roosters

[Ole rooster]

I don't know where this would go under topics but this looked like the best spot. This is just something I was thinking about this morning and never gave it any thought before that.

If a rooster is in with the hens, do you assume every egg is fertile? I see fertile eggs for sale and wonder how they seller knows for sure unless there is some kind of artificial insemination for eggs. How do we know the rooster services the hens for every egg? I can't imagine.

 

[Meghalu]

He doesn't have to service the hen for every egg, after a successful "service" all the eggs for the next few days (I think I read somewhere up to 2 weeks?) are fertile.

 

[GAchick]

Generally, if you crack a few and see the bull's eye spot on the yolk, you can assume he is servicing all the hens. The hen retains sperm inside her body for several weeks, and can fertilise all the eggs laid in that time frame. A hen only needs to actually mate once in a 2-4 week period, for all (or most) of the eggs to be fertile. It is not one mating per fertilised egg. It's one mating per many fertilised eggs...

 

[DillardHome]

What a good question OLE ROOSTER!!!!

Thank you MEGHALU & GACHICK I also learned something new today

 

[Stoney22]

AAfter a hen is bred she will lay for atleast two weeks of fertile eggs, most hens lay three weeks of fertile eggs and some of your better egger's will lay up to four weeks worth of fertile eggs

 

[ChickiKat]

That was an excellent lesson for the day.
Maybe you can teach me more.
As I was watching my girls and guys yesterday I wondered. Do the roos mount the girls cuz: their smell, their posture or just cuz hes a guy and shes a girl???

 

[Ole rooster]

Thanks y'all. That is interesting. I didn't know any of that. chickikat.........I bet it's got something to do with her smelling like a hen.

 

[Gypsy07]

A healthy mature rooster will spend a large portion of each day mounting pretty much every hen in sight, so unless you have a very high number of hens per rooster, just about every egg will be fertile. The way I check is by looking for the bullseye on every egg I crack open for eating. I haven't seen an egg without one for over a year now. So when I sell or give away hatching eggs, I can honestly say to people my eggs are almost certainly 100% fertile.

 

[sourland]

Quote:
Right on the money! And since a rooster feels that his most important job is to pass on his genes, you can bet that the hens are getting bred a heck of a lot more frequently than once every four weeks.

 

[Gypsy07]

LOL! I think mine are about once every four hours!