When can I expect fertile eggs?

[Chickenhappy8708]

I have a white leghorn rooster, and buff Orphington hen(the only laying pullet in the flock). She has been laying for about 3 weeks now, and been mated for much longer. I've never noticed a white spot in the egg though. I'm not hatching thus season, but I was wondering why they are not yet fertile. They are both 17 weeks BTW.

 

[R2elk]

I have a white leghorn rooster, and buff Orphington hen(the only laying pullet in the flock). She has been laying for about 3 weeks now, and been mated for much longer. I've never noticed a white spot in the egg though. I'm not hatching thus season, but I was wondering why they are not yet fertile. They are both 17 weeks BTW.

Are you sure that your white spot is not a bull's eye?

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/16008/how-to-tell-a-fertile-vs-infertile-egg-pictures

 

[azygous]

At seventeen weeks, it's doubtful the cockerel has his technique perfected well enough to ensure fertilization. He needs to make good contact vent to vent to transfer enough sperm to the hen to do any good. There also can be a doubt as to the quality of this early sperm having the vigorous motility needed to get to where it needs to be to fertilize an egg inside a hen.

You should try to be patient until this pair is a year old.

Have you watched him perform? Look carefully while he's on the hen. He may not even be making contact. It can be hilariously entertaining watching a cockerel practice his mating technique. I had a six-month old Golden Cuckoo Marans cockerel that would acquire the "target" then launch himself at the hen, overshoot, make an aerial flip, and land on his head. I would laugh so hard, I almost needed 911 help.

 

[Chickenhappy8708]

She is his favorite, I have witnessed it many times, in not sure how good he is though.

 

[NatJ]

At seventeen weeks, it's doubtful the cockerel has his technique perfected well enough to ensure fertilization.

There appears to be wide variation in how old a rooster needs to be.

Someone had a cockerel that was 13 weeks old when he fertilized an egg that later hatched a chick:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...to-fertilize-eggs.430252/page-2#post-11849518

Someone else had a cockerel siring chicks at 9 weeks old:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/when-does-a-rooster-become-of-age.57758/#post-15462689

But there are plenty of other anecdotes of roosters that were over 6 months old before they were successfully mating. (6 months being about 26 weeks, since the others have all been stated in weeks.)

 

[R2elk]

There appears to be wide variation in how old a rooster needs to be.

Someone had a cockerel that was 13 weeks old when he fertilized an egg that later hatched a chick:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...to-fertilize-eggs.430252/page-2#post-11849518

Someone else had a cockerel siring chicks at 9 weeks old:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/when-does-a-rooster-become-of-age.57758/#post-15462689

But there are plenty of other anecdotes of roosters that were over 6 months old before they were successfully mating. (6 months being about 26 weeks, since the others have all been stated in weeks.)

My cockerels are doing fine at their job by 4 months.

 

[aart]

I've never noticed a white spot in the egg though.

There should be a white dot regardless if the egg is fertile or not.
It can be hard to flip the yolk around to see it.

 

[Chickenhappy8708]

There should be a white dot regardless if the egg is fertile or not.
It can be hard to flip the yolk around to see it.
View attachment 2331568

Oh, I will look for that next time I open one. I've dissected an egg in an MSU camp once, so I've seen blastoDISC before.