[DenisCooper]

Ok, so without wanting to sound totally naive I am hoping someone can help clarify something for me.

I've got a number of chicken breeds and couple of different cockerels. All hens and cockerels free range together.

I've bought myself a brinsea incubator, but wanted to try and hatch some pure breeds.

So as my cockerels do what they are meant to be doing and mating with the hens, how long would I need to isolate the hens with the same breed cockerel for them to have a chance of being pure breed fertilised eggs.

So basically is one fertilised egg the outcome of the previous days mating?

Thanks, hopefully you aren't laughing too much lol

[macgro7]

You should separate them for at least couple of weeks. After one mating a hen can lay a whole clutch of fertile eggs - around 15, as this is how many are developing inside her at any given time.

[waddy]

I have read hens can store enough sperm for three weeks.


Helen

[Fleecewife]

You would also need to keep the hens on their own for a couple of weeks after removing them from the flock, as the first eggs they lay will have been fertilised by any cockerel.  Then add the cockerel you want to use, and keep them together while they are producing as many pure eggs as you want.

[in the hills]

I was told 3 weeks was usually sufficient.

[DenisCooper]

Excellent help. Thank you

[Stereo]

I always go for a month but I do sell a few eggs. For my own hatching I would risk a couple weeks. You'll soon tell if any of the chicks are not pure.

[Steph Hen]

On the other hand, the incubation period is also 3 weeks and then you'll be waiting to collect new eggs for a week or two so if I were you I'd incubate a few random eggs now to check your conditions and systems.

It's good to have practice at stuff like candling eggs, useful to know the height heat lamp needs to be at, how often brooder needs to get cleaned, water changed (water bottles much easier than conventional waterers imo), etc,). Once chicks are up and going I've mixed batches together, so if there were 3/4 weeks between batches, by the time they're say 2 and 6 weeks should be fine in together, so long as there's plenty food/space. Never mix older chicks with brand newly hatched chicks as the big ones bully and can kill the baby new ones.

There's always a market for pullets, cross breds too, but do you have a plan for your unwanted boys? I used to be able to shift the odd pure bred cock but mostly had to cull - it's worth having a plan before hand. (My plan was to kill unwanted boys as early as possible and give to a local hawk keeper - I tried raising some for meat but there was nothing on them).