I have made, by accident, the most unusual discovery!
This is the story of
Bruce-ster the rooster.
He was a Coronation rooster who died on 13/8/24 August. (Suddenly and unexpectedly)
Last possible mating was that day- to Coronation hens. Some eggs were set in my incubator 2 weeks later and hatched with high fertility (10/11).
However, on the 13th October, one of my pullets went broody and, as all the hens had all been laying in the one nest box, there were five eggs under her. All were from the rooster -less pen. I assumed that these would be infertile and useless and popped a few fertile eggs from my Light Sussex hen under her- so that she could try to hatch something. She winded up not very good at sitting on the eggs and I thought that possibly nothing would hatch.
To my surprise, three weeks later, three eggs, hatched and a fourth one half hatched! I noticed the Chicks on November 4th but they probably hatched the night before. She was very protective. These babies are now showing their feather colour and are almost 5 weeks old.. lo and behold one is a Coronation chick! Two are Light sussex chicks.
So the assumption that fertile sperm can't last that long and a hen can't actually lay a fertile egg and hatch it, but it looks like, at least in unusual circumstances, that it does happen far more than three or four weeks after the rooster has been removed. I noticed this also when cracking the eggs to eat them on my counter - months later a lot of them were still fertilised. It seems impossible but the number of weeks between last possible mating and the hen setting the eggs was 10 weeks!! And one of the chicks which hatched 3 weeks after that, is definitely his! So 13 weeks total.This means the eggs aren't just fertile but also viable.
The only thing I can say is that they were both young and very fertile, being about 6 -7 months old.
The other flock is locked up and completely unable to access the other hens. And none of my neighbours have chickens. Believe me I went through every possibility.
That was a pretty exciting discovery! Therefore if you are trying to hatch from eggs after a rooster has passed, there is a possibility it will work. Especially if setting them not long after the hen lays. (These did not sit on the bench at all- obviously and were naturally incubated by the hen.)
I think there needs to be some scientific research on this subject to possibly revise the information that commonly goes around.
This is the story of
Bruce-ster the rooster.
He was a Coronation rooster who died on 13/8/24 August. (Suddenly and unexpectedly)
Last possible mating was that day- to Coronation hens. Some eggs were set in my incubator 2 weeks later and hatched with high fertility (10/11).
However, on the 13th October, one of my pullets went broody and, as all the hens had all been laying in the one nest box, there were five eggs under her. All were from the rooster -less pen. I assumed that these would be infertile and useless and popped a few fertile eggs from my Light Sussex hen under her- so that she could try to hatch something. She winded up not very good at sitting on the eggs and I thought that possibly nothing would hatch.
To my surprise, three weeks later, three eggs, hatched and a fourth one half hatched! I noticed the Chicks on November 4th but they probably hatched the night before. She was very protective. These babies are now showing their feather colour and are almost 5 weeks old.. lo and behold one is a Coronation chick! Two are Light sussex chicks.
So the assumption that fertile sperm can't last that long and a hen can't actually lay a fertile egg and hatch it, but it looks like, at least in unusual circumstances, that it does happen far more than three or four weeks after the rooster has been removed. I noticed this also when cracking the eggs to eat them on my counter - months later a lot of them were still fertilised. It seems impossible but the number of weeks between last possible mating and the hen setting the eggs was 10 weeks!! And one of the chicks which hatched 3 weeks after that, is definitely his! So 13 weeks total.This means the eggs aren't just fertile but also viable.
The only thing I can say is that they were both young and very fertile, being about 6 -7 months old.
The other flock is locked up and completely unable to access the other hens. And none of my neighbours have chickens. Believe me I went through every possibility.
That was a pretty exciting discovery! Therefore if you are trying to hatch from eggs after a rooster has passed, there is a possibility it will work. Especially if setting them not long after the hen lays. (These did not sit on the bench at all- obviously and were naturally incubated by the hen.)
I think there needs to be some scientific research on this subject to possibly revise the information that commonly goes around.
