Do roosters go infertile in the heat?

[denasfarm]

I have a Black Silkie rooster in with 4 white and 1 Black silke hens.
I hatched 7 chicks from him about a month ago, This batch of 9 eggs under two hens candled completely empty at 2 weeks. All duds.
Has he gone infertile? Is it the Alabama summer Heat? We have seen him mating with all 5 hens. He is only a year old and not molting.
Ideas?

 

[smith2]

Can't help you much here, but I do have a few questions. Is this the first of his eggs you have tried to hatch? He may be infertile anyway or it may just be the heat. I had an infertile rooster that looked huge, but when I realized he was infertile and tried to dress him for the pot, he had a tumor the size of a softball. I would try at least a few more eggs and wait until cooler weather before I gave up on him.

 

[denasfarm]

No I have 7 chicks that are ALL his-No way they are anyone elses. They are about 12 weeks old and very healthy chicks.(Time sure flies by!My Marans are a month old)

Thats why I was so surprized that all the eggs were duds. I chunked all the duds and stuck 5 more of (his eggs) under one hen to try again. The other hen got Americauna eggs instead. (shes sitting there anyway might as well hatch something)

I have a broody Americauna hen with 7 americauna/silkie mix eggs from a white silkie rooster. Those candled very much alive and growing.

I am hopeful the 5 new eggs will hatch. He has such pretty chicklets.

 

[Year of the Rooster]

I'm no expert but it kinda makes sense. Heat kills sperm. But I think it would have to be really hot for that like.. above 95 or something. But like I said, I'm no expert.

 

[Blisschick]

I noticed the same thing with my Wyandottes. The spring eggs were really fertile, but after it started heating up, I'm lucky if 1/2 to 1/3 of the eggs laid are fertile. I just thought it was because my guy is about 2 years now and maybe he wasn't as "potent" as he used to be. I've also wondered about the heat as a possibility.