An intelligent person I trusted once told me that the mere presence of a rooster is necessary and sufficient for hens to lay eggs. I am certain he believed it, and I was foolish enough to believe it, too, though the idea of immaculate conception among chickens seemed odd. So I decided to check it out, and--no surprise--it is hogwash, so to speak. If anyone is bored or strange enough to care, here are the facts: From poultry scientists at the University of Georgia: Mating in chickens is the culmination of a sequence of behaviours. The rooster will initiate mating by exhibiting courtship behaviour: dropping one wing and dancing in a circle (the lowered wing will be on the inside of the circle dance). The hen will crouch (dip her head and body) to indicate receptiveness to the male. The rooster will then mount the hen and grab her comb, neck feathers, or the skin on the back of her head or neck to help hold onto the hens back. The next behaviour is the tread (the rooster walks quickly in place on the hens back). The completed mating occurs when the rooster dips his tail to the side of the hens tail and spreads his tail feathers so that their cloacae come into contact. At this point the roosters ejaculate is released directly into the hens vagina via her cloaca. Chickens are polygynous, but certain males and females selectively mate regularly. Some females in the flock will show avoidance to specific males, and therefore are rarely mated by those males. The rooster usually ejaculates between 100 million and five billion sperm at a time with greater concentrations produced at the beginning than at the end of the day, when depletion occurs after many matings. A rooster may mate from 10 to 30 or more times per day, depending on the availability of hens and competition from other roosters. When a large percentage of females is reluctant to enter the litter area, it is a sign that the males may be overly aggressive and fertility will suffer. Fertilization in commercial chickens is usually the result of natural mating. However, in some cases, artificial insemination is commonly practised. The turkey industry especially depends on artificial insemination since natural mating is virtually impossible as a result of intense genetic selection for conformation and body weight.
Posted on: Thu, 28 Nov 2013 14:46:39 +0000
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