How To: Chicken Mating

How to mate chickens? To be honest, they do everything themselves. You just leave them to it. Ratio as to how many chickens to cockcrow, I would say a minimum of three girls to one cockerel is great, anything more is an added bonus to him, and it will keep him nice and busy in the spring.

Remember that it's a good idea to put a cockerel of a similar size to a hen the similar size. If you are going to put the little tiny bantam in with a full and nice large fowl, there's no way he is going to reach the right parts, so you are not going to have a really good fertility rate. Now, to be honest, they do it themselves and the more space you can give them, the better it is for them and the girls, because the cockerels in the spring are constantly on them, and they can really make the feathers very bold by the end of the breeding season.

It's a very good idea to go and buy yourself a poultry saddle to protect girls' back. The feathers will grow back, but you'll certainly know which is his favourite girl because she will be very bold. Then, another good tip, if you have very mature cockerels, is to trim their spurs and make them blunt because they can become sharp and cause some very nasty injuries.

If you have a lot of space, it's possible to have more than one cockerel, and we've got three or four running around here and they all live absolutely fine together even in spring. If you are having them in a confined space, never ever have more than one cockerel because they will fight and they will inflict some hideous injuries on each other. So, the more space you can give them, the better it is; and remember, one cockerel if you are in a confined farm or a house, but if you are free ranging like this, the more, the merrier, they'll all get on.

And that's how to mate chickens. This is just one of many tips derived from my book, The Essential Guide to Choosing and Keeping Happy, Healthy Hens. .