Propagation of chicken at home

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Chickens are a great source of cheap meat and he althy eggs. Anyone can start breeding birds, since investments in such a business can be the most minimal. It will be enough to purchase several chickens and one rooster, and in a year your farm will increase several times. Have you thought about how the chicken breeding process takes place at home? In our article you will find a lot of useful and entertaining information about this.

Reproductive systems of roosters and hens

Decided to learn all about the reproduction and development of animals? Chicken in this regard is not distinguished by something special. Producers have rather small testes, from which very thin canals extend, ending in the cloaca. As for the seminal fluid, it enters the cloaca with the help of the nipple. The genital organs of roosters can hardly be called similar to the organs of othersanimals, however, they are not distinguished by anything special among other birds.

As for chickens, they have ovaries located on the left and right sides of the body (near the kidneys). The organs are held together by a special serous membrane. The ovaries contain a large number of oocytes (usually about two thousand), which are very small in size, so they can only be seen under a microscope. It is the oocytes and spermatozoa that take the main part in the fertilization of the egg.

What is the fertilization process?

Now you know about the reproductive organs of the chicken, however, in order to understand the whole process of reproduction, you should also analyze the process of fertilization in detail. It is carried out with the help of a cloaca - a hole under the tail, which looks like an expanded part of the intestine. When the moment of mating occurs, the cloaca turns outward, so that the seminal organs can freely get inside to fertilize the egg.

The release of seminal fluid, as a rule, occurs a few minutes after the introduction of the testis into the cloaca. The life span of the seed is about 20 days, so all the eggs received from the laying hen during this time will be considered fertilized, that is, small chicks will be able to hatch from them. However, in order for chickens to be born, it is necessary to take into account many more nuances that can prevent this.

How many roosters should be kept on the farm?

To ensure that the breeding process of chickens proceeds with maximumproductivity, it is necessary to keep a sufficient number of young roosters on the farm that are able to fertilize a female. As a rule, one male with excellent he alth is able to conduct about 20 matings per day. Although the breeder must understand that the number of matings has a huge impact on the quality of the seminal fluid.

In order for the concentration of spermatozoa not to be reduced, it is necessary to keep at least six roosters per fifty hens on the farm. Of course, a lot also depends on the breed, but for a novice farmer who decides to start breeding meat and egg breeds of chickens at home, it is recommended that these proportions be followed, since they are considered the most optimal. Too many males should not be kept either.

Why do two yolks in an egg sometimes ripen?

Chicken breeding is a rather entertaining process that has many different nuances. Perhaps every person at least once came across a chicken egg, which has two yolks at once. This phenomenon is obtained due to the fact that as a result of fertilization, two eggs ripen at once. Two chicks may well hatch from such an egg, although practice shows that chicks develop much more slowly than their counterparts.

A chicken usually has one egg per day (in rare cases two). If at the time of maturation the seminal fluid of the rooster is in the cloaca, then the process of fertilization takes place. The sperm enters the oocytethrough the thick membrane and fertilizes the egg. Just like in humans, only the fastest sperm can get inside. It is in this "lottery" that the process of fertilization lies.

Ovum maturation

We continue to understand the process of breeding a chicken and a rooster. The next step is the maturation of the egg. That is, the fertilized oocyte begins to turn into a yellow mass called the yolk. After the end of the maturation process, the shell breaks, and the yolk enters the oviduct. The process of ovulation takes place. That is, it is in the oviduct that one of the main stages of chicken reproduction takes place - the formation of the egg shell, although the fertilization itself takes place in the cloaca.

In the genital tract, the egg connects with the seed. Since the formation of the shell has not yet occurred, spermatozoa can get inside an already fertilized egg, but they will not play any role, since only one spermatozoon can fertilize one egg, although each egg contains about 60 germ cells, which in theory could become future chicks. The shell appears 24 hours after fertilization.

Manufacturer's Choice

How rich and beautiful the world is! Chicken breeding is an interesting part of nature that deserves special attention of a person, especially if this person decides to breed birds at home. However, for this process to be as successful as possible, certain rules must be followed. For example, one shouldchoose a male that can pass on good genetic qualities to offspring.

The breeder is recommended to pay special attention to the weight and he alth of the rooster, because without these indicators it is unlikely to get good offspring. The selection of a male individual is carried out among six-month-old birds. If we are talking about thoroughbred roosters, then coloring should also be taken into account, especially if appearance is one of the main indicators for a breeder. In other cases, the largest and most active male should be selected, and the rest should be slaughtered.

How to test an egg for a germ?

If you doubt whether a chicken egg has been fertilized, then you can check for the presence of an embryo in a fairly simple way - just bring the egg to a strong light source. If a dark spot with protruding contours is noticeable on the product, it means that fertilization has occurred successfully, and a chick should be born in the near future. The absence of a dark spot suggests otherwise - the egg can be eaten without remorse.

Also, a device called an ovoscope can give more accurate information about the presence of an embryo. However, a novice breeder should understand that it will be almost impossible to determine the fact of fertilization from the very first days. Ovoscopes are bought, as a rule, by the owners of large poultry farms. Such a device allows you to place only fertilized eggs in incubators and hatch more chickens.

Conclusion

Hopefullyour article helped you learn more information about chicken breeding and development. If you still have any questions about this, we recommend that you watch a short video in which the author explains in detail the entire process of forming an egg in a chicken. This video is really very entertaining and highly recommended for people who decide to breed birds at home.

As you can see, chicken breeding is not such a complicated topic as it might seem at first glance. It will be enough to study the basic theoretical information, after which it will be possible to apply knowledge in practice in order to increase the livestock of the farm. The most important thing is to choose only a really he althy and mature rooster for breeding, which will be able to pass on good genes to the offspring. Otherwise, chicks will grow and develop extremely slowly, and the overall value of adults will be significantly reduced.