Studs

[Knittycat]

Does anybody here know about folks lending out roos for stud services? Is it just too easy to trade diseases that way? How would one go about finding a stud? Would it just be simpler to buy a roo for stud service and then have yourself a nice chicken soup when you didn't need him any more? I don't want roosters, but I might just want to hatch chicks from my own flock one day.

 

[CMV]

I don't know of anyone who would do a stud service for poultry because of the risk of spreading diseases. You could get some fertile eggs from another source and hatch them under a broody or in an incubator. Roos are a mixed blessing. They are useful for protection, eye candy and breeding, but have several challenges that go along with them.

 

[elmo]

The other issue is flock dynamics. I don't think a rooster can just show up and be immediately accepted by a flock of hens. I've heard of roosters getting their butts kicked by hens, so it happens.

It's much easier and simpler, I think, to buy fertile hatching eggs to slip under a broody. That's what we did last spring and that's how we got pure d'Uccles in our flock now. This way, you can add a new breed of chicken to your flock if you want.