9 mo. old still no little baby chicks- & stupid question

[analogue]

Aseel roo, Blue Sumatra hen. So, hatch date for those two March 18th (Cackle Hatchery) sorry no pic of hen - too busy to deal with picture taking right now. They get the most varied diet you can imagine- cooked rice & veg, meat, live bugs, fresh grain (sorghum, millet and indian corn & whatever) I grow myself, leftovers from the house. Roo and hen have been mating on and off for past week. My dumb question is- if they've mated, does that guarantee I will have baby chicks? Reason I say dumb question- Ive had critters all my life, including chickens- but we never had roosters of our own, this is my first. Ive been around roosters plenty- but never owned one, and I feel silly asking what to me seems a question I of all should know the answer already. The answer is important to me because even though I am getting two more hens next Sunday, I am re-homing the rooster, but I do want baby chicks- a guy's coming Sunday to pick him up. Should I wait on that? or is there a darn good chance the hen is.. enceinte and about to lay fertilized eggs? (sigh)

 

[JacinLarkwell]

If they're breeding, there will be fertile eggs. That doesn't look like a blue Sumatra male though. But just because they're fertile doesn't mean she'll go broody.

 

[Pentatonchix]

That doesn't look like a blue Sumatra male though.

The rooster is Aseel, the hen is blue Sumatra

 

[keesmom]

The eggs will be fertile. However you need an incubator or broody hen for them to develop into chicks.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You will need to crack an egg to make sure. If one is fertile the others probably are too. This shows you what to look for.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/16008/how-to-tell-a-fertile-vs-infertile-egg-pictures

If they are mating the odds are really high that the eggs are fertile. Any eggs laid within 10 days to to weeks after the boy is gone should also be fertile. Once you get past two weeks it is less certain.

 

[analogue]

No eggs yet guys- theyve been busy mating all day you have no idea- Ive been waiting for the day they mate for so long. Hen finally "gave in". Reason I am anxious is because I promised the roo to a nice guy who Ive done poultry business with before &I know he won't abuse the roo by fighting him. Where I live, there's a lot of cockfighting and raising fighting cocks in the Hispanic community. They cut the combs & wattles off with scissors and drug the birds, it's terrible. Anyway- yeah Im wanting to know if for sure, some baby chicks are in order. Is it possible they mate, and nothing comes of it? was my basic question....

 

[keesmom]

Anyway- yeah Im wanting to know if for sure, some baby chicks are in order. Is it possible they mate, and nothing comes of it? was my basic question....

Do you have an incubator?

 

[kerbotx]

Has the hen reached point of lay? She is old enough to be laying eggs by now, but you didn't specifically mention it... Mating by itself will not cause her to lay.

 

[analogue]

She's nine mo. old- I should think she's old enough by now. She's been very interested in nesting areas, picking over them, & if I come near the nest box she rushes over and gets all possessive over it- something she's never done before. She definitely is acting different than she usually is, I guess I am just anxious is all. You all know how it is. EDIT- ok here's pics. Every time I tried to get a good pic of the Hen, "this" happened. You can see from his face he didn't want me around with that camera.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Has the hen reached point of lay? She is old enough to be laying eggs by now, but you didn't specifically mention it...

She's nine mo. old- I should think she's old enough by now.

Wait, so she's not even laying yet? You're probably out of luck in that case then.

Even if she does somehow start laying in the next two weeks or so, it's not recommended to hatch from pullet eggs as they're usually too small to allow for healthy development.