Question abouts hens and mating

[KOTurkeyRanch]

I currently have two gobblers and one hen:

Hens choose who they mate with, so will she always choose one or if she is unsatisfied with both will she not mate?

What do you use as a nesting box?

Is the nesting box on the ground or in the air?

What contents make up your nesting box?

When is the earliest you can check for fertility?

 

[jenjscott]

first question I'm not sure, because I have one in a pen and she is constantly calling to a tom in another pen. I will be anxious to try and figure out if her eggs are fertile. I have a wooden crate they seem to like, but some just lay in the dirt in the corner.. They will almost always nest on the ground, but I have one laying between two tarps on top of the coop. I throw some small sticks and straw in for them. Sometimes they rearrange it, sometimes they just throw it all out. The ones on the ground dig out a little hole. You can check your first egg, they will usually mate before they start laying.

 

[pdpatch]

No she will mate with tom number one or possibly both Males. Generally she will pick the Male at the top of the pecking order.

But you need to keep an eye out for that number two tom. I have post a number times about not having just two males, and we currently have two Spanish Black males. The number two male has gone psycho on us and attacks any one who goes into there pen until number one grabs him and settles him down.

Depending on the temperature the eggs were exposed to, you can check at day 1, but day 3 for better results.