How old before a cockeral is fertile?

[vanalpaca]

I have my Buff Ameraucana cockerals in with my Welsummer hens & poults and just realized....they were end of May chicks, so can they fertilize my hens?

To an untrained eye the boys look like girls, and I just figured out I have 2 buff boys and 2 buff girls and the 3 poult Chanticleers in with the Welsummer coop.

Since there is only 1 Welsummer Cock in that pen, I just figured out I'd be hatching out crossbreeds if the cockerals can be fertile at 8 1/2 months...

[Mike Gilbert]

Bonnie, they can be fertile much younger than that.  If you want pure stock, you will need to seperate those hens from multiple roosters a minimum of two weeks, and three weeks would be better.

[jerryse]

I started using a LF cockerel at 4 months last year because I saw him breeding hens.I got fertile eggs and chicks from him.It was a project and I was wanting the next generation.

[vanalpaca]

Yeah, I just figured out I had 4 buffs and 3 Chanticlers and 2 of the buffs were cockerals....Nice to have 2 pair of the Ameraucana buffs, but not in that coop.

Gathered 31 eggs and thought I would send them to my sis for trial hatching....Time to get serious about building another 4 coops or so to separate stock more.....weather keeps delaying this project with recent 20 degree weather with 30 mph winds it's been kinda cold to work entirely outside at the farm.

Thanks for the confirmation! I've been trying to 'empty' a room in the house of fowl, thus the 'impure' coop setup. Wouldn't have minded Wellie/Buffs crosses if just the Wellie Cock was busy, but don't want the 25 Wellie hens having EE's......with the buff cockerals being 'active'.

[DeWayne Edgin]

I had three Brown Red hens in a pen with two Brown Red roosters. I wanted to only use one of the roosters so i could use the other on the chicks. I separated them and kept checking their eggs for fertility. It toke 24 days for one of the hens to quit laying a fertile egg. I had real nice halos in the yolk for 24 days. I would give them three weeks to be safe or keep checking the eggs.