Hen fertility after switching roosters - when can I know which eggs are from who?

[hannahshatcheryofficial]

Hi everyone! I keep my breeds separate but I recently got a new rooster and I’m wondering, how long should I wait to know for sure that my hen’s eggs are fertilized from the new rooster and not the old one? I know that after mating eggs are fertile 7-10 days afterwards for 2-3 weeks, but if anyone has experience in this experience I would greatly appreciate some advice or personal stories, thank you!

 

[Pyxis]

At least 3 weeks, but it can be longer! I once separated my birds for breeding after winter, had them separate for five weeks, and sold eggs. Someone hatched one chick from the eggs that was clearly from a different rooster, five weeks after he'd had access to the hens!

So three weeks is a general guideline, but it can happen that a hen stays fertile from a rooster for much longer.

 

[hannahshatcheryofficial]

At least 3 weeks, but it can be longer! I once separated my birds for breeding after winter, had them separate for five weeks, and sold eggs. Someone hatched one chick from the eggs that was clearly from a different rooster, five weeks after he'd had access to the hens!

So three weeks is a general guideline, but it can happen that a hen stays fertile from a rooster for much longer.

Oh WOW 5 WEEKS??? That’s impressive for the rooster hahaha. So I suppose there’s no sure fire way to know for sure until the eggs hatch. That’s unfortunate for planned breeding.

 

[NatJ]

Hi everyone! I keep my breeds separate but I recently got a new rooster and I’m wondering, how long should I wait to know for sure that my hen’s eggs are fertilized from the new rooster and not the old one? I know that after mating eggs are fertile 7-10 days afterwards for 2-3 weeks, but if anyone has experience in this experience I would greatly appreciate some advice or personal stories, thank you!

Will you be able to tell which chicks come from which rooster?

If you will not be able to tell the chicks apart, and it is important to know which rooster is the father, you should wait at least 3 weeks, and quite possibly longer than that (as @Pyxis anecdote shows).

I've read that after a single week, eggs will mostly be sired by the new rooster. So if you can tell which chicks are from which rooster, you could start hatching eggs fairly soon, and just sort the chicks after they hatch.

I have also read that you can remove all roosters, check each egg to see if it is fertile, and when you are finding infertile eggs you know the hens no longer have sperm from the old rooster. Then introduce the new one, allow enough time for him to mate with the hens, and start collecting fertile eggs.