Changing roosters, how long should I wait. . .

[azelgin]

To be sure the eggs have been fertilized by the new rooster? All our different breeds free range together and the dominate rooster is not the one we want to father the "children". We have the appropriate hens confined with the proper rooster now and were wondering how long we should wait before using the eggs to incubate some new chicks, to be sure the offspring belong to the new dad? If we set them to soon, I'm afraid we'll end up with a bunch of Orpingdottes. Or, would they be Wyanpingtons?
Thanks.
Randy

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I would wait a month.

 

[azelgin]

Geez, I'm not sure they will still speak to me if I lock them up for a month! They have been in there for about a week now and spend all day pacing the run asking to be set free. Maybe we'll go ahead and see what a Orpingdotte turns out like. I thought about locking up the other rooster, but I wouldn't be able to tell which brown eggs belong to the BOs. Oh well.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

A rooster can fertilze a hens eggs up to 3 weeks or more.. So to want fetilze eggs from the new rooster I would wait 4 weeks.