Fertile egg time

[ZachyWachy]

We are going to be getting a roo to breed with our hens, and I was wondering how long to expect a hen to lay fertile eggs after breeding once (that way I can determine how long to put her in confinement with the roo to make sure she gets bred). If breed matters then he is a black australorp and l have 14 hens (if their breeds are needed then just let me know and I'll gladly put them up). We will have a breeding pen, but we will also let him have some time to free range when he doesn't need to breed any specific hens. And please tell me what you can about black sex-links, l am expecting some from him breeding with a barred rock hen.

 

[Ridgerunner]

A little more than you asked for but maybe helpful. It takes an egg about 25 hours to make its way through the hen’s internal egg making factory. That egg can only be fertilized during the first few minutes of that journey. That means if a mating takes place on a Sunday, Sunday’s egg is obviously not fertile. Monday’s egg might be but don’t count on it. Tuesday’s egg will be fertile. This assumes a successful mating. Not all are, even though they go through the mating act.

The last part of the mating act is that the rooster hops off, the hen stands up, fluffs her feathers, and shakes. That fluffy shake gets the sperm into a special container inside the hen near the start of that internal egg making factory. That sperm can possibly stay viable in that container for over three weeks, but it normally doesn’t. Most people count on the hen laying fertile eggs for only two weeks. Anything over two weeks is starting to be a gamble.

Breed will not matter to the rooster. Any rooster will try to mate with any hen, regardless of breed. Breed is a manmade thing. Chickens do not see breed, they see chicken.

Do you have any specific questions about black sex links? That’s a pretty wide open question. A BA rooster over a barred hen like a BR will produce chicks where the males have a spot on their head and the females don’t. What else do you want to know about them?

 

[ZachyWachy]

Thank you for the egg part, that is helpful. I would like to know things like egg/meat production, free ranging ability, hot summer/cold winter survival, and how docile they are.

 

[Ridgerunner]

When you cross chickens they inherit the traits of the parents. Expect them to be like their parents.

All black sex linked means is that you can see the spot on the chick down on the males and the females do not have the spot. There is no link to behaviors, production, or anything else. It’s just about down color.

 

[ZachyWachy]

Ok, then they should turn out fairly good production birds, I've heard that barred rocks are bossy (haven't seen it in my flock though, I have just 1/3 left now though) so probably bossy. I just got back from getting the big guy by the way!

He's so big! I can't wait to see the crosses he makes.