How long until pullets new eggs are fertile?

[Chikyboy]

So I just got some of the first 7 eggs from a bantam Cochin pullet who was born on March 23rd (This year). So I put these seven eggs into the incubator. So what I'm asking is, how long after the first egg would the other be fertile? Or could could the first egg also be fertile? I not sure if this would matter, but the cockerel is also the same age and breed. Thanks!

 

[sourland]

Pullet eggs will be fertile as long as the pullets are being mated. The smaller size sometimes results in weak or stunted chicks.

 

[Tonyroo]

Generally the fertility of the egg is consistent at around 6 to 8 months.

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

If these are her first eggs I do not recommend incubating because they are small and you will have bad hatch rates and small stunted or weak chicks

 

[Ridgerunner]

how long after the first egg would the other be fertile? Or could could the first egg also be fertile?

Whether it is the first egg she ever laid or later has nothing to do with it. Like Sourland said, it depends on whether she is being mated or not.

I not sure if this would matter, but the cockerel is also the same age and breed.

Cockerels mature at different rates. It's not pure age but also maturity. Many that age will be able to fertilize eggs.

You can hatch pullet eggs. I have. There are issues with that. For an egg to hatch it has to be put together about perfectly. Putting an egg together is pretty complicated, pullets just starting to lay can have problems with that. You may have read on here about all the weird eggs you can get when a pullet starts laying: no yolks, double yolks, shell less, thin shelled, really thick shelled, or strange shapes. All those could cause problems hatching. Also the proportion of yolk size to whites, how runny the whites are, whether the chalaza are correct, just a lot of other things that can go wrong. They need to be mated instead of running away and getting away from the male trying to fertilize them. Some pullets get that right from the start, others don't and need a while to get the kinks out of their internal egg making factory. To me it's amazing how many get all that right from the start.

Sometimes when I incubate pullet eggs I get decent hatch rates. Sometimes I get horrible hatch rates. In general I do not get as good of a hatch rate with the small pullet eggs as I get with normal sized eggs, even if they are in the incubator together.

The first eggs a pullet lays are pretty small compared to what she will lay later. That means the chicks that hatch form those eggs are generally smaller. There is not enough room or nutrients in the eggs for them to grow that big or they are more likely to hatch with a birth defect because the egg wasn't perfectly developed before laying. Practically every chick that hatches lives and does fine. But occasionally one will die. I find that if one does die it was likely one that hatched from a small pullet egg. I'll say it again, most do fine but most does not mean all.

So the hatch rates are not as good with a pullet's first eggs as they are when the eggs are bigger. Survivability after hatch isn't horrible but may not be quite as good as it would be with later eggs.

I find these problems pretty much go away after the pullet has laid for a month or longer. If you can stand to wait that long I strongly suggest you wait at least that long to start any more. But since you already have 7 in the incubator candle them about a week in and see how they are doing. See what happens, just don't expect a lot.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

I usually wait until they have been laying for about a month. I have had some issues with chicks hatched from pullet eggs.

 

[Clodill4rel]

I just placed 22 eggs into the incubator and one of my silky pulleys laid today I totally want to hatch it ! She has been being mated regularly …. maybe I won’t be putting it in with the rest after reading this …..