Mate Rooster to one hen at a time or ??

[Mareslee]

I'm embarrassed to ask this question, but i want to know, so here goes:

I get the impression that Roosters are normally put in a pen with several hens at once, rather than one at a time.
So you can't tell which hen has produced which chicks, can you?
Maybe if your hens are known to have very similar genotypes this doesn't matter?
(I'm more familiar with the workings of dog breeding, where you know as much as you can about both sides)

If you don't know or can't guess the genotype, wouldn't you be better to run the rooster with just one hen at a time until you at least had hatched one clutch of chickens from each hen and could form some sort of opinion (even if it was just to say there was no noticeable difference)?
Or, is it really just that the one hen would have too hard time of it?

Ok, you can laugh at me now, but answers too would be nice : )

 

[spiritdance]

If I want to know the maternal lineage of my hatching eggs, I simply pull the hen in question out of the breeder pen and put her in a layer pen for a week. Hens stay fertile from the roo for as long as three weeks after the breeding, so this gives you fertile eggs from a known hen while your rooster still "romances" his other ladies!

BTW, no laughing here ... how you gonna know til you ask?

 

[Cowgirl71]

(I didn't laugh, LOL.

It's an honest question.)

It depends a lot on what your objectives are. If all you want is backyard layers/pets, than a ratio of one rooster with 8-15 hens is good. It doesn't really matter who the mother is on each chick.

But if you're after top quality show stock, then you should keep detailed records of each chicks parentage, and often have one rooster in with one, two, or three hens, and mark each egg and chick. When you have a rooster/hen ratio like this though, it can be quite hard on the hen(s).

 

[sourland]

your question is not dumb at all. One on one matings generally result in too much wear and tear on the hen depending upon the nature of the rooster. Trap nests can be used to determine which hen laid a given egg or hens can be placed in their own pen with a nest box on a daily basis until they have laid. With a little ingenuity it is possible to determine which hen laid which egg. Of course then you have to devise a system of separating eggs during incubation and identifying chicks once they hatch.

 

[schellie69]

, I understand dog breeding we had a kennel when I was younger. With chickens it depends on what your needs are
Show, back yard chickens for eggs, Heritage breeds, Then you can either have your rooster with many hens or just a few and since a hen's eggs can stay fertilized for 3 weeks then you can always remove the hens and gather eggs and mark and hatch.

 

[Mareslee]

Phew! thanks for all your kind, swift and helpful replies.

I suspect I'm about to jump in the deep end, but for my sins I've decided that Blue Laced Red Wyandottes are the chooks for me, despite the fact that it's had to be created here because importation is just not viable.

I'm about to get some hens and a rooster from a breeder who has been working on them for some generations, but it won't be as 'easy' as say SLW, and I don't want to waste their good work. So I think at this point, knowing what the hens are contributing will be just as useful as knowing what the rooster is throwing.

It's quite encouraging to think I could move the hen either back in with the layers or into a pen of her own, though surely she'd have to be on her own or you wouldn't know which eggs were hers? Same thing with the trio, Cowgirl? Or do you guys have nest cam over there? : )

What is a trap nest?

In summary, it sounds as though i could pretty much run the rooster with my whole flock (which will be 9 hens for the moment) and cunningly split up the hens each day so I knew whose eggs were whose. Hmm nest cam with an alarm is sounding good!

 

[Cowgirl71]

Quote:
Yes, or with only two or three hens you may become good at recognizing the individual hen's eggs. Though with high-dollar stock you may not want to take that chance...

 

[Illia]

I'm always in a need to know the maternal lineage of my flock. I have all my hens, no matter the color or breed, living together; all my roosters are the same, but separate from the girls. When the time comes, I pair up certain birds in a breeding pen for a short while (a day at the most) then put them back in their areas.

The key, though, to knowing who laid what is either recognizing the traits of their eggs (shape, size, color, shade, splotchiness, etc) or by keeping constant tabs on the nesting area when they lay.

I do both.

 

[Mareslee]

Ah, this is really good - it almost seems manageable!
I've never known which of my layers were laying except if i got a pullet egg or if one was broody i knew it wasn't her!
I'd start practising telling the difference except my SLW seem to have gone off lay for the winter.

Illia, don't your roosters fight, all in one pen? or are they miles away?