Do I need to separate?

[Pgrine]

I have silkies 2 Roo's 2 hens in the same coop as my Lavender Orpington Roo's and 2 lavender Orpington hens and about 14 buff hens. I want to start collecting eggs to hatch. I don't want a mix of silkies/Orpington chicks. How soon do I need to separate so I don't hatch out mixes?

 

[DobieLover]

Sperm can last as long as 3.5 weeks in the hen, although that is rare.
I suppose if you wanted to be absolutely sure, split them off into breeding groups a month before collecting eggs. 3 weeks might be okay, but 4 weeks is a sure bet.

Editted to correct stupid typo!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Sperm can last as long as 3.5 months in the hen, although that is rare.
I suppose if you wanted to be absolutely sure, split them off into breeding groups a month before collecting eggs. 3 weeks might be okay, but 4 weeks is a sure bet.

Weeks, not months. Darn typos.

A question you did not ask that might help you. It takes about 25 hours for an egg to go through the hen's internal egg making factory. It can only be fertilized in the first few minutes of this journey. That means if a mating takes place on a Thursday, Thursday egg is not fertile. Friday's egg might or might not be, depending on timing. Don't count on it. Saturday's egg should be fertile.

A rooster does not necessarily mate with every hen available every day, that's why I said after a mating. But he doesn't have to. After the rooster hops off the hen stands up, fluffs up, and shakes. This shake gets the sperm into a special pouch near where the egg starts its internal journey. The sperm can remain viable in that pouch from 9 days to over three weeks. Most of us count on two weeks but it can vary. A lot of people use three weeks separation, it usually works. But four weeks is a bit safer.

 

[DobieLover]

Weeks, not months. Darn typos.

A question you did not ask that might help you. It takes about 25 hours for an egg to go through the hen's internal egg making factory. It can only be fertilized in the first few minutes of this journey. That means if a mating takes place on a Thursday, Thursday egg is not fertile. Friday's egg might or might not be, depending on timing. Don't count on it. Saturday's egg should be fertile.

A rooster does not necessarily mate with every hen available every day, that's why I said after a mating. But he doesn't have to. After the rooster hops off the hen stands up, fluffs up, and shakes. This shake gets the sperm into a special pouch near where the egg starts its internal journey. The sperm can remain viable in that pouch from 9 days to over three weeks. Most of us count on two weeks but it can vary. A lot of people use three weeks separation, it usually works. But four weeks is a bit safer.

 

[Mimi13]

This may be odd, but I have had my cockerel penned up away from the girls for about 2 1/2 months, yes months. This past week as I cooked with my freshly laid eggs, there were many eggs that still showed fertility.

 

[aart]

This may be odd, but I have had my cockerel penned up away from the girls for about 2 1/2 months, yes months. This past week as I cooked with my freshly laid eggs, there were many eggs that still showed fertility.

Pics?

 

[Mimi13]

Pics?

I did not take any pictures of the yolks, just remember thinking how strange. They were definitely fertile.

I have since turned the new little BO cockerel out with my girls, once this past Monday, so I could not make this longevity statement now. My earlier post was what I saw before this past Monday.

However, I do still have a couple dozen eggs that were laid prior to the BO’s being turned loose. Hmmmm?!? I shall check.

 

[aart]

However, I do still have a couple dozen eggs that were laid prior to the BO’s being turned loose. Hmmmm?!? I shall check.

There have been discussions about eggs that look fertile but are not...I can't remember what it's called...ah, googling close to spelling helped me find it.....parthenogenesis. Not sure if that totally correct tho.
@ChickenCanoe and/or @Ridgerunner probably know the details.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Parthenogenesis can occur and you can even get live hatches. It's mainly been documented in turkeys more than chickens. It's been years since I read about it about it and don't remember how it happens. It is kind of hereditary but even in flocks of turkeys bred for it the rate is pretty small. It doesn't just make the eggs look fertile, they actually are.

Mimi, I don't know if that caused some of your eggs to look fertile or not. There are probably other things that could cause them to look fertile. I put this down to you can never tell what will happen with living animals. When you make blanket statements about anything there can be exceptions.

 

[Pgrine]

Weeks, not months. Darn typos.

A question you did not ask that might help you. It takes about 25 hours for an egg to go through the hen's internal egg making factory. It can only be fertilized in the first few minutes of this journey. That means if a mating takes place on a Thursday, Thursday egg is not fertile. Friday's egg might or might not be, depending on timing. Don't count on it. Saturday's egg should be fertile.

A rooster does not necessarily mate with every hen available every day, that's why I said after a mating. But he doesn't have to. After the rooster hops off the hen stands up, fluffs up, and shakes. This shake gets the sperm into a special pouch near where the egg starts its internal journey. The sperm can remain viable in that pouch from 9 days to over three weeks. Most of us count on two weeks but it can vary. A lot of people use three weeks separation, it usually works. But four weeks is a bit safer.

Thank you!! That was amazingly informative! I never really thought of this until I had a mixed flock. I separated the chickens.