Broody Rooster

[IrfaanGP]

Heya guys n' Gals..

So after 2 years of being on BYC

.. We finally got our coop made and our first pair of Ameraucana's.

Made our incubator and decided to hatch out a few chicks,

Since electricity is not all that cheap here in Sunny South Africa, We were searching for a way to minimize brooding the little ones,

We found a thread on the forum about introducing the chicks to the hen and making her a surrogate broody..

So after 2 weeks , we introduced the chicks.. yet alas .. no motherly instinct was shown.

We have been slightly worried as weve heard about roosters eating baby chicks,

Until this evening when we went to close the coop door.. Much to our surprise!!

A broody Rooster!!

With baby chicks cuddling under him for warmth in our rainy season..

Chickens.. never fail to amaze!

Seasons greetings for 2017 yall'!!

 

[sourland]

Centrarchid has posted about some of his roosters exhibiting broody behavior towards chicks. In order for a hen to accept and care for chicks, she must first be broody/clucky/setting.

 

[centrarchid]

For some reason, adult roosters adopt chicks easier than hens. I remember vaguely seeing where Roman poultry farmers used to use roosters to cover up to 30 chicks. The chicks where hatched in their building sized incubators and hens were not available for the job. The broody rooster may be a concept well understood at one time but technology has been lost.