soo....q's about hens/rooster and babies...

[shadust1]

we have 4 chickens....we thought they were all female....two of them(thelma & ruthie red) have big red combs on them...while the other two...fluffy & rosie red have very little combs...but i was convinced that they were all female because that is what i was told....lol...so they r 4 months old and have starting laying eggs....but i have come to the conclusion that we now have 2 hens & 2 roosters....we r only getting 2 eggs a day..one white and one light brown...lol....

but my question is...is that enough hens to rooster ratio...or do i need to get more hens....

and do hens have to have sex with the rooster in order to lay fertile eggs or when they lay can i automatically put them in a incubator for chicks to be born...i looked up all of this but really didnt find nething that i understood...i see that u have to either crack open the egg or candle it...lol...not sure about all of this...im learning alot...but just unsure about this part...i do want babies...i want more then 4 chickens..geez..that is just a tease..lol...

 

[gritsar]

You definitely need more hens. A two to two ratio means your hens will get harrased non-stop.

 

[NonnasBabies]

Quote:
X2 and yes the roosters have to mate with the hens for the eggs to be fertile.

 

[shadust1]

ok..thanks...guess i need to find some hens around the same age as mine....hmmm.....lol...

 

[Bravo]

Are you certain the 2 with combs are roosters? At 4 months old, they could just be more mature than the others and closer to laying eggs.

If you post pics of the 2 you suspect, we can give you a second opinion.

 

[thesweetone]

Quote:
Sounds like a typical male??

 

[Lisa202]

Are you sure that the other 2 are roosters? Just because you are only getting 2 eggs a day, doesn't mean the others don't lay. Post some picks of the 2 in question.

In answer to the other questions:
1.yes, they have to mate to have fertile eggs, but not every egg will be fertile. I'm not sure of the percentage, but it is most likely that they will be. I have 9 chickens to 1 rooster and mostly every egg I open (to cook) is fertile. Look here to see what a fertile egg looks like. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16008

2.you can candle (not crack!) an egg to see if it's fertile but you have to give it about a week or so (under a broody hen or incubator) to see anything. There's a great thread on candling eggs on here. Look here to see how to candle an egg. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=304863

3. ideally, I think the hen to rooster ratio is around 10 to 1. But I've read that it can be as low as 8 to 1 and as high as 15 to 1.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Sounds like a typical male??

Aha