Hi. So I have six girls 4 differnt breeds Americana Plymouth rock buff or ping ton and road island red I want to have chicks but I don't want a full time rooster. I have friends who would let me literally rent a rooster. So if I did would he be able to breed with my hens? And would the eggs be able to hatch? So pretend it did would the chick's be able to lay eggs or would they unable to?
Any full sized adult rooster would be able to breed with your hens. The most important thing (in my opinion) would be to ask your friends to rent you one of their most docile roosters. I believe there is some evidence to suggest that aggression is an inherited trait, so I'd be finding the loveliest, sweetest roo I could to put over your girls.
Providing the rooster was fertile, and he spent long enough with your hens to mate them all (you might want to rent him for a few weeks to make sure!) the eggs should technically be able to hatch. This is assuming of course that you have an incubator or a broody hen available to hatch them out for you! Not many hatches work out 100% - you usually lose a few eggs along the way. But there is no reason they would not hatch otherwise.
The chicks would eventually be able to lay eggs when they got older - if they were female chicks! That's the issue with raising chicks though - you are destined to have roughly 50% males, which you will have to either rehome or cull out.
Raising chicks is also a time consuming activity. You need to be aware that you will have to provide a very secure area for them so the other hens can't get to them and hurt them. You will also have to be prepared to check their feed and water several times a day, as Momma Hen will inevitably kick dirt into their feeders and waterers as she teaches them how to eat. If you do not have a broody hen, you will need to provide a brooder set-up for them to live in.
The worst thing that you can do to your floc is to introduce a new bird whiteout a quarantine period for at least 40 days! You can find yourself whit a floc devastated from a pathogen you introduced unwillingly to your floc! be careful no do nonsense that can kill your floc!
The worst thing that you can do to your floc is to introduce a new bird whiteout a quarantine period for at least 40 days! You can find yourself whit a floc devastated from a pathogen you introduced unwillingly to your floc! be careful no do nonsense that can kill your floc!
