Roo's "shooting blanks???"

[speckledhen]

And also, I have noticed that feed makes a difference. I feed the gamebird Layena from Purina and that usually makes a huge difference in hatchability of eggs.

I agree about the game bird feed. I started mine on it for that exact reason and it fixed the issues I was having. I just wish I could afford to keep them on that all the time.​

 

[Smoky73]

Here, the gamebird layena is not any different in price as the rest of the feed. I just have to drive further to get it so its a pain. I just bought my first three bags and hope to feed that now until June, after breeding season is over.
I hope Purina keeps doing the coupons

 

[vicki2x2]

Hmm, I will have to check out the gamebird layena and also trimming those feathers and see if that is the problem. Not sure, but hey, worth a shot.

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
8 roos with 13 hens? Recommended ratio is ONE roo per 10 hens. Maybe keep one banty roo and one rock. Those poor hens are probably run to a frazzle, and probably the roos are knocking each other off the hens.

Do you know how to look at fresh eggs when you crack them open to see whether they were fertile? There's a little white spot on the yolk. If the egg is infertile, it'll just be a tiny solid white spot. In a fertile egg, that little white dot will be a little larger, and show a distinct ring, like a bullseye. If you check you breakfast and cooking eggs every time you crack one open, you'll get a good idea of their fertility rate. If you eat of lot of your eggs, anyway, like we do.


Then you can wait until you're seeing a lot of fertile eggs before you pick out a bunch to incubate. A lot less bother than incubating for 3 days to see if you have fertile eggs.

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
I wonder if he's either not caught onto the deed properly, not getting good contact.

Or, could he have a lethal gene? Maybe he's not a good match for these hens, and might do fine with hens from another breed or another bloodline?

Is he in a pen with a few hens and no other roos? If he is, you could try what I suggested in the above post, just eat those eggs for awhile, but check the yolks to see if you're getting any fertile eggs from his services. I wouldn't give up yet, though. You had 2 start to develop, so he's got something going on.

 

[dancingbear]

Ok, you probably already know this, but just in case, check out the 2nd sticky at the beginning of this section, "How to Tell a Fertile vs INfertile Egg (Pictures)". It shows photos of both fertile and infertile eggs.

 

[Splash_Guard]

Roo's "shooting blanks???"

I must admit, I've never heard it put that way with regards to male fowl. Thanks for the laugh.