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Can an Old English Bantam fertilize my larger hens?

Discussion in 'General breed discussions & FAQ' started by chickzillafarms, May 17, 2011.

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  1. May 17, 2011 #1
    chickzillafarms

    chickzillafarms Hatching

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    May 17, 2011
    Hello All,

    Been reading for a while now, as a novice I love this web site, but I seem to have found a question that I can't find and answer to with the search feature.

    I have a beautiful Splash Old English rooster (at least that what we think he is) with a group of larger hens. Originally we got what we had hoped for was a hen and roo to breed, but have two Old English roos... He takes really good care of the hens, much better than my other lazy roo. The hens are australorp, rhode island red, ameraucanas, and a black and a red sexlink, and silver laced wyandottes. I know he is trying hard to mate with these birds that are easily 3 times his size, my question is can he? Is it of course he can, but with limited sucess? Or should I expect fetilized eggs all the time? Thanks in advance.
     

  4. May 17, 2011 #2
    Sunny Side Up

    Sunny Side Up Count your many blessings...

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    All a rooster needs to do is complete the "cloacal kiss" in order to transact business with a hen. Even with well-matched chickens the act is very brief, but seemingly effective. If your little roo is able to bend his back end and get his cloaca to touch, even briefly, the uplifted cloaca of any agreeable large hen, it's likely that he'll have fertilized her eggs. You can check the eggs you crack to eat and see if there is a bull's eye instead of a dot on the yolk.

    I've had chicks hatch that I could tell were a result of a bantam roo over a large hen.

    Once I watched as a little bantam attempted to mate with a big hen. She was agreeable and squatted on the ground as he approached. He hung on to her neck feathers with his beak, then began to scrooble his tail parts back towards hers. But he was just too short for this particular hen. She stayed there on the ground for a few minutes, then began to look annoyed and stood up. The roo continued to cling on to her, flapping his wings to stay on top. She started to turn around in circles, and they looked just like a rodeo act, a bull rider hanging on for dear life and trying to keep from being thrown for 8 seconds.

    There's always something amusing to watch in the chicken yard! [​IMG]
     
  6. May 17, 2011 #3
    Sonoran Silkies

    Sonoran Silkies Flock Mistress

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    Yes
     
  8. May 17, 2011 #4
    chickzillafarms

    chickzillafarms Hatching

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    May 17, 2011
    Quote:I would describe it more like what you said. Most of the hens just knock him off as if he was an ant. But the ones I see sitting for him, well, he just isn't big enough to hold on to their neck and "complete the cloacal kiss". Even his tail feathers aren't long enough to reach their back side. I was assuming if he just let go of their neck...but I guess the answer is just going to be sometimes yes. Thanks.
     
  10. May 17, 2011 #5
    birdmaniac3000

    birdmaniac3000 Songster

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    yes he should i have one that has mated with my roghde ilsand red hen and hatched them out he just needs to get the hang of it he needs to figure a way to do it.
     

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