Rooster Rotation/Egg fertility

[metcalfmk]

Ok, here's my problem. I have one Black sex link rooster, and 16 hens, EEs and BSLs . Their backs look terrible, and I know it is from him. I am going to take him out of the coop. How often should i let him 'visit' the girls in order for them to produce fertilized eggs? I am thinking once a week would be ok. What do you think?

 

[greathorse]

You will probably get better answers from lots of other folks but I just took the roosters out of my pen and checked fertility in a few eggs a day Virtually every egg I broke open for nearly three weeks was fertile. At three weeks I had no fertile ones that I opened. Within 24 hours of putting the roosters back in I had fertile eggs again

Hope that helps

 

[metcalfmk]

Great, thanks!!!

 

[Year of the Rooster]

Once a rooster has mated with the hen, the eggs can stay fertile for up to 3 weeks, just like what greathorse said.