Fertilized eggs

[Elegantenvy]

So I got my rooster a couple months ago. His transition to my flock of 5 girls was a rough one. For the longest time they didn't accept him and poor guy got a little beat up. Theyve been free ranging together for a while now and they seem better with him. He still is kinda distant when they eat together. And I've seen my barred rocks go after him when it comes to food. He also roosts separately from them still at night. Early this morning I heard his crow for the first time since i got him. ( The people I got him from told me he crow was impressive).

So I'm guessing my eggs aren't fertilized. I've looked for the bullseye and don't really notice anything. So I'm assuming he's not mating with them . Could he still be nervous or uncomfortable? I really wanted to hatch some of my own eggs but I'm thinking it's never gonna happen. He wanders around with them, but I just never see him try to mate with them. Am I just being impatient or is this odd? He's very close in age to my girls. They are 9 months old .

Picture of my boy. Still no name BC I can't think of a

good enough one for him.

 

[IamRainey]

I don't see a lot of wattle. Is he still too immature?

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Do you have a full body picture of him????

 

[Elegantenvy]

I don't see a lot of wattle. Is he still too immature?

I'm not sure. I mean.. I think they said he was 6 months when I got him. I've had him a couple months so that makes him like.. 9?

 

[Elegantenvy]

Do you have a full body picture of him????

Let me see if I can get one.

 

[Elegantenvy]

 

[aart]

So I'm guessing my eggs aren't fertilized. I've looked for the bullseye and don't really notice anything.

Have you found the blastodisc?
All yolks have this 'white dot'...if fertile there will be a ring around it.
May be that they have not submitted to him yet,
the crow may indicate that his status is rising.
But roosting separately indicates he probably has not been accepted.
Just keep looking for that bullseye.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Cockerels (pullets too) mature at different rates. It's not just a matter of the calendar but fast they mature. I had a cockerel that was fertilizing eggs at 5 months, even with the older hens. Once only, that is really rare. I had one that did not mature enough to fertilize all the eggs until he was 11 months. For most of my cockerels 7 to 8 months is when they are mature enough to take over the flock when no mature rooster is around. You don't have another mature rooster around so that part doesn't matter.

It's hard to tell exactly how old he is, let alone how mature. From your description of his behaviors, especially roosting, my guess is that he has not reached the maturity level to take over. He may be mating some of your less dominant pullets but the more mature may have nothing to do with him. Him sleeping separately from them at night is a classic behavior of a less dominant chicken around more dominant chickens. He should eventually grow up, mentally, emotionally, and socially as well as physically.

You won't always see them mating, especially if they are not the top chicken. The more dominant female might beat him up (even if he is much bigger) if she sees him mating another hen. It's hard to tell from that photo and he is a different breed but he really doesn't look like he is as old as those pullets.

My suggestion is to repeat whet others said. Wait until you see enough eggs with the bull's eye before you incubate. This linked thread shows you what to look for when you are looking for the bull's eye.

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

 

[Elegantenvy]

Hmm. Interesting. Maybe they were wrong on his age when I got him. He does get picked on by my barred rocks and he seems to submit to them. Haven't seen any bullseye's. My last rooster was a golden seabright bantam and he grew with my girls and was the same age. I saw him mate with them several times, but he was killed by my neighbors dog.

I didn't really know what to expect with the new guy because he's the first I've ever had to introduce to my flock.

But I'll gladly take the advice and just wait patiently for him to feel more comfortable and confident.

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

He is such a handsome fella! Definitely worth the wait!