True or false

[glenrobgirl]

I have a rooster that's proud and stands tall...very healthy. He has 12 hens all to himself. I bought all hens plus one rooster all at the same time as one day old chick's from the feed mill...in which they got them from a hatchery. My hens and rooster are 1 year old now....all of them are producing eggs on a daily basis. The rooster mates with them...I have see this. I assumed that if I have a rooster that mates that it would in turn produce fertil eggs. Meaning that I would be able to hatch my own chick's .
But ..... someone told me that if the comb of my rooster is straight....he will not produce fertil eggs ...they told me that some hatcheries do something to the rooster as a baby to make them unable to fertile eggs as they are older.

 

[donrae]

That's not true at all, thankfully!

Many breeds have straight combs. Straight combs are recessive to most other comb styles, so for a chick to have a straight comb both parents must be straight combed.

I have heard that frostbite or other damage to a rooster's comb can impair fertility, but I have no first hand knowledge of that.

So, incubate away and enjoy your baby chicks!

Here's my proud straight combed, large wattled barnyard mix Eric. He's fathered lots of chicks for me....



and a pic of some of his babies, just cause chick pics are adorable

 

[glenrobgirl]

Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge on this ...it's really been bugging me.

 

[sarahandjay]

False. Hatch away.

 

[donrae]

Not a problem. Folks can say the weirdest things about chickens. That's far from the oddest thing we've heard on this site

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Not a problem. Folks can say the weirdest things about chickens. That's far from the oddest thing we've heard on this site

X 2 - just when you think you've heard it all you hear a gem like this. As explained above, OP, there are several different comb types, including "single" which is the tall, straight comb. The comb type has nothing to do with fertility/virility, it is simply a characteristic of certain breeds.

 

[tj74roberts]

What breed of hens and rooster do you have? Certain breeds ie. Cochins, Orpingtons, etc. have a thick covering of feathers around their "parts" so you may have to trim or pluck some feathers around the hens vent so that it is easier for the rooster to fertilize her eggs.

 

[glenrobgirl]

I have all Rhode Island Reds

 

[tj74roberts]

I have all Rhode Island Reds

hmmm, I'm not sure then