Infertile Rooster Issues, Please help.

[Laurel09]

Hello everyone. I started keeping backyard chicken about 6 months ago.I started with already grown chickens 1 rooster and 5 hens.Since the chickens were already a breeding age, three of my hens started laying after in the first 2 months. My rooster seemed to be doing a good job until my first hen went brood.

I gave the hen 8 eggs to sit on and she was committed and was doing a great job until day 15 when i realized she had pushed one egg out and according to a forum i once read, its the nature of broody hens to push out eggs when they know that the egg has nothing developing in it.Out of curiosity i broke the egg to see how far true this was, and yes the egg had nothing it,the inside looked as good as an that has been just bought from the store. The same thing happened the following day, but this time the broody pushed two more out and again they had no any sign of development. So that is when i decided i was going to candle all my eggs and i found out that all of them had nothing and there was no sign of development, this was on day 17.

I had only one conclusion left in mind !!!..... "the damn rooster is infertile". So i quickly eliminated him from the flock and some weeks later i introduced a new rooster.I removed all the eggs laid within the first week of the rooster's introduction and then a week later collected 10 eggs for my other hen that had also gone broody. I didn't take the eggs from one hen but from 4 different hens since they were all about the same size and let the brood sit and at now its all the same situation.She has been sitting on the eggs and today it day 26 and nothing has happened yet

Please help, What am i doing wrong, is it the rooster again or the feed, how do i pick a rooster next time i get one?

 

[Cryss]

No answer here but now I'm curious. Following.

 

[slordaz]

It would help if we had at least a general location to give better advice but here goes.
How old are they and what breed?
What are they being feed including treats?
Are they mounting the hens?
It may be a season thing, Roosters molt just like hens do, add in they were moved , I would give them a bit of time to adjust. My rooster about a week before he starts molting the fertility drops and doesn't start acting like a rooster mating crowing etc until he is almost finished with his molt.
My hens are also very discriminatory, if they don't like the color or the rooster they won't let the rooster near them to mate with them.

One rooster I rehomed cause hens kept running him off, and after 2 weeks he still was ostercized from them, brought in on colored more like them and they almost immediately started ok we like him lets hatch out chicks.
Brought in some Rhode Island white chicks and they ended up half pullets half cockerels, they were raised together and the patient cockerel as roosters tend to mature 2 months ahead of the pullets by day 2 of them laying was fertilizing the eggs and hatched out chicks. but at same time the adult rooster was going into molt and the main flocks fertility was 1 outta 12.

 

[centrarchid]

Not enough to determine rooster is problem. Make certain eggs where in good condition prior to hen going broody. Give all another shot. I would still check rooster for general health making sure he is in good weight. What are you feeding the birds?

 

[nicalandia]

What breed are you working with?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

She has been sitting on the eggs and today it day 26 and nothing has happened yet

Maybe she isn't doing something right???

Break that hen.. she's been sitting for too long already, IMO.

Breed and feed are both great questions!

 

[FortCluck]

 

[Laurel09]

Maybe she isn't doing something right???

Break that hen.. she's been sitting for too long already, IMO.

Breed and feed are both great questions!

light sussex breed and i feed all my chickens a mixture of cracked corn and pearl millet/bulrush millet and sunflower seeds mostly

 

[Laurel09]

Maybe she isn't doing something right???

Break that hen.. she's been sitting for too long already, IMO.

Breed and feed are both great questions!

light sussex breed and i feed all my chickens a mixture of cracked corn and pearl millet/bulrush millet and sunflower seeds mostly

 

[Laurel09]

Not enough to determine rooster is problem. Make certain eggs where in good condition prior to hen going broody. Give all another shot. I would still check rooster for general health making sure he is in good weight. What are you feeding the birds?

light sussex breed and i feed all my chickens a mixture of cracked corn and pearl millet/bulrush millet and sunflower seeds mostly