Silly question on breed a hen

[Heidi65]

We have two hens that we would LOVE to have chicks from. I'm all too familiar with breeding AKC dogs but I don't know the first thing about getting chicks from our two favorite hens. We bought them as Americauna's (?) but the more we have researched we believe they are EE'rs. That isn't the reason we what chicks. We love the looks, the coloring, the personality, everything about these two.

How do you go about getting chicks? Can you just take them to a rooster, wait and hope for the best or?

Heidi

 

[eggbert420]

Get a rooster they know what to do. Breeding chickens is not like dogs. You don't have to wait till they are in heat. You will also need a incubator To hatch the eggs.

 

[CascadiaRiver]

Usually you'd have to have a rooster at your house to do what he does best for a while then get yourself a broody hen or an incubator and collect eggs for a while!

 

[Heidi65]

I guess I should of said I know there is a need for a rooster LOL but we can't have a rooster where we live. Is it possible, like a dog, to take a hen to a rooster for, for lack of a better word, for stud service?

Heidi - who believe it or not knows the birds and the bees

 

[CascadiaRiver]

I guess I should of said I know there is a need for a rooster LOL but we can't have a rooster where we live. Is it possible, like a dog, to take a hen to a rooster for, for lack of a better word, for stud service?

Heidi - who believe it or not knows the birds and the bees

I've been curious about studding chickens too! Everyone I know in my 4H group just says I'm crazy but I think its a perfectly valid option! LOL

 

[eggbert420]

I've been curious about studding chickens too! Everyone I know in my 4H group just says I'm crazy but I think its a perfectly valid option! LOL

I belive you would have to leave her there for a while. with all the diseases that chickens can get from other birds I don't think it's worth it.

 

[CascadiaRiver]

I belive you would have to leave her there for a while. with all the diseases that chickens can get from other birds I don't think it's worth it.

Very true, though if you have someone who keeps clean birds and such and hopefully not many diseases, its defiantly an option just maybe not as effective as having your own for a while xD

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

This comes up frequently here and there have been many lengthy explanations written - the short version is that from a bio-security standpoint the idea is flawed -- it puts birds at both ends of the equation and all those birds in the flocks they belong to at risk. Additionally, due to the nature of integration of new birds, the timing of things IF DONE PROPERLY with true quarantine followed at each end of things, and allowing the time needed for the birds to reach a point of comfort where mating takes place, to get to the desired end result is impractical. The better solution is to obtain eggs that are fertilized from a flock to which the rooster already belong.

 

[eggbert420]

This comes up frequently here and there have been many lengthy explanations written - the short version is that from a bio-security standpoint the idea is flawed -- it puts birds at both ends of the equation and all those birds in the flocks they belong to at risk.  Additionally, due to the nature of integration of new birds, the timing of things IF DONE PROPERLY with true quarantine followed at each end of things, and allowing the time needed for the birds to reach a point of comfort where mating takes place,  to get to the desired end result is impractical.  The better solution is to obtain eggs that are fertilized from a flock to which the rooster already belong. 

Good answer.