If two roosters mate with the same hen, which one fertilizes the eggs?

[whudson]

I have a Buff orpington (Pure breed) that mated with a white silkie (pure breed) and the result was a buff roo with black tail feathers.

I do have Light Brahma's, so I was wondering if somehow both roo's contributed, or if the black tail feathers was a gene past down from way back?

 

[Sunny Side Up]

The basic laws of biology dictate that only one sperm can fertilize one egg. Once the sperm penetrates the ovum the chemistry of the ovum's cell membrane changes to prohibit any more sperm from getting in. Chicken hens have a place in their anatomy that can collect & store sperm for later use. They can store sperm from more than one rooster at a time. I don't think they have any choice as to which roo's sperm is used to fertilize their next egg.

Some Buff Orps have dark marks on their tail feathers, those chicks' dark tails could be a gene from that trait. Or it could have been a recessive trait in the silkie roo.

 

[Akane]

I had a hen that got moved around all over the place to just about every pen for various reasons. I collected eggs from her the following 2 weeks. That was an interesting hatch... She was a blue bantam EE and I got 3 half seramas from probably 2 different roos, 2 half japanese bantam from my btb roo, 1 from my d'uccle roo, and 2 from my huge standard mutt roo. Every chick was a different size and every one came out a different color and body type.

 

[InsaneBreeder]

Quote:
For how long can a hen store sperm? If one rooster fertilizes her eggs, and then another rooster fertilizes her eggs, aside from the one sperm per egg concept, will she store both or will only the second rooster's sperm continue to fertilize her eggs without further matings from either?

 

[FlomatonsFlocks]

Quote:

For how long can a hen store sperm? If one rooster fertilizes her eggs, and then another rooster fertilizes her eggs, aside from the one sperm per egg concept, will she store both or will only the second rooster's sperm continue to fertilize her eggs without further matings from either?

We were really hoping someone answered your question! Did you ever find the answer? WeveW been looking all over the web with no luck!

 

[TheLittleFarm18]

Two things I have read are- she can store sperm up to 3 weeks and if she mated by a rooster she doesn't like then she can "squirt" out the sperm. Sorry it's early and I couldn't think of a better term then squirt

 

[MissChick@dee]

Hens have a pouch where they can store sperm for up to three days. With that I would assume the strongest sperm wins.

 

[Chickassan]

They can remain fertile for 3 to 4 weeks after the last pairing.

Two things I have read are- she can store sperm up to 3 weeks and if she mated by a rooster she doesn't like then she can "squirt" out the sperm. Sorry it's early and I couldn't think of a better term then squirt

Reject would have worked but squirt made me snort laugh.

 

[MissChick@dee]

Whispers (3-9days)

 

[Chickassan]

3 to 9 days for what? That bird is pregnant for a good month.https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2012/06/chicken-reproduction.html

Whispers (3-9days)