Very Strange Question

[CluckNChatterRa]

Ok, I know this may sound like a ridiculous question... I have been breeding and raising chickens for several years, so I'm not a Newbie...

I have an Easter Egger hen, about 2.5 years old. She lays nice and very large light brown eggs....
I have a Bantam Blue Faverolle rooster who mounts her regularly. He is good at fertilizing the eggs of all of my LF hens and is a bigger boy for a bantam.... but I have never been successful hatching any of her eggs. I've tried SEVERAL and none of them are ever viable. Ive had many successful hatches from him and other hens.

So, my question is this: If a hen lays eggs and she is regularly being mated... saying that he is "doing it right" and covering her properly... is it possible for her to be infertile, even though she is laying eggs?

 

[RileyB]

Have you checked the eggs ahead of time to see if they're fertile? You should gather some of her eggs and crack them open to see if they are fertile or not. Then you will be able to see if all of her eggs are infertile.

 

[CluckNChatterRa]

But, I'm wondering if its possible for a hen that is laying eggs and being mated to be infertile herself.... Like, a woman can get a period and still not be able to get pregnant because they are infertile. Does a hen laying an egg automatically mean that the eggs she is lying are ALWAYS ABLE to be fertilized? Does this make sense? We are talking hypothetically now.