Rated PG-13:
In our big coop, we have 19 hens and Wilbur. I have no idea how old he is nor do I know how long roosters can . . produce babies. I think he may be at that point. I asked Vince if he would call our vet and see if they could test Wilbur to see . well, whatever they do to see but Vince’s answer was NO!
I’ve been meaning to watch because in the evenings, there’s normally lots of hanky panky going on in the chicken yard. Maybe old Wilbur has lost his virility.
There are 7 hens sitting on eggs. I normally mark the date on the calendar so I know when to expect babies but I have not done it this year. I know it’s been more than 21 days. Those 7 hens had anywhere from 10 to 16 eggs under them. It’s been HOT. Some of those eggs have been stinking. I’d pick the hens up from time to time to see if there were babies under her. Nope but the hens smelled horrible from sitting on those stinking eggs and then I’d run back to the house and wash my hands.
I go out there and find egg shells so I’m thinking there will be babies. Nope! I’m thinking the eggs are getting so rotten, they explode with all the heat and hence the stinking coop and the stinking chickens.
I hate to gather up all the eggs and throw them into the woods because . . what if just one of them might be going to hatch? What if there are some fresher eggs in with all the old, stinky eggs and I throw out potential babies?
I’m afraid Wilbur is too old to father baby chicks. Who would ever have thought I’d be sad about that?
Cilla says
Use a flashlight in the semi dark to “candle” each egg. You can see very clearly what is inside them and if something is moving or a tiny “pulse”
Judy Laquidara says
That’s easy to do when I’m gathering eggs that don’t have hens sitting on them but these hens will about take my arm off if I try to see what’s under her so . . they can keep sitting as long as they want.
Joyce says
I did a quick “google”, and it said if you feed all your chickens laying feed, it can shorten the number of years a rooster is fertile. Apparently the extra calcium is not good for roosters. It also said a rooster’s fertility will wane as he ages, so he may be right when you say he’s too old. The article said one way to tell is to check the eggs you gather, and see if the yolk have the “dot” indicating it is fertile. (And that test is free!) 🙂
Judy Laquidara says
Yes, we do feed them all laying feed. I did know to check for the dot but just haven’t done it yet. It was just yesterday I just thought about maybe Wilbur is no longer able and haven’t cracked an egg since and I’ll need to make sure it’s one out of that coop because the other rooster is younger and since we got one baby from that batch this year, at least he’s somewhat fertile.
Nelle Coursey says
This is funny, but I think it might be time to try out a new rooster.