When are hens ready to mate?

[cloudlet]

Thank you Miss Prissy!

That is what I was assuming, but I'm happy to have confirmation.

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
After I'm sure that they're all being fertilized, I plan to incubate a couple dozen and/or put some under the silkie hen. I will give away all the chicks that don't look like my dark-blue hen, Isolde.
I want to end up with a maximum of six, preferably five, dark-blue hens. I'll give away my two black hens, Aida and Leontyne. This plan might take my six or more months though.

Edit: Anne and I only eat a max of four eggs a week between. I haven't thought of what we'll do with excess, but what family members don't come to get, I'm sure that Anne will want to take them to the local food bank.

 

[MissPrissy]

You do realize that you will have to grow them out almost to point of lay to judge their feather development and coloring properly?

 

[1Chick Magnet]

i am also a newbee and have a rooster question. i have 14 young birds. 4 are large breeds and 10 are silkies. think i have 2 silkie roos. we will be dividing the coop in half. want no chicks from the egg layers. am concerned about the roos fighting. also would like to control who breeds with who from the silkies. if i put 1 roo in each half of the coop can i swap them back and forth? will a roo hurt my egglayers?

 

[purplesquirrel]

I have a question too;

I have 3 hens and a cockerel who were all raised by hand from incubator by me, they're 18 weeks old and nobody's laying yet.
I have one buff sussex and I heard they can start laying from 16 weeks! But because it's winter I guess she's a bit later.
Her wattles and comb have gone a pinky colour and she has started taking interest in the nest boxes - scratching about in them, making high pitched noises...

The cockerel keeps grabbing the back of her neck and treading on her and she squeals like crazy and runs away. The other two hens are the same breed and Penguin (my cockerel) doesn't have much interest in those two...

My question is, will she lay an egg first or allow mating first?
Or is it just a case of, until the cockerel finally gets the knack for it, whether she's laying yet or not...?

Many thanks.