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| How old does a rooster need to be to fertilize eggs. My only rooster is 4 mos old, no claws or long tail feathers yet, but he does seem to be mating with the hens. I've had the group for about two weeks now. Will the eggs I'm collecting today be fertiziled?
One hen may be broodie and I'd love her to hatch her own chicks, is possible. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by brendan_of_bonsai 4b AK (My Page) on Thu, Jul 17, 08 at 12:41
| Look for a "blood spot" when you crack the eggs. |
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- Posted by runningtrails 5 (My Page) on Thu, Jul 17, 08 at 17:11
| Oh yes! I forgot about that! Haven't seen one yet. Well, I'm sure we'll get there. Don't have a broody hen now anyway... |
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- Posted by allaroundgoatgirl (My Page) on Fri, Jul 18, 08 at 23:27
| Hey runningtrails, an egg can be fertilized and still not show a blood spot. look for the blastoderm (the white spot) on the yolk. if it is not a perfect circle it probably isn't fertile. if it looks like a bullseye (its perfectly round with another round dot inside of it), it is fertile. also, how many hens do you have? if he's got a lot of girls to fertilize, even if he is old enough, he probably won't get to all of them! :) hope this helped! |
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- Posted by velvet_sparrow z10 So. Calif. (My Page) on Sat, Jul 19, 08 at 17:02
| Blood spots in eggs have nothing to do with fertility, it is simply a bit of blood that got trapped in the egg during the development cycle. You need to look for the germinal disc and determine it's state: a blastoderm (fertile) or blastodisc (infertile). More info on fresh egg breakout with great pics here: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/b1166-w.html I'd gather & crack 3-4 fresh eggs and look for the germinal disc--at 4 months he may be a bit young, but it could happen. :) When eggs have been brooded for about a week and a half, THEN you can candle them to look for a dark mass that indicates that a chick is forming. Velvet ~:> |
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- Posted by runningtrails 5 (My Page) on Sun, Jul 20, 08 at 9:53
| I have twelve hens and the one, 4 mo old, rooster. I'll look for that spot. I'm hoping our chickens will raise their own chicks. Thanks for the info! |
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