My hens haven't been with a rooster for quite a while & I just introduced them to "Cranky" (a RIR that is the size of an EMU). How long does it take for gals' eggs to become fertile for hatching?
Well in a perfect world the first egg formed and laid after he has mated the hen should be fertile. However, it also depends on how long your hens hold out before they let him have the privilege of mating them. Some hens make the rooster earn his place as flock roo.
I'm totally new at all this, but I had the same question... and found the answer. What I read online, from a source, not just a forum (though good information can be obtained from a forum, especially this one), is that it takes about 10-14 days for the chicken to start laying fertilized eggs after being mated. So her eggs will also be fertile for the same amt of time after the last time she mates. And it takes about 25 hours for her to release the yolk to actually laying the egg. Chickens are so COOL! JC Day 19.5. Hatch 'girls'...hatch!
Following mating, sperm enter the hen's oviduct and are stored within sperm storage glands. Only sperm that can swim will enter these sperm storage sites. These glands can store more than half a million sperm. Sperm can remain alive in these glands and fertilize eggs for up to 3 weeks. A hen will have maximum fertility for only about 3 to 4 days after one mating. For this reason, the male-to-female ratio in a flock must be enough to ensure mating of every hen every 3 days or so. Sperm do not break through the eggshell. Instead they travel up the oviduct to the infundibulum to join with the egg yolk. http://www.msstate.edu/dept/poultry/pubs/is1610.htm "How long to produce fertile eggs?" If a sexually active rooster is placed into a flock of hens, fertile eggs can be produced by the second day after introducing the rooster. If mating occurs within a short period, the next egg yolk released by the hen's body can be fertilized. The remainder of the albumen and shell requires about 26-28 hours to be formed around the fertilized yolk. Therefore, a minimum of 30-36 hours is necessary to produce a hatchable egg. If the flock has many hens and only one rooster, it may require several days before mating with all hens takes place. It is advisable to allow at least 4-7 days before expecting a high level of fertility in eggs. If the rooster or hens are one-year or more in age, the waiting period may need to be increased. http://msucares.com/poultry/reproductions/poultry_long.html
