are they mating?

[emilyann]

Ive got my timid roo ( he is on loan from friends) in with my meekest cochin hen at the moment...they have been together for 4 days now and seem to be finally getting along well.
Hen has laid three eggs, two in a really halfhearted attempt at a nest and one just randomly on the ground, and she displayed no sign of sitting on them so I gatherred them up and brought them inside. She wasnt worried about me touching tem so I took all this to be signs that they werent fertile.
I havent seen any chook sex going on, but today when I went into the enclosure, the hen squatted when I petted her ( first time ever!) and when I looked at her vent, it was kind of wet and sticky with a few strands of straw even clinging to her vent-proximity feathers.....is this a sign of chicken matings having occurred? He back feathers look normal....the sticky vent and new squatting behavior is all I have to go on.

Should I be doing something with eggs she lays from now on? If she doesnt sit on thm, does that mean they arent fertile?? I really really really want babies from this roo!

All advice and thoughts gratefully accepted!

 

[Mahonri]

I wouldn't jump to any conclusions.

Do a search here on what fertile eggs look like.

Spend some more time out there with them and perhaps you'll see mating behavior.

You can also facilitate it by trimming feathers about both of their vents. (make it easier for the roo to hit his target.)

 

[nzpouter]

a hen wouldn't care if you're touching their eggs when they're not broodie.... doesn't mean it's not fertile.

 

[emilyann]

thankyou so much guys! Your sharing of wisdom is most appreciated!