how long are they fertile?

[Minniechickmama]

I have two Buff Sebright pullets I hatched last summer. They started laying in the last 2-3 weeks. The question is this, how long after they have been removed from the boys can they be carrying viable sperm? The reason I ask is because these two have been separated for about 2-months now and they have definite bullseyes on the yolks, which would indicate they are fertile. How can this be? They are caged in my garage and are not even in an adjoining cage to a roo. I am a little stumped. This isn't a big deal for these two, but it makes me a little nervous about hatching my standard breeds. I want to start hatching from my flock for pure stock, and if the crossed sperm are viable for longer than a month, as I understood from previous readings, that they could, then I will need to have my breeds separated for longer than I anticipated.
Any help from you folks with experience on this matter is greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[gamebirdsonly]

3 to 4 weeks is the norm there have been some rare occasions longer. I would think that if they have been seperated for 2 months they shouldn't be fertile.

 

[Minniechickmama]

That is what I was thinking, they should be clean eggs. But there is most definitely a bullseye on those yolks. I won't worry about it since I am not breeding those for pure. I just don't want to start hatching eggs and find out they were still carrying crosses.
Thanks for the confirmation gamebirds.

 

[sourland]

What you are seeing is most likely the non-fertilized nucleus of the egg. The egg is indeed a single cell with a nucleus. This nucleus is visible in all eggs. Once fertilized the nucleus undergoes a couple of cellular divisions causing the bullseye and then goes "dormant" until incubated.

 

[Minniechickmama]

Good to know. Thank you.

 

[bakerjw]

I had been caught by this until recently. Anyone got a good pic of a "bullseye" spot compared to a run of the mill not going to do anything spot?

 

[dsqard]

Here is a thread with a lot of good pictures:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16008