Rooster and eggs?

[GoldenChicks16]

Hi, I have 16 Golden Comet Hens that are all laying right now. A family friend just rescued a flock on chickens from a farm that could no longer take care of them. The flock consisted of 4 pullets and 3 cockerels, two of the cockerels she wants to get rid of. I was wondering if there was a way that I could add the cockerel to my flock without ending up with all of my eggs fertilized. I also have a couple other questions... When can a male chicken fertilize eggs? Is there a way I can get him to mate with only one hen?

Thanks for the help!

 

[jesirose]

If you want him to only mate with one hen, you'd have to keep him separate and either bring her to him or bring them both to a third pen. I don't think it would work really well either way, they might fight.

Edit: if you're going to have 20 hens now you could do one pen with 8-10 hens and the one rooster.

 

[Mrs. K]

there is no difference between fertilized eggs and unfertilized eggs. You can eat both, and it can be a bit difficult to even see the difference. There won't be chicks in them unless you have a broody sit on them or incubate them, and then they have to be warmed for a bit more than a day to start the process.

If you want eggs from a specific hen to hatch out, what I would do, is leave her with the flock and roo, and after a several exposures, I would move her. Then you can be sure to collect just her eggs and hatch those. But do know, that after separating her, she will upset the pecking order when you put her back in.

A hen will have fertilized eggs from exposure to a roo, for a couple of weeks. If you want to be sure that a hen is fertilized by a certain roo, she needs to be separated from all roos for 3 weeks before you expose her to the chosen roo and collect her eggs.

Hope this helps, but really, I would recommend keeping him in the flock with all the girls, that is the natural set up, and they will fight you everyday to get to that.

Mrs K

 

[bugglesmommy]

there is no difference between fertilized eggs and unfertilized eggs. You can eat both, and it can be a bit difficult to even see the difference. There won't be chicks in them unless you have a broody sit on them or incubate them, and then they have to be warmed for a bit more than a day to start the process.

Perfectly said. Fertilization will not change your eggs at all. They will taste the same and be nutritionally no different. Chances are pretty high that you have eaten fertilized eggs in the past and not even known it. As long as you gather them daily and do not allow a hen to incubate them, there will be no embryos.