This has completely blown my mind, I’m glad I have come across this information for when I put my roosters with the hens I want to breed. I can put them in the pen for a day and they would be fertile for 4 weeks? And then they won’t be over mated by the rooster. Or would I have to keep them in there together for a couple of days?
I agree with Jacin on leaving them together a few days at least, but it really depends on a lot of factors. Age and vigor of the rooster, receptiveness of the hens, compatibility with one another, etc. Chickens tend to play by the rule that if you're expecting something to go one way, it'll go the opposite way. That's not a serious statement, I should clarify! But I just recently lost a rooster from one of my pens and the eggs I set to try and get one last batch from him were mostly clear just a week and a half after when I suspect he stopped breeding his hens, give or take a few days.
