To get fertile eggs from 2 silkie hens...

[samhahn]

We have 2 pet silkies. My son wants to get fertile eggs from them which is not possible. So I thought about providing my 2 very productive silkie hens (about 12 eggs a week) to the guy I bought them from and let him keep them for a week or so and split the eggs (he sells chicks) or borrow his rooster for a week? What would be the correct protocol if there is one to get fertile eggs in my case? Or you just don't do that with chickens and let my son know he is stuck with infertile eggs? I never thought I would be asking this type of question on the chicken forum 6 months ago when I first got my 2 pet silkie chicks for educational purpose...

 

[sylviethecochin]

Putting your hens into a new environment is very stressful, and may impede egg laying. Rule of thumb is "always bring the male to the female."

If you borrow a rooster, make sure he's not a jerk. My flock rooster does the "wing dance" and calls his girls for food. They like him. They hate the little, immature, mannerless cockerels he's always chasing off. But that's still going to be a bit stressful.

Why don't you just ask for fertile eggs from the guy with the rooster?

 

[autosuf]

Putting your hens into a new environment is very stressful, and may impede egg laying. Rule of thumb is "always bring the male to the female."

If you borrow a rooster, make sure he's not a jerk. My flock rooster does the "wing dance" and calls his girls for food. They like him. They hate the little, immature, mannerless cockerels he's always chasing off. But that's still going to be a bit stressful.

Why don't you just ask for fertile eggs from the guy with the rooster?

It is a good answer.
In any case better to bring the rooster to the hens.
The advantage is that you know the father and the mothers, something that with purchased eggs is never easy to know.
It could be that the hens despise it but, having only one, it has to be very young or very bad for that to happen.

 

[samhahn]

Putting your hens into a new environment is very stressful, and may impede egg laying. Rule of thumb is "always bring the male to the female."

If you borrow a rooster, make sure he's not a jerk. My flock rooster does the "wing dance" and calls his girls for food. They like him. They hate the little, immature, mannerless cockerels he's always chasing off. But that's still going to be a bit stressful.

Why don't you just ask for fertile eggs from the guy with the rooster?

He raises other breeds of chickens in his backyard so the eggs might not be 100% silkie. By saying that I also agree 100% with you about borrowing his white silkie roo (if he lets me) since I only have 2 white silkie hens and outcome should be predictable. Hopefully he would take ~5# of dried worms along with eggs for the favor~

 

[rosemarythyme]

I think the other concern (other than the stress) is biosecurity concerns. Even if you bought your chickens from him, now that they've been at your home, there's no telling what your chickens might have been exposed to (or conversely, his flock) that could get transmitted. If this guy is even a half serious breeder he should say no, in order to protect his birds.

If your son really wants to try and hatch chicks I'd just buy fertile eggs and tuck them under your silkies when they're broody.