How to Breed Chickens

You can breed chickens for consumption, shows, producing eggs or just as a hobby. But first you must learn the things to look for in each chicken before adding it to the breeding pen. The following steps will help.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Determine the use of the chicken and the offspring. Different uses need different traits and breeds of chickens. If you want to show your chickens in exhibitions, you need different qualities than for chickens used for just laying eggs.

2. Build a pen (or coop) for breeding the chickens with a rooster. The pen must have wire small enough so the chickens cannot get their heads stuck in it. The pen needs a roof that keeps the rain out completely and must be big enough to comfortably hold the amount of chickens inside. A pen that is too small can result in chickens getting into fights, losing feathers and hurting each other.

3. Mix the chickens with the rooster in the pen. Only put one rooster in a pen with the chickens. Putting two or more roosters together in a pen can cause fights, some leading to the death of a rooster.

Tips & Warnings

• For healthier chickens, build a pen that is open (with wire on the top so chickens can't escape) to allow chickens to be in the sun and cooler air.