Is my young roo gonna be a daddy??

[LtDanFan]

I have been looking at pictures and know the principles of detecting fertilization but i am going back and with myself on these eggs.
Can i get some help in deciding if my hens are being covered appropriately? I plan on hatching a few eggs from my flock for friends that want (more) chickens and i dont want to turn my incubator into a slow cooker for eggs, lol.
For reference, the first two pics are both eggs i cracked at the same time and the 3rd and 4th are the same egg cracked earlier for a different recipe. All were collected in the last week or so.
Thanks!!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

These eggs have not been fertilized

 

[LtDanFan]

These eggs have not been fertilized

Ah, thanks. I will give him more time. He’s young so i will wait a bit before incubating any of my own eggs.

 

[LtDanFan]

Should i consider another roo? I have 12 mature hens and 3 five month old pullets.

 

[kattabelly]

Should i consider another roo? I have 12 mature hens and 3 five month old pullets.

How old is your current cockerel? Have you noticed him mating in what appears to be a successful manner? If so, with how many / which of the hens? How much space would you have to keep him and the other cock(erel) in, and how much of an issue would it be for you if keeping both didn't work out?

 

[LtDanFan]

He is 5 months old. I have seen him mating some of the hens but i can’t say whether it looks successful or not because i do not have a frame of reference. I can say, he’s been persistent.
My whole chicken yard is about 400-500sq feet with 2 pre-fab coops (with attached runs) that they use mainly for laying and sleeping. They “free range” within the larger space during the day and sleep in the coops at night. Each coop is surrounded by a smaller run which are left open during the day and locked down at night for safety. There are several shelters in the enclosure and i have 3 feeders, 3 water sources in the summer and 2 in the winter (only have 2 heaters).
My current cockerel wears a no crow collar to prevent disturbing the neighbors.

We have plans to convert a shed into a larger walk in coop, and can potentially expand their “free range” space once this happens since we could put two doors in but i only have about 1/3 acre so am limited for sure.

My goal is not necessarily chicks on the reg, but i have discovered that my girls get along better with each other when there is a rooster around.

 

[Debbie292d]

Don't feel bad. I have 6 breeding pens and two are new this year. I have eaten more eggs in the past few weeks than I've eaten in a year!

One of these days, we'll see the bullseye!