Why are only some of my hens eggs are fertile?

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Bryam

Bryam

Songster
11 Years
Aug 19, 2008
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I had a roaster visit my 2 hens for 2 days, after he left I collect eggs from both hens for 1 week. I then placed these 10 silkie eggs into my incubator and 5 days later I could see that all of the eggs that my grey hen laid are fertile, while only 2 out 5 of my black hens eggs are fertile. Why is my black hen laying so many infertile eggs?
 
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Sometimes it takes a while for a hen to warm up to a rooster. She may just not be as fertile as the other or it may be she just didn't breed with the rooster as many times because she didn't know him and he was still getting comfortable in the new territory. He probably was probably spending all his time with the other hen.

I hope this helps. Best of luck with your eggs!
 
Things have to be lined up just right for fertilization to happen. Maybe one hen was better at being still for the rooster than the other one. The rooster might have been able to get a better grip on the grey hen.
 
Is it possible to get any more fertile eggs from my black hen? I keep putting her eggs in the incubator, hoping a few more will be fertile, who knows! It has been 11 days since the roaster left. I should get fertile eggs for up to 2 weeks, right? Then it really drops off?
 
junebuggena said:
It is still definitely a possibility that they may still be fertile.
Click to expand...


At what point should I stop putting her eggs into the incubator? When will I know that I won't get any more fertile eggs from her?

Thanks!
 
You could be getting fertile eggs for up to 2 weeks, but if you're worried about whether they are fertile at all, crack a couple open and check for the bulls eye. If the eggs she laid the last day or so are fertile, then you can be sure that the ones laid prior are also fertile.
 
junebuggena said:
You could be getting fertile eggs for up to 2 weeks, but if you're worried about whether they are fertile at all, crack a couple open and check for the bulls eye. If the eggs she laid the last day or so are fertile, then you can be sure that the ones laid prior are also fertile.
Click to expand...


Well, the first 2 eggs that she laid last week, after the roaster left are fertile, she then laid 4 more and there was no development in them. I have another 2 of her eggs that she just laid. I am hoping to get at least one more fertile egg from her. Maybe I should give up with her eggs then?
 
If you need to know now if she's still laying fertile eggs or not, you need to crack one open and check the yolk for fertility. A solid white dot on the yolk in infertile. If the white spot has a ring around it like a bullseye, it's fertile. Otherwise, you will have to wait at least a week or so to see any development in the incubated eggs. If her eggs aren't fertile anymore, there is no point trying to incubate them.
 

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