Fertile eggs

[Mickey211]

Hello everyone

latley I have been doing a bit of research about how to get my hens fertilised, at the moment I have 3 hens 2 currently laying and the other one is on and off she is still young. Anyway next spring I was thinking about adding a rooster and getting some chicks .

So how do I go about adding the rooster to an already developed flock (after quarantine)?? What do I need to know about the behaviour of a broody hen?? Will a hen go broody with a rooster in the coop?? How long do I leave the eggs before I can eat them again?? How long do I leave the rooster in with the hens to get maximum fertility?? When do I need to add the rooster?? Do I need to add special feed for the chicks when they hatch??

I know for sure that I am going to leave the chicks with mumma I want as little intervention into them (as in I want to let mum raise her chicks by herself)

basically I want to know everything there is to know about raising chicks, so I can hopefully do it successfully next season. But first I want to get all my chickens in line so I know what I’m doing and there is minimum surprises

thankyou in advanced.

 

[CluckerFamily]

I do the see but no touch integration for 2 weeks before allowing the rooster to mingle with the ladies.
Not all hens go broody, have any of yours gone broody yet? They will go broody even if there is no rooster. A broody hen will sit almost all day on eggs and only get up for food and water, if you take her off the nest she has created, she will loudly holler at you.
You can still gather eggs daily and still eat the eggs.
As for how quickly will they be fertile, you can keep track of the fertility rate by recording/tallying how many eggs are fertile as you use them for baking or eating.

 

[Mickey211]

Thank

I do the see but no touch integration for 2 weeks before allowing the rooster to mingle with the ladies.
Not all hens go broody, have any of yours gone broody yet? They will go broody even if there is no rooster. A broody hen will sit almost all day on eggs and only get up for food and water, if you take her off the nest she has created, she will loudly holler at you.
You can still gather eggs daily and still eat the eggs.
As for how quickly will they be fertile, you can keep track of the fertility rate by recording/tallying how many eggs are fertile as you use them for baking or eating.

Thankyou for the reply, no none of my hens have gone broody yet but they are still on the younger side. I am only looking to add the rooster for a short period of time while the hens are broody so I can get chicks.

 

[Mickey211]

Hello everyone

latley I have been doing a bit of research about how to get my hens fertilised, at the moment I have 3 hens 2 currently laying and the other one is on and off she is still young. Anyway next spring I was thinking about adding a rooster and getting some chicks .

So how do I go about adding the rooster to an already developed flock (after quarantine)?? What do I need to know about the behaviour of a broody hen?? Will a hen go broody with a rooster in the coop?? How long do I leave the eggs before I can eat them again?? How long do I leave the rooster in with the hens to get maximum fertility?? When do I need to add the rooster?? Do I need to add special feed for the chicks when they hatch??

I know for sure that I am going to leave the chicks with mumma I want as little intervention into them (as in I want to let mum raise her chicks by herself)

basically I want to know everything there is to know about raising chicks, so I can hopefully do it successfully next season. But first I want to get all my chickens in line so I know what I’m doing and there is minimum surprises

thankyou in advanced.

Edit I am only looking to add the rooster for a short period of time so the hens can become fertile.

 

[CluckerFamily]

Do your ladies free range? Roosters are great at alerting the flock a predator is near and they need to take cover or run to the coop.

 

[Mickey211]

Do your ladies free range? Roosters are great at alerting the flock a predator is near and they need to take cover or run to the coop.

Yes they free range and they love it. This is another reason I would like a rooster

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

It seems REALLY mean to add a rooster short term. I had an mean rooster and he had to go. The girls were absolutely devastated and lost for weeks. It was really sad. I now have a new rooster and they seem to adore him. He looks out for them. He grabs the biggest treats and puts them off to the side for the girls that aren’t getting any. He sings the happy egg song with them! He calls to them when he sees me with treats. He is constantly scanning the yard to keep them safe. If he can’t see one of his ladies, he runs so fast looking for them. Why would you want to give this gift to your girls and then take it away? I think that if you want fertilized eggs, you ask around locally (even check a local Ag store), or buy them online. I did not quarantine my rooster for even a minute. He came from a very reliable source. He was two months younger than the others and he had no problems fitting in quickly.

 

[neo71665]

X2 why put him in for only short term. If you want hatching eggs just leave him in there.

 

[Toryhillc]

It seems REALLY mean to add a rooster short term. I had an mean rooster and he had to go. The girls were absolutely devastated and lost for weeks. It was really sad. I now have a new rooster and they seem to adore him. He looks out for them. He grabs the biggest treats and puts them off to the side for the girls that aren’t getting any. He sings the happy egg song with them! He calls to them when he sees me with treats. He is constantly scanning the yard to keep them safe. If he can’t see one of his ladies, he runs so fast looking for them. Why would you want to give this gift to your girls and then take it away? I think that if you want fertilized eggs, you ask around locally (even check a local Ag store), or buy them online. I did not quarantine my rooster for even a minute. He came from a very reliable source. He was two months younger than the others and he had no problems fitting in quickly.

 

[Toryhillc]

I agree. I never really wanted a rooster, but after gearing 2 in a batch of unsexed silkies I now love them. They will make sure their girls are safe and looked after and keep the sillier ones in line(the ones that would forage all day even if danger present) I would not get rid of them for the world.