After 3 nights of 3 am crowing the big black roo had to go, he was upsetting too many neighbors. We handed him over to someone else more able to handle a LOUD roo. Now we are just left with the hen and the first roo we rounded up that was all beat up when he came in and in the 2 weeks he's been here he's not uttered even a resemblance of a crow. He wasn't the dominant roo by far with the other around or when he was running around as a stray. So the question is this, since the hen laid her egg before the loud roo was removed (hours before) can I assume he mated her right after and if she lays tomorrow it could possibly be fertilized by him? Don't know yet if the other roo will pick up on the manly duties but we'll see. Whatever she lays will be tried in the incubator with the ones coming in this week just to see if we get anything.
Don't know about your egg, but I think the fertilisation can last up to 5 days - I am pretty sure I read that somewhere, but I might be wrong. I am predicting though that your remaining rooster will take up the top job and you will have a crower in him down the track. HOpe not. Would be a shame to get rid of him too.
I'm pretty sure that if the chickens were actively mating, that the next few eggs are fertilized. But I'm not 100% sure, so don't take my word for it. As for the other Roo, I'm sure he will take over in a few days/a week as soon as the pecking oder is established with the hen. Unless you have a very dominate hen and a wuss for a Roo. I had two Roos. A bantam and a easter chick that turned out to be a Sicilian Buttercup Roo (weird because I hear that's a rare breed and I bought it from a bin of $1.95 dyed easter chicks.) Anyways, the bantam matured first and was doing all the crowing. As soon as the buttercup matured though, they both crowed for 2 weeks or so then I noticed that only the buttercup would crow...as early as 2:30 in the morning... The bantam Roo fell to the very bottom of the pecking oder. Even the hens were attacking him. I found him shoved under the coop ramp, head wedged between the ground and the ramp one morning and thought he was dead. Turns out he was just hiding. I pulled him out and found that he was missing all the feathers on his head. He now stays in a 4X4X2 dog kennel and after 2 days... started crowing again even though he's in full view of the coop, only about 5 feet away. So, I'm sure your quiet Roo will take over, but he may not stay quiet now that he's head Roo. Good luck with him though, Thankfully we haven't had any complaints with out neighbors about our 2 in the morning alarm.
I learned on here that the hen can retain sperm for up to 3 weeks. So it's a toss up as to what which roo your eggs will have been fertilized with.
Well, instead of a crow this morning we heard him 'cackle'. We know it was him because this is the only sound he makes and it sounds really strange! I'm thinking the hen might dominate him but we'll see, he took to us rather fast after we doctored him up a couple of weeks ago. The hen though..... terrified when we get in the pen but hoping over time that changes.
