How to tell if roo is doing his job

[schellie69]

I have had a laying flock for a year now and finally got a roo, I have 3 bantam EE hens I would love for him to breed with he is also a bantam how can I tell if he has mated with them or if the eggs are fertile do I have to break them open to find out and if so what do I need to look for I know these sound like stupid questions but I have just started my chicken adventure so I am learning as I go. any help would be appreciated I also have some questions about what roosters do he seems to favor the 4 babies that I have he is 3 months old and they are 2 months old same size right now but they are standard size chickens will he learn as he gets older and will he breed with the standard chickens I got him because of the hens pecking each other and had one hen acting like the rooster so not really for breeding but would like it if the EE bantams were to get breed would love to see what kind of chicks I would get so any information would be appreciated. thank you.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm afraid you will need to break one open to find out if it is fertile. Ideally you would need to do one per hen. The good news is that if one egg is fertile, that hen's other eggs are also probably fertile.

Fertile Egg Pictures
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16008

Bantam roosters can breed with full sized hens. It is a little more challenging but it happens all the time. He has not reached maturity yet so he still enjoys playing with the other children. Expect some changes in his behavior sometime around when he turns 4 to 5 months old. The transition may go smoothly, the older hens may start to pick on him mercilessly, or he may become obnoxious. There is no way to really predict what will happen.

Good luck!

 

[schellie69]

Thank you that site was just what I was looking for, sometimes I feel like I am flying by the seat of my pants learning as I go I can't wait to hatch some eggs, thanks again for the post it sure helped.

 

[esthermgr]

You could also just stick a few in the incubator in a few months after he's mature. THen candle at Day 6 or 7 with a bright LED flashlight in a dark room and look for webbing/ veining/ movement of the embryo. There is a great thread in this section about candling and what to look for at each stage.

If they're fertile, leave em in and lettem hatch. If not, you've only wasted a few days.

 

[they'reHISchickens]

We just added a young roo a month ago and just last week we saw him mounting the younger hens and beginning to strut and crow. Once we saw him actually mounting, I cracked the eggs from those hens to make sure they were fertilized.
I learned from experience: dont' assume the roo is fertilizing: CHECK for the bullseye.