This is my first time writing on this message board and I haven't had time to read a lot of the messages...so I apologize if this is being repetitive.

My question is related to the frequency a hen needs to be bred. Does a hen need to be bred each day during the breeding season to lay multiple eggs? Or does a hen need to be bred once to lay a full nest?

My reasoning for asking is this: Where we are hunting in So. Illinois we are seeing the hens stay with the Toms all morning. This is unusual, in past years the hens leave the Toms around 9:30 or 10 to sit on their nest. If there is an imbalance of Toms to Hens we were speculating that there aren't enough Toms to "service" the hens and thus the Toms have company all morning. Any thoughts?