Why isn't my rooster fertilising the eggs??

[Mursal Mirza]

Hello everyone! I'm new to BYC and chickens.
So my question is why isn't my rooster fertilising the eggs? Well technically he is fertilising them but not frequently as I recently had three chicks hatch out of 9 EGGS!
Does this matter on the breed? If yes then he's a 1.8 month old buff Cochin. And btw I only have 3 hens(most of my hens catches some disease and died ) so I'm not sure it has anything to do with "too many hens." And also he tries to mate with my silkie (who is way bigger than a bantam hen and a little smaller than a standard chicken) but he just tries mating and gives up :/

Thanks in advance everyone

 

[chicmom]

Maybe the hens are avoiding him for some reason? Are they free ranging so that they could escape his advances? Three hens isn't too many for one rooster. Maybe he is just mating with his favorite hen? Does he have a favorite?

 

[Mursal Mirza]

Indeed they free range and his favourite hen is my 7lbs light Sussex

 

[junebuggena]

Eggs not hatching doesn't necessarily mean they were infertile. There are loads of reasons why a fertile egg might not develop into a chick.

 

[Mursal Mirza]

He did try mating the silkie but he couldn't reach the part that his tail is supossed to touch( you know what I mean if u know how their mating works)which is a seird considering his size and hers

 

[chicmom]

Indeed they free range and his favourite hen is my 7lbs light Sussex

Maybe if you could lock them up in the coop/run for a day or so, he could catch the other hens.

 

[Mursal Mirza]

Eggs not hatching doesn't necessarily mean they were infertile. There are loads of reasons why a fertile egg might not develop into a chick.

afterwards I broke those eggs open couldn't see the bullseye

 

[TattooedChicks]

Maybe you could check some fresh eggs for the telltale white bullseye and check his fertility there. Collect your eggs and carefully break them in a bowl one by one to inspect the yolk.

 

[Mursal Mirza]

Maybe if you could lock them up in the coop/run for a day or so, he could catch the other hens.

Oh yeah! that's a great idea! I have seen him catch some hens in the pen

 

[Mursal Mirza]

Maybe you could check some fresh eggs for the telltale white bullseye and check his fertility there. Collect your eggs and carefully break them in a bowl one by one to inspect the yolk.

What do u mean by check his fertility??