How long after getting rid of a rooster, can a hen still lay fertile eggs?

I have some hens and a neighbors rooster came here for a week or so now has been gone about a week. Can a hen still lay fertile eggs?

Well, that much is anyones guess.... Hens (all birds, actually) can store sperm. There have been reports of hens laying fertile eggs at random years after having been exposed to a rooster. I assume that the reason you're asking is you don't want to risk using a fertile egg to cook with for moral purposes. Well, its hard to really ever be sure if your hens have been exposed to a rooster, but you should be reasonably safe within a week.

i'd probably go with jadedgoldfish's answer. but also not sure if the hen would be laying fertile eggs after the rooster is removed from her presence. but for sure she'll still be laying eggs but not eggs that could hatch once the rooster is gone.

Its either a week or two I can't remember. I took a class in college and they went over that, but I have slept a lot since then.

If she was going to lay them she should have started to lay about 4 to 5 days if he had been with her. But All females can lay eggs without mating. The only way it would be fertilized is she would have to be with the male. If she was to lay eggs say in about 2 weeks, then no they would not be fertile.SapphyreCertified Avian Specialistwww.borrowed-rainbow.comJoin us at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BorrowedRainbowAviary/