Breeding chickens, help please.

[RobinOfTheHood]

Bit of background first:

I have 14 hens of various breeds along with 5 cockerels, again varied. 3 of the hens are less than a year old Cream Legbar sisters, as is one of the boys (unrelated).

They're all in together at the moment, and at some point this year I intend to mate the four of them up. My question is, how long after separation from the other boys before the eggs produced are clear of them? i.e. when will the eggs produce Legbars rather than crosses?

[RobinOfTheHood]

[darkbrowneggs]

The standard amount of time allowed is normally 10days (bit too soon) to 14 days (bit better) though hens running without a cockerel can retain the sperm from a previous mate for several weeks. 

It often depends on whether they like the new boy.  If they have been mating with a mature male, and he is a bit younger they may not like him so if he mates they will eject his sperm and use that already stored from the previous male

You can tell what they think of him - if there is a lot of running off and squarking with him in hot pursuit on a regular basis then they don't favour him

If they crouch to be mated you are ok with a shorter time frame.

I love cream legbars.  Love to see some piccies of your birds

This is some of my current breeding flock

[cestrian]

Lovely birds! I'd love to keep chickens but just don't have the room. I could only have layers though. i don't think I could eat my own birds. I think I would get too attached.

[Melbourne12]

Darkbrowneggs is spot on.  Personally, I'd give it 3 weeks, keeping an eye open that they were indeed mating with the new boy.

[RobinOfTheHood]

Thanks all, very informative, I'll post some pics when I have them.

I'll probably leave the separation and breeding until spring - don't think the chicks would appreciate the snow.

[Nigel B]

Actually, that's a good point RobinOfTheHood.

At what time of year do you experts start to raise chicks without lights etc.? 'How early' is the real question I suppose....?

[Peasticks]

My first setting of eggs this year is in the incubator now, I always keep the chocks in the house for the first week then they go in to a shed with an electric hen, they get no extra light but the shed gets a decent amount of natural light

Its possibly a bit early if I'm honest but I dont tend to moddy coddle my chicks, they just have to get on with it! I'd say aim to hatch end of March onwards normally I guess

I show my chickens so aim for a long growing period, normally I'd have chicks out now under lights but various things have conspired against me!

[Nigel B]

Thanks Peasticks..... Time marches on.
I'll start collecting eggs then. :-)

[sunloving]

I let my ladies tell me that its time and wait until the spring broody sessions and just put the eggs under them rather than incubate , i find then they have an instant adult carer and pretty much look after themselves but for a bit of small feed and shelter----However letting it happen naturally also means that you will be in full magpie chick reaering season and MUST provide extra cover and security to keep out hungry and determined magpies and foxes for that matter and bear in mind that a hen on high protien chick feed diet is more suseptable to a heart attack if she gets scared.

Good luck with chick raising and getting rid of the boys!
x Sunloving