How long before eggs are fertile?

[dragonlair]

I am getting a Polish Roo for my 2 hens. I want to hatch some eggs. How long after I put him in with the girls should the eggs be fertile? They have been laying for about 2 months now.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

We just had a post just like this one. Check it out:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=298862

BTW

From WI

 

[dragonlair]

Thank you, I did and it answered my question!

 

[ProfessorChicken]

Hi Dragonlair:
If your pullets have been laying for a couple months they should be more or less out of the "peewee" egg stage, meaning their eggs are in the small - 18 oz./dzn or approx 1.5 oz./egg range. This egg weight is 'barely' sufficient to support an embryo to term and ABSOLUTELY depends on the pullet having been fed a VERY COMPLETE Breeding ration with a full complement of vitamins and minerals.

Apparently you have 8 young female birds with one male which, at first glance, is an acceptable ratio male to female, 1:8, however there are, or can be, some problems with your choice of a male Polish to mate with the other females in your flock.

"I have just hens right now, 5 Golden Comet, 2 Polish and a RIR , but will be getting more hens and a roo soon. I also have ..."

Your male Polish will likely (not necessarily) "Bond With" and expend most of his mounting time and thus his semen into the Polish females.

Your Polish pullets will likely have lots of fertile eggs after the first 3 or 4 days of being inseminated. (It takes “awhile” for the eggs ‘already in the pipe’ to clear and they can’t be fertilized once albumin deposition has begun and albumin deposition begins in the oviduct fairly soon after the ovum has dropped from the ovary. )

Your other females however may have some problems becoming ‘fertile’.

“MR Polish” may mount them – simply because he’s Male and They are Female – however he may not have any “juice” left after dealing with the Polish females. Most of his “juice” will be in the cecum of the two Polish females and any he has “left over” for any other female – especially a Rhode Island Red will simply be an accident.

There’s a lot more you need to know, however in deference to the Moderator/List Owner, I’ve agreed to keep my comments reasonably benign and not bother you folks with the real total truth of chicken keeping which might upset your world view and cause you to think.

David Sullenberger,
a.k.a ProfessorChicken