Gamma rooster

[Still Amateur]

We had three roosters, all basically 10 months old. Alpha was a black laced red Wyandotte, beta was a Lavender Ameraucana, and gamma was a Blue Ameraucana. We axed the top two (aggressive for the alpha and preferred traits of the gamma so the beta went). This was 3 weeks ago and I’m happy with the choice we made regarding which to keep. He’s not a jerk. lol.

I’ve read on here spring is mating season, but our alpha mated the flock (22 hens) nonstop throughout the coldest parts of winter and the gamma doesn’t really mount much. My wife said she’s seen it, but I’ve only seen him mount once in three weeks. How long before he realizes there is no competition?

This is mostly relevant bc we had a hen go broody so I gave her 10 eggs to sit in and I don’t want to have to worry if any of them are underutilized.

Thanks!

 

[Slothinc]

Your best bet will be to candle the eggs a week after your broody started sitting on them and remove any of them that aren’t developing. If none are developing then you can either break her from being broody, or buy some day old chicks to put under her at night and she can raise them. Your boy is probably just slower to develop than Alpha was, but as time goes on he will hopefully fill his role better.

 

[Cloverr39]

Just because you haven't seen him mating the hens often, doesn't necessarily mean he isn't doing it.
In one of my own pens, I rarely ever see the rooster mounting hens, and still all the eggs have been fertilized. He's just doing it when I'm not around.
Your rooster may just lack a bit of confidence right now because he's been at the bottom of the rooster pecking order for a while. He should get more confident with time.
I agree that you should candle the eggs you placed under the hen. If the eggs are light enough, you could potentially see the start of development at day 3-4.

P.S. Hens can retain the sperm of a rooster for multiple months after the rooster is gone. If you only removed your other roosters from the flock 3 weeks ago, there's a good chance your hens eggs will still be fertilized by your old roosters.

 

[No Coop No Problem]

P.S. Hens can retain the sperm of a rooster for multiple months after the rooster is gone. If you only removed your other roosters from the flock 3 weeks ago, there's a good chance your hens eggs will still be fertilized by your old roosters.

It's 11 days in my experience
t. 20 broodies last year

 

[Slothinc]

I had some girls laying fertilized eggs 4 weeks after giving my boys away, just a couple months ago. It’s definitely possible that the eggs are fertilized from the roosters that you removed 3 weeks ago.

 

[wrathsfarm]

Crack a couple eggs and find out. Look for the 'Bulls eye".

 

[Cloverr39]

It's 11 days in my experience
t. 20 broodies last year

It could definitely be less, as in your case. But there have been cases when hens lay fertilized eggs months after being separated from all roosters. It's not always the case, but it is possible, as it has happened to people.

 

[Still Amateur]

Your best bet will be to candle the eggs a week after your broody started sitting on them and remove any of them that aren’t developing. If none are developing then you can either break her from being broody, or buy some day old chicks to put under her at night and she can raise them. Your boy is probably just slower to develop than Alpha was, but as time goes on he will hopefully fill his role better.

Glad to know there’s hope for Toad

I did see him mount at least once yesterday… so there’s a chance!

 

[Still Amateur]

Just because you haven't seen him mating the hens often, doesn't necessarily mean he isn't doing it.
In one of my own pens, I rarely ever see the rooster mounting hens, and still all the eggs have been fertilized. He's just doing it when I'm not around.
Your rooster may just lack a bit of confidence right now because he's been at the bottom of the rooster pecking order for a while. He should get more confident with time.
I agree that you should candle the eggs you placed under the hen. If the eggs are light enough, you could potentially see the start of development at day 3-4.

P.S. Hens can retain the sperm of a rooster for multiple months after the rooster is gone. If you only removed your other roosters from the flock 3 weeks ago, there's a good chance your hens eggs will still be fertilized by your old roosters.

I thought that, too. I’ve read as few as 2-weeks of sperm retention and as much as 12-weeks depending on the hen.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’ve read on here spring is mating season,

There was an interesting conversation on this forum a few years back between breeders breeding mature chickens for show talking about this. Some of the breeders noticed that their roosters were less active during fall and winter while others said they did not slow down at all, even during molt. They agreed, the roosters would be active in spring when it warmed up. To me this is further confirmation that each chicken is an individual and they are not all going to act exactly the same way even in similar situations. For some, spring is breeding season. For others every day of the year is.

How long before he realizes there is no competition?

Some are slower to mature than others. Some are just less active. Some roosters have no problems keeping over 20 hens laying fertile eggs while others are good to handle no more than 4 or 5. Some are mating every time you turn around, some mate a lot less. Even if I were looking at them myself I probably would not know what is going on in your flock.

I’ve read as few as 2-weeks of sperm retention and as much as 12-weeks depending on the hen.

I was lucky enough to go to a couple of talks given by a Poultry Science professor that specialized in poultry reproduction, the kind of stuff we are talking about. There have been studies on sperm retention, some of those he participated in. Normal retention was 9 days to three weeks, depending on the hen and the rooster. He said you could usually count on two weeks. Many breeders assumed a hen was clean (no residual sperm) after 3 weeks but some retention was possible for longer. He suggested 4 weeks to be more sure.

There have been cases where hens retained viable sperm longer than 4 weeks. You can find a few stories on here, very few. Mother Nature is like that, she loves her exceptions whenever we try to set firm rules. But I sure would not count on many, if any, eggs hatching after 4 weeks.

With your pullets I don't know how easy it will be to tell which rooster was the father if any eggs hatch. Your Wyandotte could be easy. Your blue will contribute blue to half of his offspring and the rest will default to black. The Lavender gene is recessive so all of his kids should default to black so maybe not definitive.

Good luck!