Roo gone/How long -

[KarenZ]

I sold my rooster last week end but would still like to hatch a small clutch. How long will the hens still produce fertile eggs?

 

[paddock36]

Some say for about 10 days and some say longer.

 

[TiffyG]

I hatched eggs from my laying hen and the rooster had been gone for three weeks prior to the start of incubation. I believe I read that they could be fertile for up to a month.

 

[KarenZ]

Thank you - that is good news. I sold the roo b/c he was so aggressive and bought some welsummer eggs thinking to get a rooster from them that wouldn't be such a challenge to own; but I've had disappointing results when candling and fear none will hatch. Some are to dark to candle so I can't know for sure, but of the ones I could they were duds. So, I would like to put some of my Aussie eggs in next week if these are all duds as I fear - and from what you guys tell me I have a decent chance they'll hatch. Of course they'll be the children of my mean old roo but maybe they'll take more after their mammas who are all super sweet.

 

[Gypsy07]

Some people have had fertile eggs over a month after the roo was taken away from their hens. If I was you, I'd probably collect eggs for 10 days and set them, then collect more eggs for another 10 days and then set them too for a staggered hatch. You don't want to have the first lot of collected eggs sitting around for too long as that causes fertility to drop off after 10 days or so. But you also probably don't want to collect just 10 days worth of eggs if there's a chance that the eggs could be fertile for at least another 10 days after that...

 

[TiffyG]

That's why my roo went bye bye. I couldn't trust him around my 2 and 6 year old. He was fine with me but hated my 14 year old and tried to get after my younger boys. I wanted a few more hens so instead of buying hatching eggs, I decided to hatch my own as I was not breed specific on my egg layers (parents are both mixed breed, mom lays consistently every day). Good luck!