Mating?

[chickeneyfoot]

I got a new roo with the hens. i don't wanna hatch till the new roos sperm is in the eggs. How long till the girls lay eggs with his babies?
oh and he has been in with them for 4 days. I saw him mating them.
Thanks

 

[chickenmaniac]

since hes already mating you can start now

 

[NYREDS]

The change over can take as little as 3-5 days but 7-10 is safer.
This answer is based on actual research into this question. Many people on this site will tell you 3 weeks or more which is part of the myth-beats-data information available here. Misconceptions get repeated so often that they begin to substitute for facts.

 

[gg706]

I thought the sperm could live in the hen for up to 3 weeks. If i am correct about that I would wait AT LEAST that long to get the hen carrying ONLY the desired roos sperm.

 

[nurse_turtle]

If your hens were with a different roo before this one, you'll need to wait 3 weeks or so for the previous roo's sperm to be used up and replaced with the new man's.

 

[chickeneyfoot]

So i should wait for 3 weeks to start gathering eggs? Lol

 

[KeilFamilyFarm]

Im sorry, I've never had fertilized eggs before but I am planning on keeping a roo. How do I tell if an egg is fertilized?

This might sound so stupid but if I were to incubate an egg while the hens have a roo it could hatch to a baby and if i refridgerate it then I can eat it??

I think thats how it works? lol

 

[GrandmaChickie]

You got it!