But...you don't lay eggs, King???

[KettermanHillCoop]

So...I come home for lunch today and I check the coop. No chickens in the run area...okay, must be in the coop. The wind was howling today. I peek in the window expecting them to be on their perches. My heart dropped a bit...no birds on the perches! I look into the nesting boxes...there they all are...stuffed into the 3 cubbies! Yes...the rooster too! I said, "King....sweetie...you're a boy chicken...you don't lay eggs."

Is it normal for a rooster to shove his butt into a box with one of the girls??? Or do I have a gender confused rooster?

 

[MagpieDucks]

Young chickens usually sleep in the nesting boxes.

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

Young chickens usually sleep in the nesting boxes.

During the day? At night they squish together on the top perch. They all ran down the ramp when they heard me unwrap my Italian hoagie...lol.

 

[Chickassan]

Perfectly normal around here.

 

[sourland]

Perfectly normal - no gender confusion for that boy. Most roosters will pick a nest area and 'call' the hen to it with a particular vocalization. Which in chicken means, "Look at this safe place I have discovered for us to start a family."

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

Perfectly normal - no gender confusion for that boy. Most roosters will pick a nest area and 'call' the hen to it with a particular vocalization. Which in chicken means, "Look at this safe place I have discovered for us to start a family."

Phew! With all that he / she business at the beginning I thought maybe he felt confused! Lol

 

[aart]

Wonders if that the only place they could get away from the wind?
Are the girls old enough to lay?
I've never had birds in nests unless laying or broody.

Have seen a cock get in nest and coo for 30 minutes to show the girls where to lay,
but that was the first day I got my first flock all adults, he never did it again.

 

[sourland]

Perfectly normal - no gender confusion for that boy. Most roosters will pick a nest area and 'call' the hen to it with a particular vocalization. Which in chicken means, "Look at this safe place I have discovered for us to start a family."

The follow up vocalization means, "Okay now, sweet thing, shall we start the procreation process?"

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

Wonders if that the only place they could get away from the wind?
Are the girls old enough to lay?
I've never had birds in nests unless laying or broody.

Have seen a cock get in nest and coo for 30 minutes to show the girls where to lay,
but that was the first day I got my first flock all adults, he never did it again.

On that particular day (and night before) we had non-stop winds at 28-30 mph with gusts over 50 mph and rain. Basically a 16 hr whirlwind... First night with the tin roof too...so the noise probably scared the bejeezus out of them. Between the rain pelting the roof and the acorns dropping by the hundreds...it probably sounded like they were in the middle of a war zone.

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

Wonders if that the only place they could get away from the wind?
Are the girls old enough to lay?
I've never had birds in nests unless laying or broody.

Have seen a cock get in nest and coo for 30 minutes to show the girls where to lay,
but that was the first day I got my first flock all adults, he never did it again.

I have no idea how old they are...none. I don't know how to tell either.