When roosters mate....

[Moody Broody]

Just a question

When a rooster mates once with a hen, it fertilises 3 or so weeks of eggs, so if that rooster mated again with that hen, would that double the fertilisation time?

 

[Sonya9]

No, unless of course the second time was 3 weeks after the first, then yes.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The time we use for a hen remaining fertile depends on why we are using that time. While it is possible a hen may be fertile for three weeks or even a few days longer after a mating, most of us count on her being fertile for only two weeks if we want fertile eggs. So if you want fertile eggs, get them within two weeks of the last mating. If you are waiting to clean a hen up from one rooster so you know the chicks were fathered by a second rooster, you need to wait at least three weeks and even better a bit longer to make absolutely sure she is clean.

When chickens mate, the sperm is stored in a special container near where the egg starts its journey through the hen. The older the sperm gets, the weaker and less viable it gets. How long that takes will differ for each rooster. They vary, depending on age, health, and just the individual rooster. So it is length of time since the last mating that counts, not the number of times they mate.