong, the storage tube may release random and all donors are mixed together in storage. Who knows? It could be storage is full after first mating and all other donors expelled until there is more room in storage. It hasn't been completely studied.

What's to note is hens do have sperm storage area from where one or few are released to egg at a time and can lay fertile eggs for 3 weeks or more after one successful mating.

 

[chicklets81]

I'd like mixed chicks, but I would also like to try and do pure-bred as well. But I guess the short answer is, either identify only that hens eggs, or have a separate breeding pen. Thanks!

 

[chickengeorgeto]

The easiest and cheapest way is to make chicken salad out of all your male birds except for the one or ones that you wish to hatch chicks from.

A hen experiences a drastic reduction in both the amount and the viability of stored sperm. After 5 days you will notice a drastic reduction in the fertility of eggs unless you have a rooster running with the flock.

However Turkeys are like Wildroot Cream Oil. A little dab will do you because one service is all a hen turkey needs to lay a full clutch of fertile eggs.

 

[aart]

I'd like mixed chicks, but I would also like to try and do pure-bred as well. But I guess the short answer is, either identify only that hens eggs, or have a separate breeding pen. Thanks!

That's true if you only have one male.
Otherwise males need to be separated with hens you want them to breed.
Don't collect eggs for hatching until birds are exclusive for about 3 weeks.

 

[Kiki]

Which sperm is used to fertilize the egg I believe is chronological. As the sperm is stored in tubes it makes sense that the first in storage are used first then next in line with a little jumbling between donor sperm in the transition areas. But that cold be completely wrong, the storage tube may release random and all donors are mixed together in storage. Who knows? It could be storage is full after first mating and all other donors expelled until there is more room in storage. It hasn't been completely studied.

What's to note is hens do have sperm storage area from where one or few are released to egg at a time and can lay fertile eggs for 3 weeks or more after one successful mating.

This is very interesting.

 

[chicklets81]

Thanks for everyone's input! I love all of this information!
I hope to someday make a breeding pen, and be able to hatch my own pure-bred chicks.