It is a lekking species, meaning that adult males congregate communally in spring on many breeding display grounds scattered throughout the occupied range. These display grounds are referred to as leks, or booming grounds in the case of the prairie chicken. Adult male prairie chickens may spend much of their entire life in close proximity to one of these booming grounds. Prairie chickens require large expanses of open grassland. Most mating occurs at the lek site, with the peak occurring around April 18 each year.
Females typically nest within a one mile radius of the lek.
Clutch size is 10 to 12 eggs, and the peak of the hatch in Wisconsin is in early June, after 23 to 25 days of incubation. Hens with broods spend most of their time in suitable grasslands searching for food, primarily insects. Brood dispersal occurs throughout the fall, winter and early spring, and can account for prairie chicken observations well removed from the occupied range. Juvenile hens exhibit the greatest dispersal movements. Packs are associated with winter feeding sites, and may separate into smaller groupings for night roosting.