How long do roos keep hens fertile?

[tulie13]

I seem to remember that it's about 10 days, is that correct? Just pulling that out of the air from reading a bunch...

I will have 2 roos, and want to be able to know "who's the daddy" when I start breeding. How long do I need to wait from the time I isolate one of the roos, leaving only the one in with the hens?

In other words, how long until roo #1's "fertility" is gone from the hens, and any fertile eggs that they lay are from roo #2 who is still in the coop with them?

THANKS

 

[Julie08]

10 days is about right but I have heard up to 30 days in rare cases.

 

[Ridgerunner]

A hen will normally stay fertile for about two weeks after mating. After three weeks they are normally not fertile, but if you want to be sure, use four weeks. I saw a post on here where someone hatched out an egg that incubation started 3-1/2 weeks after the rooster was killed. That is an extreme. I think many breeders use three weeks.