Infertile Silkie Rooster??

[denasfarm]

I just candled 30+ silkie eggs (Day 8) and only ONE...ONE egg was FERTILE!!!

I know he is breeding with the 5 hens he is living with, we see him constantly.
Is 5 too many hens for a Silkie roo?
It has to be him, surely the 5 hens are not the problem...and I have people on a waiting list for Black silkie chicks... Ahhhhh

So should I put him on sick leave and try my white silkie roo? But i wont get Black chicks...SEE thats what I get for selling my black back up roo!!! Will he return to fertility or should I replace him?...anybody got a nice BLACK silkie roo for sale?

Its not the bator either 7 of the 8 EE eggs I had with them were fertile and I dont need any EEs right now...its just too easy to add a few when you load the bator and the slots are empty!

 

[silkiechicken]

Perhaps he can't see well or his bum/girls bums are too fluffy? Try trimming his crest down and clipping the bum feathers on the breeders so they can find each other and reach.

 

[pips&peeps]

I agree to trim his bottom and the gals too.

Also try adding some meat to his diet, do a quick search on the issues of soy based proteins in poutry diets.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

You can always artificially inseminate the hens. It's a quick and painless procedure and is more likely to guarantee fertility. PM me if you are interested in learning how.

 

[Matt A NC]

To get good fertility in good quality cochins and silkies you pretty much have to either trim their rears or artificially inseminate.

To trim remove the feathers directly around the vent on all breeders. On hens remove quite a bit above the vent too, going all the way to the tail mound. On the rooster remove feathers below the vent and go down far enough to get good 'exposure'.

It is best to trim each feather to the skin. A prick from a left feather shaft can interupt the process.

Matt

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

Collecting semen from a chicken or turkey is done by stimulating the copulatory organ to protrude by massaging the abdomen and the back over the testes. This is followed quickly by pushing the tail forward with one hand and, at the same time, using the thumb and forefinger of the same hand to “milk” semen from the ducts of this organ. Semen flow response is quicker and easier to stimulate in chickens than in turkeys. The semen may be collected with an aspirator or in a small tube or any cup-like container. In turkeys, the volume averages ~0.35-0.5 mL, with a spermatozoon concentration of 6 to >8 billion/mL. In chickens, volume is 2-3 times that of turkeys, but the concentration is about one-half. Collected semen is usually pooled.

Chicken and turkey semen begin to lose fertilizing ability when stored >1 hr. Liquid cold (4°C) storage of turkey and chicken semen can be used to transport semen and maintain spermatozoal viability for ~6-12 hr. When using liquid cold storage for >1 hr, turkey semen must be diluted with a semen extender at least 1:1 and then agitated slowly (150 rpm) to facilitate oxygenation; chicken semen should be diluted and then cooled—agitation is not necessary. Several commercial semen extenders are available and are routinely used, particularly for turkeys. Extenders enable more precise control over inseminating dose and facilitate filling of tubes. Results may be comparable to those using undiluted semen when product directions are followed. Dilution should result in an insemination dose containing ~300 million viable spermatozoa.

For insemination, pressure is applied to the left side of the abdomen around the vent. This causes the cloaca to evert and the oviduct to protrude so that a syringe or plastic straw can be inserted ~1 in. (2.5 cm) into the oviduct and the appropriate amount of semen delivered. As the semen is expelled by the inseminator, pressure around the vent is released, which assists the hen in retaining sperm in the vagina or the oviduct. Due to the high sperm concentration of turkey semen, 0.025 mL (~2 billion spermatozoa) of undiluted pooled semen, inseminated at regular intervals of 10-14 days, yields optimal fertility. In chickens, due to the lower spermatozoon concentration and shorter duration of fertility, 0.05 mL of undiluted pooled semen, at intervals of 7 days, is required. The hen’s squatting behavior indicates receptivity and the time for the first insemination. For maximal fertility, inseminations may be started before the initial oviposition. Fertility tends to decrease later in the season; therefore, it may be justified to inseminate more frequently or use more cells per insemination dose.

Chicken and turkey semen may be frozen, but reduced fertility limits usage to special breeding projects. Under experimental conditions, fertility levels of 90% have been obtained in hens inseminated at 3-day intervals with 400-500 million frozen-thawed chicken spermatozoa.

 

[denasfarm]

Not sure I am ready for the artificial level of chicken making LOL . I will try trimming first even though I hate the thought of doing that to my pretty poufy birds.
However on the artificial side I may try to get a sample from the black roo and see if my Teens Biology Microscope is strong enough to detect sperm.
Do you think its because its the end of this very HOT summer? I know rabbits become infertile in the heat.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

The warm weather can affect sperm production. Also, when chickens free-range, they tend to eat less feed, usually lowering the amount of protein they are eating. This could have an affect on sperm production/viability.

I don't like to have to clip their feathers as we may show a couple of them in January, so I AI now to assure fertility. I only do it once a week, and probably could go a bit longer.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Information by littlechickenracingteam in above post was taken from the Merck Vet. Manual at this site:

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp