Fertility question

[thlayli]

I have 3 cockerels. 1 was hatched in October, the other 2 in November, so they're 7-8 months old by this point, but no egg I've gotten yet is fertile. I see them dancing and mounting the pullets, and my pullets have been laying for almost two months. Is this normal? Like, not a single egg fertilized, and one day I cracked open the entire lot when every pullet had laid that day. These cockerels aren't even the same breed, or from breeders on the same side of the country! Do I just need to wait until they're older, and this is normal, or do I need to start looking for things that could cause this to happen?

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I have 3 cockerels. 1 was hatched in October, the other 2 in November, so they're 7-8 months old by this point, but no egg I've gotten yet is fertile. I see them dancing and mounting the pullets, and my pullets have been laying for almost two months. Is this normal? Like, not a single egg fertilized, and one day I cracked open the entire lot when every pullet had laid that day. These cockerels aren't even the same breed, or from breeders on the same side of the country! Do I just need to wait until they're older, and this is normal, or do I need to start looking for things that could cause this to happen?

Have you tried to post pics of the eggs ?

 

[Ridgerunner]

At that age and with the cockerels mounting the girls that is not normal. I can't think of anything that would cause no eggs to be fertile in your circumstances. It's possible with several boys that the competition may limit mating, but you are seeing some mating. Some of those should be successful. And they have been laying two months. When pullets first start laying it can take a bit to get all of the kinks out of their internal egg making factory but by two weeks they should have sorted that, it is usually only a few pullets, and it has been two months.

Can you post a few photos of the cracked eggs showing the blastoderm. It can be hard to get good photos, they tend to glare, and sometimes the blastoderm is under the yolk. I try to gently turn it with a spoon to get a look. First, eliminate the obvious.

The only other thing I can think of is to try incubating a few eggs for a week and see if they develop.

 

[Mrs. K]

It can be hard to spot, but I agree this is not normal. It would be highly improbable that 3 roosters are infertile.