Broody rooster????

melindalee73

In the Brooder
Jan 29, 2016
13
4
44
Has anyone ever seen this? My boy is about a year old. He is a bantam Cochin. Sweet little guy who, sadly has never (that I'm aware of) been successful in mating with my 10 full sized hens. About 2.5 weeks ago he began sitting in the coop on the nest all day. I immediately separated him from the flock and kept him in the house for 2 days. I thought he must be sick... He seemed totally fine. Skin looks good. Crop is fine. Vent looks good. Eating, drinking and pooping fine... So I put him back outside. He went straight back to the nest. I kept him locked up for 3 more days. Let him back out and straight back to the nest. He is staying on the nest ALL day just like a broody hen. He pushes the eggs up under himself and fluffs his feathers around them. I've even seen some of his chest feathers lining the nest. Any ideas of what is going on here? (and yes, he is definitely a rooster...)
 
frow.gif
Now that is a dilemma. I don't have an answer but find the situation interesting.

I do know hens can experience virilization and demonstrate male characteristics and crowing when they have an ovarian problem.

Wonder if the little guy has a hormonal issue? Since most scientific information is directed at commercial layers, bet there's not a lot of help in google searches.

Hope someone with a similar experience will show up with some opines.
 
:frow   Now that is a dilemma.  I don't have an answer but find the situation interesting.

I do know hens can experience virilization and demonstrate male characteristics and crowing when they have an ovarian problem.

Wonder if the little guy has a hormonal issue?  Since most scientific information is directed at commercial layers, bet there's not a lot of help in google searches.  

Hope someone with a similar experience will show up with some opines.


I had thought the same thing about hormones. So far every issue I've experienced as a chicken owner has been pretty easily researched and I've worked through it. This one, however, has me stumped.
I'm almost tempted to put some fertile eggs under him just to see what happens...

The article about the roo laying eggs just seems too crazy! I can't even imagine.
If that starts I'm just gonna accept him as a girl and live happily ever after with my little transgender roo-hen. :)
 
I did some more searches, the story about the transgender rooster appears in respected Poultry Science articles and magazines.

There's not a lot of information, but if you search under Avian or Fowl for the tumors or infertility issues there are several papers and studies - I found one on a goose, quail, and guinea fowl. The only one on poultry was a whole flock of loss of fertility due to adverse water/feed condition for several days.

The tumors: Sertoli Cell = rare, Seminomas, Leydig Cell Tumors - late features of all would be a sick chicken. But early signs could be feminization with lack of testosterone the egg/estrogen ovary would dominate.

Other thoughts - and I hope this is the answer.....lowered production of gonadatrophins ( hormones secreted by the pituitary that stimulate the activity of the gonads.) These come from the pituitary in the brain and stress can cause a reduction in the gonadotrophins which in turn would lower the testosterone.

So, maybe the little fellow has been so stressed with not being able to "handle" those big gals....stress may cause his testosterone to fall....and result in a relative excess of estrogen & prolactin levels. In hens it is the high prolactin levels that causes broodiness.

Personally I lost one of my hens to a likely ovarian tumor. She began crowing and later stopped laying eggs. This went on for months and she was apparently healthy. But eventually she did have failure to thrive with wasting and finally died. I did a lot of research after her demise and all signs were loss of her ovary as the cause.

Hope your Broody Guy is just stressed - maybe you need to get him some bantam hens?
 

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