Silkie laying eggs not being bred?

[Shared Acres]

I have one adult roo and 2 adult Silkie hens.

I also have about 15 younger Silkies. At least 4-5 are about to start laying.

Typically, I get about an egg every other day from my laying hens. Lately though I have been getting 1 egg one day, 2 the next, 1 egg the next, etc. Which leads me to believe that someone else is laying now.

However, I have not seen my rooster breed with anyone but the two adult Silkie hens.

What do you guys think? Is my roo not paying attn? Or does he just wait until for an hour until I leave and sneak over to the new girls?

I seriously doubt one of the two Silkie hens is laying every day.

 

[Kezzie]

The hens don't need the rooster to lay eggs. They lay just fine on their own...

 

[Shared Acres]

That's not quite what I meant. There IS a rooster in the pen with them. If he only had 2 adult girls and one came of age, I would think he would be all over her. But I haven't seen him.

 

[Rocky Top Chick]

Not necessarily. The chemistry may not be there

 

[briteday]

My juvenile EE roo is having the time of his life with our 1 year old RIR's. We have seen quite a few fertile eggs. On the other hand, the juvenile pullets he was raised with chase him away and bawl. I don't think I've seen him successfully mount one yet.

 

[onthespot]

Have you cracked the eggs and looked for the bullseye?

 

[Shared Acres]

No I haven't. I was thinking of turning on the bator and throwing them all in!

Since today is Saturday I might spend some extra time out there to see what's going on!

 

[Uppity Peon]

I would agree you have 2 hens laying, probably the 2 oldest. But you can check the space between the pubic bones for confirmation.

As to whether or not the eggs are fertile, the best way is to crack them and examine them before making your omlette. I would definitely do this with a few days worth of eggs before trying to incubate them.