Fertility

[hcammack]

I have been having trouble getting my Salmon Faverolles bantam Cockeral from Jeff Oxley to provide some fertile eggs. I am getting a third cockeral from Leisha Comer in a few weeks along with a new batch of hens. I was going to sell my other blue salmon cockeral but he is providing me with my only fertile eggs right now.

The young Jeff Oxley Cockeral has been in a pen for a month with three hens that are laying and I have seen him treading. Why do you think he isn't fertile? Cold weather? He is only 7 months to young? and what do you think I should do? I can trim around his vent, Wait till spring and not sell the other rooster or wait to confirm fertility on my boy from Leisha. Could it be genetic?

I can't keep three seprate groups so I need to either sell the Oxley boy or the Hattrick boy because I want the boy from Leisha. I really want the Oxley boys genes so I would prefer to sell the Hattrick boy and help the Oxley boy become fertile. DO you think spring would trigger him to become more fertile? He crows and appears to have the desire to breed.

Just looking for input on what I should do I have a dilema.

(excuse the temporary snow housing)

Here is the Oxley boy (fertility problems)

Here is the Hattrick Rooster (confirmed and GREAT fertility)

Thanks in advance BYC,
Henry

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

Oh wow pretty bunch you have there. I would give him a while...do you see him mating the girls? My rooster didn't start fertilizing eggs until he was nine months old. I thought something was wrong with him too (cochin boy) but he finally did start. If you like him I would wait a bit.

 

[hcammack]

Quote:
Thanks I have seen him mate a few hens but he is almost to gentle about it unlike the other boy who has ripped some feathers out because he breeds so much. I think I defently will keep him I just need to see if the other cockeral I am getting has been confirmed fertile.

 

[tnchickenut]

I was just browsing posts out of bordom... just wanted to say that those are some gorgeous birds! Very attractive.

 

[hcammack]

Quote:
Thanks in my mind faverolles are the perfect chicken. Easily handled, good layers, hardy, not overly broody but occasionally, beautiful, and most of all super friendly.

 

[Chickie'sMoma]

i think you need to give him some time too. they have to learn how to stand on the hen and balance to be confident to mate properly.

most of my girls were very willing to squat for my bantam cochin while he was learning and he has been very gentile on them because of this. he's now about 9 1/2 mo and i've just hatched out 7 chicks from his mating. i've been seeing fertile eggs for about the last 2 months out of the 3 months that my girls have been laying and he has been in there. he seemed to learn mostly because i have 2 LF brahmas that will lay down for him and with them being very wide allowed him to learn balance better.

 

[lildinkem]

This might seem extreme, but I have one pen just for single young men. Like my BCM cockerels. They get shuffled in and out of the three BCM pens I carry. And ALL my boys in this cockerel pen seem to get along just fine. I have 2 useless Golden Comet cockerels, one Australorp Roo ( he runs the place ), one RIR cockerel and one BIrchen Marans cockerel asides from the 2 BCM boys that get mixed in and out each and every other day. I find that none of my BCM girls are unfertile. The boys go in and do their thing. Mite be a choice IF you have the room and desire to keep and additional cockerel. I find you never know when one bites the dust and you need a backup.

 

[hcammack]

Leisha Comer who is a faverolles breeder emailed me back and said that I should seprate out the cockeral and one hen. I think that's what I am going to do she said sometimes young males will get overly excited with more than one female and haveing one hen allows him to focus all of his amourous attentions on just one thing.

Henry

 

[speckledhen]

Henry, remember Hawkeye? He was 11 months old when he went in with the girls and it took five MONTHS before he started producing fertile eggs. He was just so laid back and such a gentleman.

 

[hcammack]

Quote:
Hmm I am going to keep the two cockerals so I will have an extra the problem is that I only have room for two groups permanently living here.