[sheila]

I have 3  16 week old chickens and one of them suddenly went "cock-a-doodle-do at the top of his voice yesterday.I have never had a cockerel before. can anyone tell me when he will take up his "other duties" and what do I need to know about how my girls will deal with him when he does.?

[Hardfeather]

Puoltry don't have any preconceived ideas, or hang-ups, about sex the way some humans do.

The cockerel will start treading the hens in due course. The hens will accept this as naturally as a duck takes to water. The eggs will be fertile, but perfectly edible, and perhaps, depending on the breed, the hens will incubate them and hatch you some chicks.

[darkbrowneggs]

As the old joke went

"I hear you are taking up breeding chickens.  I didn't know you knew anything about it."

"I don't!  But the chickens do!"

Having said that the hens will decide when he is acceptable, there may be a bit of squawking and running about till then, but they'll sort themselves out.  If you haven't many hens, and he is particularly enthusiastic, or a very heavy breed he may eventually wear out the feathers on their backs.  You can buy ready made poultry saddles, or only put the cockerel in a couple of days a week.  The hens have "sperm nests" in their oviducts and eggs can be fertilized for upto 2-3 weeks after a mating

All the best Sue