Hi there! I've been a chicken keeper for 7 years and am ready to move onto more exciting things. I'm interested in breeding French Copper Marans, Ameraucanas, (and Olive Eggers).
I need information about housing these chickens. Do most people keep them in separate pens by breed? How many per pen and how large of a space? Would just one hen and one rooster be enough or would the hen be over bred? Maybe 6 hens to 1 rooster ratio?
I'd also like some tips about how to choose the right genetics. What should I look for? Which should be culled for what reason? Although I don't actually plan to kill any, but just give away or sell at a discounted price.
Is breeding siblings OK or would there be deformities?
Any other information or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!
Here is the best advice I can give you.
Determine what your goal is. Do you just want pretty baskets of eggs, or chickens suitable for showing in their breed class? Will you be selling eggs, or selling chicks?
Rule #1. Never breed a bad bird. That would be a bird with poor conformation (by any general chicken standards, such as crooked or roach back, stubby legs, stilt legs, crooked neck, crow head, narrow hips, etc that could impact overall health and productivity). Eat those, don't pass them on.
Rule #2. Never breed a sick bird. If a chicken comes down with an infectious respiratory disease, isolate it, identify it, cull it if necessary. Even if it recovers, it can be a carrier that infects your other birds now and in the future. Don't pass those on either.
Avoid breeding a mean bird. There are too many good birds to breed the evil ones. Those you can sell.
If breeding pure breds and a chick hatches that varies from its breed type, such as a chick that should be black and white hatches out brown, sell it as a backyard chick.
Whatever your goal, breed to it without breaking the first two rules.
While breeding siblings won't create deformities, it will exaggerate faults. You can breed daughter to father and son to mother, though, for several generations while building your flock.
Unless you want your expensive stock to turn entirely into "backyard chickens" that can only be sold as Easter Eggers, pen them separately. And one roo to six hens is about the lowest you want to go. One rooster can cover up to 25 hens if he's really busy.
If you want a pretty egg basket, keep some pure BCM, some pure AM, and from their offspring select an AM rooster and a few BCM hens for the OE pen. For an entire season hatch out OEs, then put the parents back in their own pens (cull the roo if need be). From the OE offspring, raise pullets to maturity and identify those that produce the egg colors you find acceptable. Cull the rest. Separate out a new OE breeding pen every few years to rejuvenate your stock, or adjust egg color by breeding the OEs to either a BCM or AM rooster as needed to tweak egg color and again raise all pullets to maturity.
Start with the best birds you can, it will save you years and money later.
