| |
| Question about Pets:How can i get my chickens to have sex with my new rooster? |
Your chickens have already probably been mating. Roosters aren't that picky and their are really quick. The actual mating process only takes maybe a minute. You will most likely even see your Rooster mating with your hens. He will sometimes do a little dance around them (not always) and then grab their headfeathers, hop on their back and mate with them. It is very quick and happens many times a day.
Other things to keep in mind. What type of rooster did you get? Is he a bantam or a standard bred chicken. A bantam is basically a miniture chicken. If he is a bantam he can keep 10-15 hens fertile. If he is a standard bred chicken he can keep 6-8 hens fertile. So if you have more hens then your rooster can handle you may wish to get another one.
How old is your rooster? The older the rooster the more troubles he may have with fertility. Some roosters 10 and up can't keep up with their hens and may even be infertile. (Not all though). Also if he is younger then 6 months he may not be old enough to bred. Also if your rooster has ever gotten frostbite or been ill in the past form a sickness he could be infertile.
What season is it? During the winter roosters aren't going to be mating like they do in the summer. Also hens will not be laying their eggs.
What breed are you hens? Many breeds of chickens were inbred for a specific purpose. Meat, egg, and fancy are the most common specific purposes. If your chickens were bred for one of these purposes exspecailly eggs they may not ever have chicks. To find out if your hens will have chicks go to http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/c... and see what it says under your breed of chicken. If it says your hens will have chicks then you should have some eventally.
How old are the hens? I have noticed that most hens will not have their chicks till they are around two-three years of age. Not all birds are like this though. I had two hens have chicks this year and they are only one. So when your hens decide to have chicks is unknown to the owner.
Are you leaving enough eggs? Many hens will not brood on a nest unless there is enough eggs for them. They do this because in the wild when a hen lays and egg she leaves it there. She goes back to the nesting spot every day to lay her eggs. When she finally has her clutch number she will brood on the eggs. A good clutch number depends on the size of the hen. My Dutch Bantam can only cover seven eggs while my Wandotte Bantam can cover ten eggs. If one of your hens eggs are sticking out from her feathers and visable it most likely means that she has to many eggs and you need to takes some away. Reason being that the incubation process with be ruined because every time she rolls her eggs she will be moving a different one out of her feathers to get chillled.
What a hen looks like before she has chicks- Before a hen goes broody she will loose her feathers that are on her stomach. This is so that she will be able to keep her eggs closer to her body without the feathers in the way and thenceforth keeping the eggs warmer. Keep in mind all hens even ones that have had the will to have chicks will loose their stomach feathers because it is a natural molting process.
What a broody hen looks like- She will sink low into the nest. Every time she sees you or another hen she will make an annoyed sound. She may strick out at you with her beak if you try to take her eggs. She will stay on the nest all day and night. Except for an hour or two to eat and go to the bathroom.
Hope this helps.
Hand feeding? (previous)
Sun Conure? (next) |
|
