Questions about fertilized eggs

[RWPower]

Hi, I'm new to chickens.

First, can a 2 - 3 month old rooster fertilize a mature hens eggs?

Also, when a hen and a rooster "get it on", does only one egg get fertilized? Or will the next egg be fertilized too?

Lets say she is sitting on some eggs? One might not be fertile, if I don't get that egg out of there it will go rotten, so it seems I have to inspect the eggs everyday to see which ones are fertile and which ones aren't, that seems like a pain, is this just a fact of life or do you guys know something that makes it easier? I really don't want to handle fertilized eggs that much, I'd rather the hen do its thing.

Thanks guys.

 

[lux_interior]

I'm not sure about the first one....

But when they get it on, all her eggs will be fertile for up to two weeks or so.

And yes, if a hen is brrody and is sitting on eggs, you should check each one for fertility. You don't have to check every single one you eat, so it's really not a huge pain to check the 8 or so eggs a chicken will be sitting on.

 

[Rootball]

2-3 months old is to young for a cockerel to be fertile

depending on the breed I guess 5-8 months old is more reasonable, but Im sure others will have a more exact idea.


Hens have the ablity to store sperm so after being mated a hen can lay fertile eggs for up to 3 weeks. If you have a rooster he will be making sure she is fertile all the time so dont worry about this, the information is more pertinant if you want to seperate some birds from your flock and breed a specific pair. If you have more than one rooster you will need a few weeks to make sure of paternity.

Also dont forget that broodiness is a trait that some breeds dont really have. just because a hen lays eggs doesnt mean sh will sit on them. Laying breeds...Mediterraneans like leghorns rarely go broody if ever, birds like silkies or cochins might go broody often.

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

Since your first 2 questions have been answered and I agree with them, I will only respond to the third one.

Yes, you can go out and check your eggs under a broody hen if you want to. You do not have to do this.
We leave the broody hens alone. Nature has blessed her with the know-how to hatch eggs.
She might move an unfertile egg out of her nest and she might not. Once our hens hatch eggs, they will wait for about a day and then move her chicks away from the nest to protect them from predators that will smell the eggs once the chicks have hatched.
Then you can remove and discard any unhatched eggs.

If your hen is locked up in a small space, she may want to keep taking the chicks back to the nest at night, so you will need to clean what ever you used for her nest box and replace it for her.

Jean

 

[ThePamperedPullet]

I agree with Rafter. You can just leave the eggs alone. You might want to check one time at about 7 to 10 days and make sure she isn't just setting on a bunch of dud eggs. If all the eggs are duds, then pull them out from under her and force her out of broodiness. Maybe then the next time she goes broody she will have fertile eggs to set on.