Ok, i am getting some hens and 2 roos and wednesday and was wondering how long is long enough to keep them together for breeding? I am going to loan out my roos to someone else and thats why Im asking this ?. I only plan on uncubating 10-15eggs for my first go round.
I always leave my hens without a roo for 3 weeks to make sure there isn't any other sperm that is viable and then put them in with my breeding roo for 3 weeks. That is just me though. I am sure a roo will get his job done in less time but this routine has worked well for me. I even collect eggs for a solid week after removing the roo. Sometimes the eggs are fertile and sometimes not. I haven't tried to see if they are fertile longer than that but I know there is a good chance they will be. Especially if you don't want them to be!
To be sure of fertility, you could keep them for a couple weeks, but if they've been together in their previous home and are of breeding age, the eggs are already fertile. As far as loaning out your roosters, I'd be very cautious doing that. Any bird who leaves this property never comes back due to the high probability of bringing disease into the flock. Do a search here on quarantining birds and you'll see what I mean.
This was my thought exactly, about loaning out your Roo I would never take such a chance.. Too much at stake.
