Try buying some wheat germ oil from your local health shop and put it on the corn every day 4 two weeks before they are paired up until they lay, we have done it the last two years and had no problems, also I have been told the day before you are going to let the cock tred the hen pop a smarty down its throat ( I think its something 2 do with all the e numbers in it??)
Hemp, so add a nice amount, say 15-20% to his diet.
Everyday, wheat germ oil over his food a week leading to pairing.
Now a big secret:
You pair him on sight, no treading. He can kiss through bars.
Day 4, 5, 6 are critical she is starting to form her egg, she needs the sperm cell.
So he sees her 2 times a day on each of these days, for 5 minutes.
Till she lies.
Reason: Old boys have bad sperm quality and numbers, so day 1-4 he treads away, for no good reason, wasted the little sperm he has left.
The quality and rejuvenation is not like when he was 3 years old, so you don’t waste it while it means nothing, Day 1-3.
Trust me the 7 day sperm lasting theory is nonsense, that’s in a lab, not in a loft.
The above works like you cannot believe, if you want it bad enough, you take time and care as above, he will fill.
Don’t waste that sperm, the quality and quantity is not great.
Make sure the old cocks and their hens are on light for 14 to 16 hours a day for two weeks before pairing up. The gonads won't become active without sufficient light. Full spectrum lights are best, but the amount of light is more important than kind.
Forget pairing him till after Easter. As with other posts wheat germ oil in caps. one everyday till the hen lays. Get a pair of scissors cut half his tail way. Also cut all feathers very short round his vent. I've had old cocks fill their eggs up to 17 years old and have found many breed with success later in the year June onwards not early.
I have a bird from 1995 that hasn’t filled his eggs for a few years. I was reading in the book called feed to win that an experiment was done with old cocks that hadn’t filled there eggs. 6 of them were fed corn dampened with wheat germ oil and covered with the supplement creatine for 14 days prior to pairing up. The wheat germ oil hots up there sexual appetite and the creatine makes the sperm more active, all 6 birds filled there eggs. None of these birds had any disabilities like arthritis that prevented them filling there eggs just that there sperm had slowed down with old age. We have had our bird on this now for 10 days and will be pairing up soon. We will let you know if it works. The amount of creatine was 5 grams to 800 grams of corn.