Mary Allen
Anyone who wants chicks in the spring should start preparing now. In January, the rooster and hen are mated so that the first young hatch in March. But other factors also need to be taken into account.
Healthy parent animals are at the heart of successful offspring breeding. The other key factors include feeding, the light regime, and the stable climate, writes Armin Six in his reference book “Chicken breeding today”. In winter, the hens have to spend a day in the coop from time to time, and the green fodder does not grow back in the run. It is therefore advisable to add treats to the conventional feed mix. Nevertheless, if the chickens can go outside when the sun is shining, this is good for vitamin D development.
Supplementary feed for breeding animals in winter should contain minerals and be rich in vitamins. This additional feeding, which can also consist of animal protein, is particularly worthwhile for early breeding dates. The start of this additional feeding is crucial, which should be a few weeks before the hatching eggs are collected. Cabbage, carrots, and turnips are particularly suitable as green fodder substitutes. Committed breeders even produce special mixtures of garlic, oil, and other ingredients for their breeding animals.
In commercial poultry farming, the day is automatically lengthened for laying hens with the help of a light program. As a result, the time of possible food intake in winter is a few hours longer and thus leads to more hatching eggs. The Swiss Animal Welfare Ordinance stipulates that the duration of light must not exceed 16 hours. It is best to wake the chickens up earlier with the light and send them back to bed in the evening at the usual twilight. The longer day has a massive effect on hormone production and, according to Armin Six, increases fertility.
In older roosters, the hormonal change takes place a little later, which is why they tend to ensure a good fertilization rate in March and April. For this reason, old cocks should not be taken out of breeding when they are three or four years old if they show a less good fertilization rate at the beginning of the year, because fertility usually does not occur until April or May. Sufficient fresh air and a dry barn climate are also important prerequisites for healthy animals. It is often assumed that the cold harms the animals, which is why some keepers keep all the windows in the barn closed. The moisture can then no longer escape. It condenses and later freezes on the wattles and combs of the animals, which can lead to frostbite.
How Many Hens Per Rooster?
Once the rooster and hens have been paired, a rule of thumb says that the eggs are fertilized after ten days. According to author Six, research has shown that even 17 days after the rooster has been separated from the hens, they are still laying eggs that he has fertilized. However, in general, the fresh sperm from a newly introduced rooster is faster and therefore has a higher chance of fertilization.
The number of hens per rooster is implemented very differently in practice. Some breeders let the animals live in a monogamous partnership, so to speak, while others let the rooster run with four to five hens. If the rooster has too many hens, the risk increases that he will only mate with his favorite hens and that individual animals in his harem will consequently not lay fertilized eggs.
Which hen is mated with which cock is the breeder’s big decision? The goal is to transmit as many of the desired hereditary factors as possible to the offspring. There are different breeding methods. One is more inbred. However, if close relatives, such as half-siblings, are mated with each other, this can lead to damage after just a few generations. Therefore, the exchange of breeding animals among the breeders is necessary.
Another variant is rotation breeding, based on several breeding units, each consisting of a cock and several hens. From the offspring of each unit, a rooster is selected for further breeding and passed on to the next breeding unit in the breeding ring. This leads to the exchange of breeding cocks within this community and excessive inbreeding is avoided.