Rooster not fertile?

[LaurenRitz]

I have 2 Bielefelder x Dominique cockerels, ten months old. I have seen them mate three of the girls, the three that are currently laying. They have been in the coop with the girls for a little over a month.

I set 10 eggs last week, today is day 5. Every one of the eggs looks clear. I set ten eggs from another coop and we have 100% fertility.

I will candle them again next week, but I think the boys are shooting blanks. Or could the girls be rejecting their sperm? I should think that in either case there would be some sign of fertility. Any ideas?

Eggs were stored point down in an area that hovers around 60 degrees. Most of the eggs were under a week old.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I have 2 Bielefelder x Dominique cockerels, ten months old. I have seen them mate three of the girls, the three that are currently laying. They have been in the coop with the girls for a little over a month.

I set 10 eggs last week, today is day 5. Every one of the eggs looks clear. I set ten eggs from another coop and we have 100% fertility.

I will candle them again next week, but I think the boys are shooting blanks. Or could the girls be rejecting their sperm? I should think that in either case there would be some sign of fertility. Any ideas?

Eggs were stored point down in an area that hovers around 60 degrees. Most of the eggs were under a week old.

Make sure their butts aren't too fluffy, that can get in the way of a successful breeding.

 

[LaurenRitz]

Hope someone can help me with this. It appears to me that most of these eggs are unfertilized after 8 days in the incubator. However, there are a few that appear to have started to develop, being a tiny cluster of white dots rather than one. Am I misinterpreting this, and those little clusters are just the egg deteriorating?

The clearest in this sense is the egg on the left in the second picture. I am trying to determine if we have 0 ferilization or if something else is going on.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Hope someone can help me with this. It appears to me that most of these eggs are unfertilized after 8 days in the incubator. However, there are a few that appear to have started to develop, being a tiny cluster of white dots rather than one. Am I misinterpreting this, and those little clusters are just the egg deteriorating?

The clearest in this sense is the egg on the left in the second picture. I am trying to determine if we have 0 ferilization or if something else is going on.

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Those aren't fertile.

Have you trimmed butt fluff yet?

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

It's just a white dot not a bullseye. Sometimes infertile eggs will have a white dot but you are looking for a crystal clear bullseye kind of like on a target- a circle with ring(s). I would agree with @MysteryChicken - trim butt fluff and see what happens - I have to do this with my Buff Orpingtons.

 

[LaurenRitz]

Thanks. I have seen the bullseye before, with my old roo.

These two are slated to be harvested in the next few days, which is why I started their eggs when I did. I was going to wait for spring, but I won't tolerate their behavior toward the girls any more.

I was hoping to get the rose comb into my breeding group, but I can address that another time.