Can a chick really have more than one father??

[PunkinPeep]

When i first heard this, i'm pretty sure my mind dismissed it without consulting me.

But then my experience seems to be telling me something different.

I used to have only one rooster - a RIR, Rocky.

And i had three breeds of hens - RIR, BO, and BR.

So whenever i had a hatch, i would have either light red birds, dark blonde birds, or black sexlinks.

Then i got a BO roo. We haven't separated the flocks yet; we're just hatching fuzzy mutts.

The thing that makes me think this multiple father thing is true is that i don't get black chicks anymore. I get calico looking ones instead.

Straighten me out?

 

[Kansaseq]

Honestly, I think only one sperm can fertilize one egg.

 

[billfields]

I think that one Mommy one Daddy rule applies to chickens too

But I'm not sure how long between the time an egg is fertilized (inside the hen) until it is actually laid. For sure one hen could be laying eggs fertilized by each rooster--half siblings but still only one daddy per chick!

 

[pennie1]

I dunno, but puppies can have more than 1 daddy.

 

[hoppy]

Quote:
no they can't. a litter of puppies can have more then one father but not one pup. some pups would have been fathered by one male dog and more pups would be fathered by other males, if the female allowed another mating.
in chickens this would be true as well but keep in mind that the hen can store sperm for 3-4 weeks from one male. your hen that was giving you black, may now have a favorite roo, and not who it was before.

 

[pennie1]

Sorry Hoppy, that's what I meant to say.... I should have been in bed 2 hours ago.

 

[Redcatcher]

Well there are chimeras. They still cannot have more than one father but they can have two different sets of DNA. I am not even certain if it is possible with birds because it requires two ova. Maybe someone here will know.

 

[PunkinPeep]

hmmm

ok, so does anybody know what the chick should look like with a BO rooster and a BR hen?

 

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:
what are chimeras?

 

[TomNY]

An egg can on rare occasions can be fertilized by two different sperm. If the two sperm were from different males a bird could have two fathers. Dr. Willard Hollander did extensive studies on pigeons with different color patterns on opposite sides caused by dual fertilization. They are called Mosaics. I have seen pictures of roosters marked Mosaic. Tom