Fertilization of Eggs

[tplummer]

I know this might be a dumb question, but how many eggs can be fertilized by a rooster and a hen mating one time. I know with our bearded dragons, one mating can last for months. I doubt very seriously it is the same with chickens. Just thought I would ask. I like to move my roosters around and just wanted to be more sure of the father.

 

[Ridgerunner]

After mating, a hen will normally be fertile for 2 weeks. I have seen posts on here where the hens have remained fertile for over three weeks, but it is rare. If you want to be very sure of the father, wait 4 weeks after the old rooster is removed, but I think a lot of people use 3 weeks as a guideline.

A hen's eggs will normally be fertile two days after a successful mating, not the day after mating. And a rooster does not mate with every hen in his flock immediately after he is introduced to the hens. Depending on the number of hens, it may take a few days for all eggs to be fertile.

Hope this helps.

 

[tplummer]

It does. Thank you.

 

[fordmommy]

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