rent a roster

[dancoyben]

I was wondering about borrowing a roster from a friend who has one, I want to get fertile eggs but don't want to keep a roster. Any ideas on what Process I'd have to go through to get the roster acclimated to my girls then do his thing and then returning him home, and how long do you think the whole time frame would be. Thanks

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I was wondering about borrowing a roster from a friend who has one, I want to get fertile eggs but don't want to keep a roster. Any ideas on what Process I'd have to go through to get the roster acclimated to my girls then do his thing and then returning him home, and how long do you think the whole time frame would be. Thanks

This question comes up now and again - unfortunately, there are more cons than pros to such a proposition. The first concern is the matter of bio-security. To properly move a bird from one flock to another at a new location you would want to have a 30 day quarantine to prevent bringing any diseases into your flock - then you would have the time involved in the integration process (this can take several weeks depending on the birds involved), IF you get to the point where everyone is happy together you would then have to wait for things to have progressed to where your girls are likely producing fertile eggs (I'd wait at least two weeks and then check eggs for the "bullseye" and once those are the rule rather than the exception start collecting the eggs you want to hatch) - you are looking at easily 3 months or longer - plus your friend would then want to do a quarantine at their end before going through the whole process of re-integrating their flock.
Rather than go through all of that why not either a) purchase some eggs from the friend who has the rooster or b) purchase some fertile hatching eggs from another source (private person in your area, someone here on BYC, E-bay, hatcheries, etc)

 

[dancoyben]

My girls lay so well I was hoping to continue the line. It does make sense just to purchase fertile eggs although a bit of a disappointment.

 

[donrae]

And I'm always compelled to remind folks who don't want to keep a rooster that statistically, half those chicks you hatch will be male. You'll need a plan for them......

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

And I'm always compelled to remind folks who don't want to keep a rooster that statistically, half those chicks you hatch will be male. You'll need a plan for them......

Yes - another on the "con" side of the idea.