Ever wondered how do chickens reproduce? The process of chicken reproduction is very important for you regardless if you are using the chicken for your own personal gain or if you plan on breeding them for sale.
You must understand that not every egg can hatch into a chick and that the more information you gain of the reproductive system of chicken the better the results. It’s also important for you to know that even the hen has not been in contact with a rooster a healthy adult hen will lay eggs every 24 to 27 hours. If the hen hasn’t been fertilized by a rooster the eggs will be edible but they will not hatch into chicks.
The forming of an egg
The process of forming an egg starts with the forming of the yolk in the hen`s ovary while the hen is ovulating.
When the yolk is completely formed, it is released into the oviduct where it can get fertilized by previously-stored sperm.
While the yolk is traveling through the oviduct the egg white and the eggshell will develop around it and the egg is formed. After the egg finishes traveling through the oviduct, the hen can lay it.
The incubation of an egg
It is very crucial for you to understand that a hen needs to be in the right mood to incubate eggs. For example – a hen that is willing to sit on eggs and turning them regularly to keep them warm can be referred to as broody ( a hen can be broody even if it has not mated with a rooster). What a broody hen does is taking care of the egg so it can develop into a healthy chick. There is a specially designed egg incubator that can replace a hen that does not show the right mood to incubate eggs.
Hatching eggs
After the egg has been laid, it takes 21 days for it to hatch.
When the chick is ready to get out of the eggshell it will use its “egg tooth” at the end of its beak to break out of the shell and push through it. After the chick is out of the egg the hen will keep it safe and warm and teach it how to find food, how to survive, and the behavior of adult birds.
If you consider having chickens as pets, keep in mind that they will need place to eat, sleep and play. Our suggestion for you is to have perfect, comfort and fancy chicken coop.
Shannon Stansberry has been engaged in the business of raising chickens for more than 12 years. In 2016, she accomplished the Agriculture & Natural Resources program at Mt. San Antonio College. At present, she tends to more than 80 chickens on her 4-hectare farm. Shannon regularly shares her insights and experience on how to raise healthy and contented chickens on the platform Typesofchickens.com
