Mating Season

[RileyB]

I'm completely new to this, so please bear with me and my stupid questions...

Do chickens have a mating season? I know in the wild turkeys show no interest in mating except during certain times of year. Is it the same for chickens? Or will my roos try to mate with my hens all year long?

 

[1muttsfan]

Most chicken breeds will mate all year round, although there are some that are much more seasonal layers - they tend to be the game-type birds.

 

[ryan820]

I could be wrong but no, I don't think that they do. It seems my hens will try to go broody (wanting to lay on a clutch of eggs) in the spring and early summer but not the rest of the year. So perhaps in my colder climate, when compared to places like Florida etc, that keeps the birds from having chicks when it'd be too cold for them.

 

[RileyB]

I'm more worried about the roos wanting to mate with the hens all year (vs. broody times of year). I think I have more roos than I anticipated and am thinking I might have to separate some to a different pen. But...I didn't know if the roon ratio only mattered during "mating season" (I keep reading everyone's horror stories about what happens to the females when there are too many roosters).

Thanks so much for the answers!

 

[centrarchid]

All of my birds show some degree of seasonality with respect to egg production. Almost all cease laying once body feather replacement gets underway and do not resume laying until new feathers in place. Many will continue laying while replacing only flight feathers on wings. My roosters (game) will cover / copulate / mate with hen year round but they are not as attentative or willing to engage predators during molt of body feathers. If I were to say a breeding season exists, then it would start as daylength starts to increase (late December) and continues through time when day length is about 14 to 16 hours light and 10 to 8 hours dark (roughly August) if you are in the northern hemisphere.

Even so I have seen even game hens on nest in all months of year. Extremely good nutrition and reduced stress can over ride to a degree.

 

[laurakrueck]

I am also new to chickens and have 1 rooster to 4 hens. I just witnessed the love making and am wondering if it gets easier with time. Does he become less aggressive or more?! Do they do it all day long?! I have RIR and I have read and heard those are the more aggressive roosters. Thanks.

 

[Nupe]

4 to 1 ratio is a bit extreme. The rule of thumb is 10 hens to 1 rooster. Less has worked but if they're all the same age and just maturing, your hens are in for a rough time. Roosters grow bigger and mature faster than pullets so when they grow up together the rooster has a tendency to become an aggressive bully. He needs a mature flock to thump some manners in him.

 

[golden chicken]

can a chicks hatch if you gave them lay pellets