egg fertility

[BikerBabeRules]

Is it safe to assume that if pullets are laying and roosters have access to them, the eggs will be fertile? Also, if there are older hens in the mix who are currently not laying due to the winter break, are the roosters leaving them alone or hitting them up regardless if they are laying or not?
Thanks!

 

[MakNat]

Yes!! Some say you should give your pullets a couple of weeks to lay before you try to hatch their eggs. Just because they are still young!! One breeding can last 3 weeks!
Not sure about the 2nd question...

 

[ultra1classic]

my roos don't discriminate...doesn't seem to matter to them at all

 

[sonew123]

Quote:
Hey Kathy-Natalie here I hate to say it but Im going to say no....A friend of mine had a roo that mated the hens all the time-she saw him mating constantly- he missed his mark everytime-dont know what the problem was but it took over 2 months for him to get it right Now she has no question to her fertility...( she checked fertility the whole 2 months by opening her eggs and looked for teh bullseye and incubated many throughout that were clear duds..

 

[sonew123]

oh yes also-my hens that are taking breaks because of winter still get mated whether they are laying eggs or not-and if you watch closely you can tell when your pullets are close to laying age because the roo will mate them too-if thats the case you can judge when you should be getting eggs from certain pullets...I have too much time on my hands...LOL...

 

[BikerBabeRules]

To funny Natalie. I didn't want to crack open the eggs to check and I wasn't crazy about setting eggs that might not be fertile. I only have the 3 roosters now, so was just trying to figure out who they may be covering. Was hoping the non-layers weren't getting bred, thus making it easy for me to know that all the layed eggs are indeed fertile. Well crap, that makes my life more difficult now....I do know who's laying so I spose I could just do some pen jockying and start hatching again..
How's things with you? I still can't tell the sex of the silkie babies!

 

[sonew123]

Quote:
Haha-3 roosters is all you have left? You must be lost! LOL...If you can-this is what i did-I waited ( not that you have the time haha) till each one laid and egg and marked them so I knew who they belonged to-cracked one from each hen-if I saw a bullseye-I knew they were getting mated. If you are selling the fertile eggs I wouldnt chance it-It crack one from each hen open:-( you can do a test hatch of a days collection of eggs-wait till you see fertility-then chuck the eggs:-( I havent done this but Ive heard of people doing it...I wound up with 2 girls and 1 boy silkie from that bunch-no crowing yet? One of the girls have started laying-yeah couple weeks ago...how are things with you? quieted down some? Haven't seen you in the "news"' altely so thats a good sign?

 

[saladin]

Indeed the answer is an emphatic NO!

Fertility of cocks fluctuates throughout the year especially during the moult.

A cock could care less whether the hens are laying or not. Cocks will often choose favorites as well. Thus, it is possible to have a cock in with say 8 to 10 hens and one of them may never or seldom ever get bred. saladin

 

[lildinkem]

ALOT of things can prevent fertility. A good friend of mine raises Exhibition BUFF Orpingtons, and he has to bring in new blood every 5 to 6 years, or he will have next to no fertility. More so OLDER Roo's are less likely to hit on every single hen/pullet in a given pen, they tend to have favorites. Depending on the numbers or ratio of cockerel to pullet, the boy might not have enough energy. And speaking of energy, IF your breeding pen is too big, the poor little guy can wear himself out chasing the girls.
And some breeds are definitely more prolific then others.

 

[panner123]

Roos are like teenagers, they hit on all the ladys. Both the younger and older ones miss the spot sometimes, even if they get it right they are shooting blanks. And if it is a young hen, she can take up to 3 weeks before she puts out a fertile egg.
In my mutt runs (eating eggs) I have 1 roo for every 15 hens, I could care less if the eggs are fertile.
In my breeding runs, I have 1 roo for 3 hens. In these runs the fertility is 98%, still a miss every once in awhile.
If you are looking to breed a certain breed for show, I would use only chickens that are between 1 and 2 years old. This is when you get the best results. It is not to say that older chickens can't produce quality chicks, just not as often.
Look at it from the human side, would a woman in her prime look to a baby or a man on social security. Either might work but the outcome will not be as good as a 20 to 30 year old man.