How To Breed Chickens

formation of the ovum

The reproductive system of chickens differs from most female animals that have ovaries, because the right ovary is then incompletely developed, unlike the left ovary, which is fully developed after the chicken comes out of the egg, and it contains several thousand eggs, and each egg is present inside a vesicle, When the hen reaches maturity, the eggs begin to turn into yolks. This is what happens to a few eggs at a time, and on the surface of the yolk is a small white spot called the germinal disk or blastoderma; It is the place where the sperm penetrates the egg later, and when the yolk is fully matured, the follicle explodes and the yolk comes out of it and goes from the ovary to the funnel of the oviduct.

mating

Both the chicken and the rooster lack the presence of external genital organs, so the rooster jumps on the hen when mating and uses his claws to grab her back so that his cloaca can touch the hen’s cloaca with quick movements, so the sperms move from the rooster’s cloaca to the hen’s cloaca, where they can remain active Between two to four weeks, and the cloaca is an external opening used by poultry to get rid of waste and to mate at the same time, and it is worth noting that the hen can lay eggs without the need for the rooster and without mating, but in this case fertilization will not occur, and the eggs will not hatch to give chicks .

fertilization of eggs

The journey of the sperm after entering the cloaca of the hen to the oviduct takes a week or more, as the sperm travels through stations in the reproductive system of the chicken; It first reaches the gland of the cortex, and from there to the isthmus, then to the most, then to the funnel or the trumpet; Where it remains waiting for the egg to arrive from the ovary, and after fertilization the egg moves in the opposite direction to the movement of the sperm, where it moves to the majority and there the egg white gathers around the yolk, and when it reaches the isthmus the egg shell membrane is formed, and in the shell gland the egg shell forms and hardens and becomes ready for laying, The egg takes between 8-10 days from the beginning of its formation until it is ready for laying.

egg incubation period

The chick needs an incubation period to be able to get out of the egg, as the hen’s incubation period for eggs is often 21 days, and it may need another week; If the temperature is not appropriate, it should be noted that the hen lays one egg per day, but the rate of laying eggs increases in the spring and summer months; This is because the day is longer, and thus the period of exposure of the hen to light increases, which has a direct effect on her laying of eggs.

get out of the egg

During its development, the embryo begins to absorb the yolk of the egg, which is composed of protein and fat. When it is ready to leave, it is large enough to fill the space of the egg with the exception of the air chamber. After a series of contractions, the allantoic membrane is broken. It is an outer embryonic membrane that performs several functions, including aiding in breathing, which prompts the chick to start breathing air using its lungs, and approximately 24 hours after that, it begins to peck the egg to break it, and this process can take from 10 to 20 hours, after which the chick can get out of the egg .

The chick comes out of the egg wet and tired, but at the same time it is fully developed and sighted, and it can walk and eat on its own almost immediately, and within two to four weeks feathers begin to appear, and in the eighth week its feathers become similar to adult feathers, and it reaches the age of sexual maturity when it reaches the month Fifth.