FERTILITY question for breeding

[My2butterflies]

sorry Im not sure I understand what that analogy was supposed to mean

I think it is relating to mixing chicken breeds and making “mutts”.
I could be wrong, but that’s what makes sense to me.

Doesn’t have anything to do with what was asked though.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

my hens have been in with their rooster for 4 or 5 days. I checked eggs today for fertility- doesn't look like it. Does it sometimes take a week or two until they decide to like each other? I haven't seen him mating all of them, but have seen some action.

The mechanisms that answer your questions are not entirely well understood.
After mating, initial sperm retention is in the sperm storage tubules in the vagina. Eventually that semen makes its way to more tubules in the infundibulum. That may happen when the next egg is laid, squeezes some out and it makes its way up the 25 inches of oviduct. That time frame is not well understood yet. At the same time, there is a thing called cryptic female choice whereby a hen can assure her eggs are fertilized by favored semen.
With that said, I can surmise it is possible to take 4 or 5 days or possibly more from the initial mating to get fertile eggs. Perhaps sooner if it is a particularly productive hen laying 5 or more eggs a week.
This article may help your understanding and the ability to make good choices.
Sperm Storage in the Female Reproductive Tract in Birds (nih.gov)

 

[Ridgerunner]

It takes an egg about 25 hours to go 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 Monday, Monday's egg is not fertile from that mating. Tuesday's egg might or might not be, depending on timing. Do not count on it. Wednesday's egg will be fertile, provided it was a successful mating. Not all matings are successful.

A rooster does not necessarily mate with every hen in his flock every day, but he doesn't have to. In the last part of the mating act the rooster hops off. The hen then stands up, fluffs up, and shakes. This fluffy shake gets the sperm into the storage area near where an egg starts its journey. That sperm can remain viable there for a while, anywhere from 9 days to over three weeks. In rare cases over four weeks but many breeders use three weeks as good enough. How sure do you want to be? I'd be happy with four weeks.

Not all girls will accept a boy to mate with. Some pullets may not have matured to the point that they will squat instead of run away. Some hens, especially older hens, want a male to act like he would be a good father to their children before she'll squat for him. This often happens with immature cockerels but can with older males. Some boys never mature to the point that they act grown up. Some hens have very high expectations.

Some roosters are more active than others. A vigorous rooster can keep a flock of 25 hens fertile, some may struggle to keep up with five hens. Some roosters may be infertile or have very weak sperm. Some are hatched that way or injury, illness, or a heavy parasite load may be the cause. Some roosters are a lot less vigorous when they are molting.

A professor at the University of Arkansas Poultry Science school that specialized in poultry reproduction said that the sperm container acted on a last in-first out basis. The rooster that did the most recent mating would be the father. He is an expert, I'm not, but I'd still want to wait.

I'll attach a link that shows what to look for when opening an egg to see if it is fertile. You may have already seen this. Every egg should have a blastoderm, that's the hen's contribution to genetics. What you are looking for is the ring around it to make a bull's eye. Sometimes I have to gently turn an egg over to find the blastoderm or bull's eye. If most of the eggs you open are fertile, most of the eggs you don't open should be also, especially from the same hen. If you wish you can post some photos of the egg yolk showing that spot and maybe we can help you be sure. Getting a good shot isn't always easy, the photo can have a glare.

Fertile Egg Photos

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/16008/how-to-tell-a-fertile-vs-infertile-egg-pictures