Adding a rooster

[ffbmac]

Hello all, I am new to this site and forums in general so hope i'm not doing anything too incorrectly, anyway... I am wanting my Rhode island Red hens to raise a few chicks this spring. I am planning to get a rooster and am wondering if anyone can tell me about how long after introducing the rooster will it take for their eggs to become fertile. Thanks for any info. and just want to say im really enjoying the site already.

 

[DaughterOfEve]

Not sure about that one. I think it is immediate. So if you bring in a too one day, you should be good to go the next day. If you have another too he will need to be removed from access to the rhodies, cause its sperm can hang around a few days and muddy the waters so to speak

 

[gryeyes]

Well, I'd give it a week just to ensure all the hens have had a turn with the new rooster.

Something else in your post leads me to believe you think your hens will hatch and raise chicks. Just naturally.

This is one of the biggest misconceptions held by folks new to chickens: all hens will hatch chicks if you just don't take their eggs away. NOT TRUE.

And, unfortunately, particularly true with regard to RIRs. It's not a "broody" breed, as a general rule. (I know of a couple BYCers who have had A - yes, single - RIR go broody, each.)

Y'see, most hatchery chicks come from production birds, that is, birds with "broodiness" bred out of them so there is no down time due to a hen wanting to hatch eggs instead of just lay them.

Multitudes of BYCers have had flocks in which NO hen ever went broody, even those breeds more reputed to be inclined towards broodiness.

If so, you'll have to add a few more hens from breeds more commonly found to be broody. Check out Henderson's Handy Dandy Chicken Chart at http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

Or hatch the fertile eggs artificially, through the use of an incubator.

 

[DaughterOfEve]

Yep.