Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

Once you decide which Rooster & hens you want to breed,
what do you do to have the best chance for good fertility?

Do you separate the rooster for a week or so, to build up "desire"
Is there any special food you give them?
( I heard it was good to give roo raw hamburger - true or ? )

Do you give them extra light or do anything special?

BIG Thanx for any info :chicken:

I really don't do anything special, I've never had to build up desire in a rooster. LOL. I will give them leafy greens, fruits once in a while, some people add a higher protein diet and some vitamin mineral supplement in the water every other day.

LOL ~ yeah I've never had to build up a roos desire...but is there anything extra you do to have a better fertility rate?
Guess I'm just getting anxious to set up my bator & will do anything that will give my eggs the best chance. THANX

LOL. i don't think roosters need to build up desire either. they seem just perfectly happy to make babies whenever, wherever. if you are breeding off particular females i would remove any other girls that might distract from his attention to them....i don't think you have to worry really-unless he's shooting blanks and then you need a new boy. you should get fertilized eggs about 3 days after you put the boy in with the girls....it takes about 3 days for the egg to travel through the girl, and only ones without the albumen and shell can be fertilized, so make sure he's with them for 3 days at least before you collect to incubate.

If the girls have been with a different roo then you will want to wait for about 3 weeks before putting the eggs in the incubator to ensure that the eggs are fertile from the new roo.