what is wrong...

[EmilyOfIndiana]

OK ladies and gentlemen, I have a question. Around September last year I gave a friend of mine several chicken eggs to put in his incubator. He has hatched eggs before. Well, after being in the incubator for several days he candled them and told me they were not fertile. Now, I do have a rhodie rooster. Fully mature (3 years old now). And I have seen him cover my girls.

There was a brief period where the eggs were left a room temp before they were put in the incubator. Could that have hurt them in any way?

And what about my roo? Could there be something wrong with him? Do roosters become incapable of doing their job after a certain point?

Finally, is there anything I can do to help me for the next time I attempt to hatch my own birds?

 

[Hillschicks]

Im new at this hatching stuff, but its my understanding that fertility goes down as roosters get older... I was also told when collecting eggs you intend to store its good to keep them room temp, stored pointy end down, and turn em twice a day just for good measure... Hope that helps

 

[Frost Homestead]

In my opinion, candleing after a few days like that isn't a good way to determine if they're fertile or not. If you have a roo the eggs should be fertile. At 3 yrs he should be in his prime, I would incubate some eggs myself, it's the only sure-fire way to know.

 

[EmilyOfIndiana]

Guess I get to buy an incubator

 

[Frost Homestead]

oh, PS - storing them at room temp. should not affect them. As long as they're not getting unusually warm to the point where they start incubating. Temps. between 55-75 are ideal for storing eggs

 

[EmilyOfIndiana]

Guess this answered my question. 21 days later my hen gave me these! Haha!