Breeding question

[Brx76]

Not sure how to word this question.

If a hen is accidentally bred with the "wrong " rooster, how long until successive breedings with the "right" rooster will give his chicks? Put another way, when does the second rooster's genes replace the first rooster's?

 

[Mrs. K]

3-4 weeks to be sure.

 

[Brx76]

3-4 weeks to be sure.

Thanks

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, welcome to the forum. I'll go into details that might help you plan.

It takes an egg about 25 hours to go through a hen's internal egg making factory. That egg can only be fertilized in the first few minutes of that journey. That means if a mating takes place on a Friday, Friday's egg will not be fertile from that mating. Saturday's might or might not be, don't count on it. Sunday's egg will be fertile.

That was after a mating. A rooster does not necessarily mate with every hen in his flock every day, but he doesn't have to. In the last part of the mating act the rooster hops off, his part is done. The hen stands up, fluffs up, and shakes. That fluffy shake gets the sperm into a special container near where the egg starts its journey.

Sperm remains viable in that container for 9 days to over three weeks. It varies by bird. Most people count on two weeks for the eggs to remain fertile, that usually works. That means the sperm is usually in good shape at two weeks. By three weeks most of it in most birds is not very viable, many breeders and such wait three weeks. But there have been cases where that sperm has remained viable for over three weeks. So to be as sure as you can be wait four weeks.

 

[Brx76]

Hi, welcome to the forum. I'll go into details that might help you plan.

It takes an egg about 25 hours to go through a hen's internal egg making factory. That egg can only be fertilized in the first few minutes of that journey. That means if a mating takes place on a Friday, Friday's egg will not be fertile from that mating. Saturday's might or might not be, don't count on it. Sunday's egg will be fertile.

That was after a mating. A rooster does not necessarily mate with every hen in his flock every day, but he doesn't have to. In the last part of the mating act the rooster hops off, his part is done. The hen stands up, fluffs up, and shakes. That fluffy shake gets the sperm into a special container near where the egg starts its journey.

Sperm remains viable in that container for 9 days to over three weeks. It varies by bird. Most people count on two weeks for the eggs to remain fertile, that usually works. That means the sperm is usually in good shape at two weeks. By three weeks most of it in most birds is not very viable, many breeders and such wait three weeks. But there have been cases where that sperm has remained viable for over three weeks. So to be as sure as you can be wait four weeks.

Thanks

 

[Christianson97]

Hi, welcome to the forum. I'll go into details that might help you plan.

It takes an egg about 25 hours to go through a hen's internal egg making factory. That egg can only be fertilized in the first few minutes of that journey. That means if a mating takes place on a Friday, Friday's egg will not be fertile from that mating. Saturday's might or might not be, don't count on it. Sunday's egg will be fertile.

That was after a mating. A rooster does not necessarily mate with every hen in his flock every day, but he doesn't have to. In the last part of the mating act the rooster hops off, his part is done. The hen stands up, fluffs up, and shakes. That fluffy shake gets the sperm into a special container near where the egg starts its journey.

Sperm remains viable in that container for 9 days to over three weeks. It varies by bird. Most people count on two weeks for the eggs to remain fertile, that usually works. That means the sperm is usually in good shape at two weeks. By three weeks most of it in most birds is not very viable, many breeders and such wait three weeks. But there have been cases where that sperm has remained viable for over three weeks. So to be as sure as you can be wait four weeks.

Thank you for the in depth explanation. I’ve got a silkie rooster right now and might be able to “use” a polish rooster in the future and was wondering how long it would take for the new roo to inseminate my hens.

 

[aart]

I’ve got a silkie rooster right now and might be able to “use” a polish rooster in the future and was wondering how long it would take for the new roo to inseminate my hens.

The new male may inseminate the hens immediately,
but the hens need to be cleared of previous males sperm, that takes time.
Keep the hens away from any male for 3-4 weeks, then introduce the chosen male.