Uncooperative hens or a color preference by the rooster?

[chickenmomma16]

So normally this wouldn't be an issue if I didn't care about fertile eggs but I have some hens that I would like to hatch eggs from. I have 7 Ameraucana hens and 4 laying hens. I know my old rooster has a color preference so he was sent to the bachelor pad for a while and replaced by another rooster to cross with the Ameraucans and the same thing happened when I set eggs. I have set 2 batches of eggs, first with the old rooster (26 Am eggs + 5 of the layer's eggs) and the other batch with a different rooster (all 31 Am eggs). With the 26 Am eggs 5 were fertile and only ONE made it to hatch and the Laying hen's eggs all hatched with the older rooster. I switched roosters and not one of the 31 eggs were fertile! It was really unfortunate too because I randomly found that rooster dead in the coop and he was the one I was planning on keeping to use again next year. I didn't set any eggs of my layers for that batch but I only ever seen both the roosters breed with my laying hens who are all black and one silver. My Ameraucanas are all Wheatens.

Is this a color preference or are my Ameraucana girls playing hard to get? The Ams are 1yr old and the layers are 2 years old. I'm pretty upset throwing all those eggs away and not hatching anything because I cannot hatch and raise anything for a long time, possibly not until next year and I didn't want to keep 4 roosters through the winter!
Any suggestions or theories as to what is going on here or what I can do to get the proper girls covered?

 

[toomuch]

My theory is that the roosters are having trouble mating with your hens or you have some infertile hens. I have an infertile white leghorn. One question after replacing your older rooster with a new one how long did you wait to get the fertilized eggs ,because when you replace a rooster it takes time for the hens to let the rooster mate with them.

 

[The Golden Egg5]

Also the rooster that passed away might not have been fertile because, forgive me if I'm wrong, but roosters aren't fertile when they are sick. I remember reading this somewhere, but I'm not 100 percent sure. Sorry for your loss

 

[centrarchid]

Rooster fertility is reduced by health issues.

Is it possible that an assumption was made parentage on father side was based on which rooster was in with hens at time egg was laid? And that eggs from the two roosters were incubated at the same time?

 

[lazy gardener]

What was the temperature when the eggs were being collected? How long were they stored, how were they stored, and at what temperature? Have you hatched eggs before, in the summer, using the incubator that you most recently used? Did you have a good hatch when you hatched LAST SUMMER?

Perhaps the Ams need their butt feathers trimmed? I would suggest that the dead roo was not fertile. Where did you get your Ams from? Any fertility issues noted by the breeder? You might also put the flock on vitamins, and a higher protein feed for 2 weeks before collecting eggs next time.

 

[chickenmomma16]

The second rooster that I set the 30 eggs from was in with the girls for over 2 maybe even 3 months before I collected eggs. No possibility of the roosters overlapping parentage. I'd have to look back at my records for the exact timing but it was at least 2 months.
He had just turned 1 year old and I'm usually pretty good at noticing "off" animals from my time in the veterinary field and he seemed fine just the day before... maybe he had a sudden heart attack or heat stroke? It was 93 degrees that day but the entire run was covered and shaded. It is unusual for our area to hit 90+. Or maybe he was just good at hiding whatever illness he had. He was always my favorite cockerel, such a ham for the camera since day one! Nice type too. Darn! I have a sister of his at least. He was also a gentleman when I had to handle him and was low man on the pecking order. Maybe he wasn't an aggressive enough breeder? Just throwing ideas out there...

This morning I cracked open eggs collected from the girls yesterday with now rooster #3 who has been in the pen for maybe a month or less and he has always been a little bit more of a punk with a slight aggressiveness when breeding and what do you know? I had a couple fertile Ameraucana eggs and my layer eggs are fertile too.

And here I thought raising chickens was going to be as easy as putting so and so rooster over so and so hens.

 

[chickenmomma16]

What was the temperature when the eggs were being collected? How long were they stored, how were they stored, and at what temperature? Have you hatched eggs before, in the summer, using the incubator that you most recently used? Did you have a good hatch when you hatched LAST SUMMER?

Perhaps the Ams need their butt feathers trimmed? I would suggest that the dead roo was not fertile. Where did you get your Ams from? Any fertility issues noted by the breeder? You might also put the flock on vitamins, and a higher protein feed for 2 weeks before collecting eggs next time.

The eggs were stored no longer than 2 weeks and were turned until setting, no, I haven't hatched out of an incubator before, I'm using a Brinsea Octagon (+ an added thermometer and hygrometer) but I had to be doing something right as all my layer's eggs hatched out right on schedule. Not sure about storage temps for the eggs, they were kept in an unoccupied room of our small house.

They are eating Nutrena's Egg Producer which is a 21% percent protein layer feed with oyster shell out for them and supervised free range time. Vitamins in water occasionally, when I feel like messing with it.

No fertility issues with the breeder to my knowledge but I'm due to check in with him anyway so I will mention something. He's been really open with me about issues in the past so I'm sure he's not hiding anything. Rooster #1 (older rooster) is from a completely different breeder BTW.

Last summer I only hatched EEs with a broodies with 22 out of 24 eggs hatching and the 2 eggs that were not fertile were from one hen that rooster #1 treated like a rival rooster. She was my only gold/red color hen. It wasn't the first time rooster #1 treated a hen that color.

 

[lazy gardener]

I do find it interesting that chickens show color preference in the flock. I've seen it happen too often for it to be coincidence. Sounds like you have a roo who is taking his responsibility seriously now! Good luck with your next trial. If you have not yet read all of "hatching eggs 101" in the learning center, I urge you to do so. I go back and review every spring before plugging the bator in. Interestingly my avatar EE roo does not care for barred birds. But, he's gonna have to get over that issue, cause I have 6 new barred pullets for him. And with my spring hatch, I think every brown egg set was not fertile, while I got 95% hatch and viable chicks from my green/aqua/blue/olive eggs!

 

[sourland]

If it were me, I would remove the 'layer' hens so the only hens that were available to the rooster were the Ameraucanas. They may just be younger and quicker whereas the older hens are easier.

 

[chickenmomma16]

If it were me, I would remove the 'layer' hens so the only hens that were available to the rooster were the Ameraucanas. They may just be younger and quicker whereas the older hens are easier.

I actually just posted those 4 laying girls on CL and just got a response (Green laying black EE, 2 Black sexlinks, and a silver leghorn) and I had purchased some golden sexlink chicks to be raised with my lone Wheaten cockerel I hatched (I got rid of the EEs that hatched). Hopefully the golden sexlinks will be in the same kinda color spectrum as my wheatens. It will be nice to have some fresh layers at least! I want to keep my Am project going but have to keep the husband fed too so adding the good laying hens helps a lot.