Mary Allen
Whether turkey, guinea fowl, or goose, each species is different when it comes to sexual behavior. If the breeder knows these fine differences, his breeding year will be successful.
Anyone who knows the sexual behavior of domestic poultry can draw conclusions and use them in breeding, explained the poultry expert and author Joachim Schille in a presentation at Breeding Poultry Switzerland. The topic is overarching and affects the performance and beauty of the offspring. Only those who observe their animals closely can optimally organize their living conditions and be successful as breeders. But the sexual behavior is not only a pure act of love. All issues such as courtship, mating, copulation, pecking order, incubation, and rearing must be included.
The typical courtship feature of turkeys, for example, is the cartwheels of the male. The attention is not just for one, but for all hens. If one of the ladies is ready to mate, she stretches her body or lies down. The mating act then takes place with a trampling, whereby a turkey with spurs can also injure the hen. It is therefore recommended, especially for old roosters, to shorten the spurs. Young roosters are often a bit clumsy and trample next to the hen instead of on top of it.
The Guinea Fowl Shouldn’t be Out of the Stable Until Midday
Since gender envy is very pronounced in turkeys, several turkeys should never be kept together. Rather, it is recommended to change the turkey daily. It is best to keep a rooster with several hens. The more hens the better, because the risk of injury to the female animals is lower. A turkey can form a breeding unit with up to eight hens. In the course of the breeding season, the turkey’s ability to fertilize decreases because the mobility of its sperm decreases due to the outside heat. Ten degrees Celsius is the ideal temperature. The hens reach the highest fertilization rate between the fourth and fourteenth week of laying.
Although the guinea fowl are kept by humans, their mating behavior is still very similar to that of the wild. If they live as a pair in breeding facilities, almost every egg can be fertilized. The fertilization rate decreases with the number of additional hens, which is why a rooster should not count more than six hens in his harem. The guinea fowl also have a natural drive when laying eggs. If they can go outside, they look for a hiding place for the eggs and often lay them scattered in places where they would like to hatch one day. This misplacement can be remedied by the animals only being allowed to go outside at midday and thus having to lay their eggs in the stall.
The ancestors of our domestic geese were monogamous. Although today many breeds of layers bond with different partners, it is becoming apparent again and again that geese bond with one partner for a very long time. It is best to keep them together for decades because the animals first have to get used to their companion. This phase usually begins in autumn, which is why the breeding lines have to be put together early. Schille advises: “If you want to breed geese successfully, you have to watch them.” Geese are best kept in large pens so that they can forage for themselves. The readiness to mate emanates from the gander by dipping or retracting its neck. Fertility increases with age and reaches its peak between the ages of ten and twelve. Fertility is greatest in spring and decreases towards summer.
Male Mutes are Boorish and Erratic
Sexual arousal in a herd of mutes is shown by hissing, head stretching, and tail spreading. The drake is a rude lover. After mating with the first duck, he runs after another duck with his penis hanging out and performs the next act. However, this behavior can also harm the drake, as it often injures itself due to its hectic pace and speed.
The behavior of the domestic ducks is different. They live in groups and build up a hierarchy there, which, however, is less pronounced than in chickens. The domestic ducks are not lame, but rather fearful in character. The mating rituals of the wild ducks are only weakly recognizable in the domestic duck. Pairs form mostly in small breeds of ducks. Breeders recommend keeping one drake and three to five hens. These groups can be assembled at will, and willingness to mate is indicated here by neck stretching. If the duck is not ready for this, the drake can only run after it. Fertility is best in the first year of life. Therefore, it is recommended to breed with young drakes and young females, which lay even better.
A rooster loves hens that are in bloom, which means they have started to lay eggs. It has been observed in breeding lines that the highest-ranking hen is often not kicked and that lower-ranking hens do not mate because they are driven away. This behavior is later reflected in the fertilization of the eggs.