Hens are laying now, most eggs fertile...

funnybirds

Songster
9 Years
Oct 16, 2010
332
2
111
hi to all.
My hens have been laying for about two months now. We have a roo who was hatched in december and many of the eggs appear fertile. In your opinion, how old should my laying hens be before I try and hatch some of their eggs. The hens lay three a day and I need to rehome the roo due to noise( the suburbs). He's a beautiful roo and I hate to lose his future offspring as well (if that makes any sense).He was hatched in December. I remember that I had read that the fertile eggs should come from more mature hens but I can't find the post.
Any help regarding laying hen or rooster age and egg hatching would be great.
Thanks!
 
wow each hen 3 eggs daily???
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Quote:
I agree, size is important but a 4 month roo is kinda young.
Are you seeing him breeding?
I'd incubate any eggs that are well shaped and not tiny/small and see what happens.
 
Curious what you do with the eggs that are fertile but not sustainable or worth keeping (due to size or what have you). Just pitch them? I think I'd feed them to my dog. She loves eggs, haha.
 
I eat them. No better human nutrition. There's nothing wrong with them. Until incubation begins they're the same as an unfertile egg.
I have been getting a few cracked ones from my new flock. Those I boil and feed back to chicks.
 
If you want to save some of that rooster's DNA, you should gather the egss over an 8-10 period, keep them cool, pointy end down. Go for a hatch. If you only have 16 eggs and only 6 produce live chicks, well.. that is that.

I suspect you are under the gun to say goodbye to the neighborhood fog horn. You don't apparently have 3 months wait until everyone involved is more mature.

But, I also wonder if you stated the age of the rooster correctly. Hatched in December, 2010? That is one very young rooster to use for breeding.... but again, if it is what you wish to do, do it while you can.
 

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