How long does a roosters gift remain viable in a hen?

[Coopscraft]

I have a RI red rooster recently introduced into a flock that was previously social with a few mongral roosters. How long before I can be sure the fertilized eggs contain Mr Rhody’s Progeny?

 

[Rose Quartz]

I have a RI red rooster recently introduced into a flock that was previously social with a few mongral roosters. How long before I can be sure the fertilized eggs contain Mr Rhody’s Progeny?

I'd give it 3 weeks to be sure, but 2 weeks is about how long sperm can survive in a hens reproductive tract.

 

[Coopscraft]

I'd give it 3 weeks to be sure, but 2 weeks is about how long sperm can survive in a hens reproductive tract.

Thank you.

 

[sylviethecochin]

Sperm can survive up to a month in a hen's sperm storage tubules, but it's pretty rare. At two weeks, you're usually safe.

 

[aart]

Depending on how important it is...4 weeks would be best.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I know you did not ask this specifically but I'll mention it as I consider it related. It takes an egg about 25 hours to make its way through the hens internal egg making factory. The egg can only be fertilized in the first few minutes of that journey. That means if a mating takes place on a Thursday, Thursday's egg is not fertile. Friday's egg might or might not be, depending on timing. Don't count on it. Saturday's egg should be fertile.

That is after a mating. A rooster does not necessarily mate with every hen in his flock every day, but he doesn't have to. In the last part of the mating, the rooster hops off and the hen stands up, fluffs up, and shakes. This fluffy shake moves the sperm into a special container near where the egg starts its journey. Typically the sperm can remain viable in that container from 9 days up to three weeks. Most of us count on it remaining viable for two weeks. That usually works out. There have been occurrences where sperm has remained viable for a longer than three weeks. One person on this forum said they had one last four weeks but that's extremely rare if correct. When you deal with living animals and life nothing is absolute, there can always be exceptions.

Many breeders count on three weeks being enough to clean out the old sperm. That's usually enough. There is also a theory I heard from an expert on chicken reproduction about last in - first out. That the way that container works the last rooster to mate's sperm will be on top and will be the sperm used to fertilize the egg. I don't know how accurate that is but he was really sure of himself.

If you wait three weeks you are doing what a lot of breeders do. Every day you wait after that the more sure you become. How sure do you have to be?

Something else to consider. I don't know you goals, but would you be able to tell if a chick was fathered by one of the mongrels instead of the RIR? If so, could you just eat your mistakes?

 

[Coopscraft]

I know you did not ask this specifically but I'll mention it as I consider it related. It takes an egg about 25 hours to make its way through the hens internal egg making factory. The egg can only be fertilized in the first few minutes of that journey. That means if a mating takes place on a Thursday, Thursday's egg is not fertile. Friday's egg might or might not be, depending on timing. Don't count on it. Saturday's egg should be fertile.

That is after a mating. A rooster does not necessarily mate with every hen in his flock every day, but he doesn't have to. In the last part of the mating, the rooster hops off and the hen stands up, fluffs up, and shakes. This fluffy shake moves the sperm into a special container near where the egg starts its journey. Typically the sperm can remain viable in that container from 9 days up to three weeks. Most of us count on it remaining viable for two weeks. That usually works out. There have been occurrences where sperm has remained viable for a longer than three weeks. One person on this forum said they had one last four weeks but that's extremely rare if correct. When you deal with living animals and life nothing is absolute, there can always be exceptions.

Many breeders count on three weeks being enough to clean out the old sperm. That's usually enough. There is also a theory I heard from an expert on chicken reproduction about last in - first out. That the way that container works the last rooster to mate's sperm will be on top and will be the sperm used to fertilize the egg. I don't know how accurate that is but he was really sure of himself.

If you wait three weeks you are doing what a lot of breeders do. Every day you wait after that the more sure you become. How sure do you have to be?

Something else to consider. I don't know you goals, but would you be able to tell if a chick was fathered by one of the mongrels instead of the RIR? If so, could you just eat your mistakes?

I definitely could eat any that didn’t meet my goals.

 

[Coopscraft]

I have some chickens with footprints on their backs and some without. Should I think the rooster is habituated to wearing out the feathers of some hens while ignoring the rest?

 

[chickens really]

Well definitely some hens submit more so he also has his favourites..

 

[Ridgerunner]

Has this just happened after you removed your mongrels or was it evident before? How old is your RIR? Cockerels can be more vigorous plus have worse technique that mature roosters. It's possible he has his favorites. It's possible he is more vigorous with certain ones if they are resisting him and others are not. Some force unwilling females so they accept his dominance. If this has just happened after you removed your mongrels then it probably does have something to do with your RIR.

Have you checked for mites and lice? They can cause feather loss but it usually does not look like rooster damage. Could you post photos of the damage? Some hens have brittle feathers that break really easily, but if that were the problem it should have been evident with the mongrels. Another place to check for rooster damage is the back of the hen's head. The male grabs her there as a signal to tell her to raise her tail out of the way. Sometimes they get bald at the back of the head.

If you are concerned that some eggs are fertile and some are not, look for the bull's eye when you open the eggs. This link can help.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/16008/how-to-tell-a-fertile-vs-infertile-egg-pictures