Breeding Questions

[Charlene1234]

First question: How old can a rooster be in order to fertilize eggs?

Second group of questions: How soon can he fertilize an egg once exposed to a hen? Or I guess how soon will the eggs be fertilized? That next egg layed?? Or day after? How long will she lay fertilized eggs after breeding?

Thanks!

 

[Kanchii]

It varies greatly from bird to bird. Some roosters will be able to mate once they're like 4-5 months old, some might not figure it out until later.
I usually leave a rooster in with hens for a week before starting to use the eggs to incubate just to be sure.

 

[Charlene1234]

Well, I just got an older hen so maybe my young rooster will figure it out sooner? Hopefully. We just made our homemade incubator and our kidlets are so excited to hatch some eggs!!! So I went out and bought this little hen to breed with our Golden Laced Wyandotte Rooster.

Hopefully she'll make some fertilized eggs. Do you know how long she'll lay fertilized eggs after exposed to a fertile rooster?

 

[Kanchii]

Are you planning on not keeping them together for a while? What you should do if you want fertilized eggs is put them together for at least a week (you may have to hang around and see if your rooster mates just to be sure he knows what hes doing) and then after a few days or a week, start collecting her eggs. If you turn them and keep them stored in room temperature you can keep collecting her eggs for a full 14 days so you get as many as possible. After day 14 the eggs will start getting old and wont grow.

 

[Charlene1234]

I think I might have to keep them apart as she is a real *itch! My chickens came up to check her out and immediately she attacked them. I cut her sharp claws off some so that she can't hurt my other sweet guys.

I'd like to put my pretty rooster and her together to see what would happen but she's not wanting anything to do with anyone right now. She attacked him pretty good. Is it just too soon to introduce them?

 

[Kanchii]

Uhoh, sounds like she's just plain mean... Try putting her in the coop with the other chickens at night when they're all asleep, I heard that makes introductions much better if they wake up with a new chicken there. They kind of figure she must have been there all along, same with the new chook.

 

[Charlene1234]

That's what I did with my rooster at night. They are all best friends now - except Miss Claire who hates the whole world right now. Poor thing is not happy. I have faith that she'll chill out though! I think she will make pretty babies once she settles down a bit. She's in the coop right now while they are out free ranging so when it's time for them to come in tonight she'll hopefully welcome them with open arms. ha ha They tried to be nice to her today until she attacked them, so I'm not sure how they'll react to her now. Maybe I did it all wrong with her. She seemed so calm and mellow when I brough her home. She scratched around in the next box and ate some leftover pb&j sandwich and some chicken feed and she seemed cool with everything until she met her new neighbors.

 

[Kanchii]

Where did you get her from? Maybe they had her by herself, or they were selling her BECAUSE she's mean?

 

[Charlene1234]

Well, Claire has settled down and gets along with the others now just fine. My only thing with her is she is NOT laying eggs - anywhere. We've searched under all the bushes and cannot find one egg. ??? I have no idea why? She did have mites and I sprinkled her with DE in hopes that would help but are there any other reasons why she might not lay eggs besides someone pawned her off on me saying she was younger when in fact she was really older?

My husband said I should go bring the lady who we got her from a dozen eggs and tell her she's a fabulous layer and thanks for such an amazing bird... ;-) I think she knew she wasn't a good layer. She told me she layed white eggs... hmmm....????