Next Step-Propagate

[Manhen]

Ok, I have a big backyard and put 86 chickens in it so far. I have some Brinsea Incubators and plan on hatching from three of the breeds in the flock that I have bought enough of to form a rooster-hen ratio that will work. Unfortunately none of the three breeds I want to propagate ended up with more than 8 hens. Should I put a couple out-of-breed hens in the pen environment to prevent overzealous mating causing injuries? The pen will be larger than 16' X 25' (probably 100' by 100') and access to an additional interior space for roosts and nests for that breed.

How many days after penning should I start incubating the eggs to assure the hens brought no other rooster's sperm in?

How long should I leave the rooster in the pen? The whole week or so I plan on collecting the theoretically fertile eggs or should I take him out?

 

[NatJ]

Pen the hens away from the wrong roosters at least three weeks before collecting eggs for hatching.

You can put the correct rooster in then, or add him a week before starting to collect eggs.

Once the rooster's been in there for at least two days, you can assume the eggs are fertile. By the time he's been there for a week, they're sure to be (unless HE's infertile!) After you take the rooster out, you can expect eggs with good fertility for another week, and then it'll go down after that.

It's easiest to just put the correct hens in with the rooster, with no extra hens and no pulling the rooster out. Yes, check to be sure the hens aren't getting plucked bare or scratched up, but they will often be just fine.

Many breeders will keep a rooster with just one or two hens, and the hens are OK.

Or, if you have more time and less pens available:
It's possible to have a rooster pen, a hen pen, and a mating pen. Put one rooster in the mating pen, add one hen, watch them mate, swap hen for the next of his hens. When that rooster's done them all, put him back in the rooster pen and put a different rooster in the mating pen, add one of his hens... As long as each hen get mated 1-2 times each week, they'll probably all lay fertile eggs. (You won't know which hen laid which eggs, but if you want to set them all, and if you can sort out the chicks or adult offspring later, then it works.)

That's a lot of work, but there are times that it's easier than building and tending a lot of pens. You would just keep the hens and roosters separate for three weeks, spend a very busy few days getting them all mated (probably at least twice per hen), collect eggs for a week, and be done.

 

[Manhen]

Pen the hens away from the wrong roosters at least three weeks before collecting eggs for hatching.

You can put the correct rooster in then, or add him a week before starting to collect eggs.

Once the rooster's been in there for at least two days, you can assume the eggs are fertile. By the time he's been there for a week, they're sure to be (unless HE's infertile!) After you take the rooster out, you can expect eggs with good fertility for another week, and then it'll go down after that.

It's easiest to just put the correct hens in with the rooster, with no extra hens and no pulling the rooster out. Yes, check to be sure the hens aren't getting plucked bare or scratched up, but they will often be just fine.

Many breeders will keep a rooster with just one or two hens, and the hens are OK.

Or, if you have more time and less pens available:
It's possible to have a rooster pen, a hen pen, and a mating pen. Put one rooster in the mating pen, add one hen, watch them mate, swap hen for the next of his hens. When that rooster's done them all, put him back in the rooster pen and put a different rooster in the mating pen, add one of his hens... As long as each hen get mated 1-2 times each week, they'll probably all lay fertile eggs. (You won't know which hen laid which eggs, but if you want to set them all, and if you can sort out the chicks or adult offspring later, then it works.)

That's a lot of work, but there are times that it's easier than building and tending a lot of pens. You would just keep the hens and roosters separate for three weeks, spend a very busy few days getting them all mated (probably at least twice per hen), collect eggs for a week, and be done.

WOW, thanks! That's more information that I have had at a 100% rate. LOL. I have enough pens, and a few more coming. By the beginning of spring I think there will be about 1500 ft of fencing around a barn and 2 acres. Do you think pen size is important? How many feet might you use?

EDIT: What does this do to a well-established pecking order? All 86 birds more or less get along with about 10 roosters.

 

[NatJ]

WOW, thanks! That's more information that I have had at a 100% rate. LOL. I have enough pens, and a few more coming. By the beginning of spring I think there will be about 1500 ft of fencing around a barn and 2 acres. Do you think pen size is important? How many feet might you use?

EDIT: What does this do to a well-established pecking order? All 86 birds more or less get along with about 10 roosters.

Pen size--I probably wouldn't go smaller than 3 feet in any dimension, just so the birds have enough room to move around. If you figure 4 square feet per adult bird (usually listed as a good minimum number), you'd end up with a 3x4 pen for a trio, bigger for more birds. Of course bigger is typically better.

Pecking order: I just assume the birds will sort it out again. If most of them get moved around and mixed up at the same time, they will either remember their pecking order when they go back together, or they'll all be "new" at the same time.

I think pecking order, and exact amounts of space, are harder to get right with a very small flock. By the time the group is as large as yours, it's usually easier.

I've noticed that Cackle Hatchery has some videos of their breeder flocks in pens--those might give some ideas. I'm sure it works for them, given that they're in the business of selling chicks! https://www.cacklehatchery.com/
(Go to any breed page, click on the "videos" tab about halfway down, and more than half will have a "breeder flock" video. The Buff Orpington flock has LOTS of birds, but many of the bantams and rare breeds show them in smaller groups, and in some you can see that they've got rows of pens next to each other.)

 

[Manhen]

given that they're in the business of selling chicks!

I am in the business of providing my neighbors with cartons of colored eggs from the Earth Mother.

Thanks for the Cackle tip, that is where I got my birds. Now I am going with a local heritage breeder (Chicken Scratch Poultry).

 

[NatJ]

Thanks for the Cackle tip, that is where I got my birds. Now I am going with a local heritage breeder (Chicken Scratch Poultry).

What do you think of the birds you got from Cackle? I know the website is nice, but I don't know about them as a hatchery

 

[Manhen]

What do you think of the birds you got from Cackle? I know the website is nice, but I don't know about them as a hatchery

I am happy with the birds. It is unusual I think for a hatchery to tell you their error rate on gender ID.
Today is a serious day. On Xmas eve the Brinsea 28 EX (use as a hatcher) arrived. Oops, it wasn't "for the spouse". Today the Brinsea 56 EX arrives (use as incubator). Oooppps. I was hoping a trip to town would occur, but so far...