at what age do roosters mate

[maoriauctions]

i have a rooster who hatched about 22/11/07 im just wondering how long before they are old enough to mate, hes at the stage at the moment where hes trying to crow and i have to laugh. think he is a New Hampshire Red X Barred Rock i bought a bunch of fertilised eggs hes black and white spotted if that helps

 

[bantymum]

Hi, they seem to differ depending apon the amount of other older roos around them, however if he is learning to crow that is a good sign that he should be soon starting.
Hopefully he will learn NOT to grab the poor girls by the head like mine did. They can be a bit rough on them at first, especially if the girls put up a fight.
My older hens just see him coming and squat for him!!!!
the younger ones run away but he tackles them and gets them in the end!!

 

[MissPrissy]

Around 5 months (give or take) of age a cockeral starts to try and mate with the hens. This doesn't mean they know what they are doing or that they are fertile. My BR cockeral is now over 10 months old and has just started to show his fertility in the eggs my hens are laying. Some cockerals may be fertile before this time and some after. Some may never be fertile even though they are seen doing the deed. When the time comes and the cockeral is mating the hens crack a few eggs and look for the signs of fertility.

 

[Tortilla]

They should be fertilized ,use a normal flashlight and if you dont have one use the flashlight from your phone. Put the flashlight under the egg (bottom) and see if there is a black circle (looks like a small coin) inside the egg, that means it is fertilized.

 

[aart]

They should be fertilized ,use a normal flashlight and if you dont have one use the flashlight from your phone. Put the flashlight under the egg (bottom) and see if there is a black circle (looks like a small coin) inside the egg, that means it is fertilized.

This a very old thread @Tortilla ....and sorry to say but, you can't tell if an egg is fertilized by candling until it has been incubated for 3-5 days.