Can the cockerels behaviour around mating tell us anything about the hens?

[rockethoe]

will the behaviour of the cockerel around the hens tell us anything about the fertility, lay rate, or other traits of the hens? given a surfeit of hens to chose from (I have two cockerels with 80 hens) will the cockerel choose the hens that lay the best?

 

[SourRoses]

Not really. They are more likely to prefer hens in lay, because the hens are often more likely to be cooperative.
But even very productive hens can be resistant to rooster advances. And some who are not laying can be cooperative.
The other stuff like rate of lay is not connected to mating behavior.

 

[Sic]

Research shows that roosters will select hens of high fertility, which doesn't correlate to rate of lay and may or may not help in your selection criteria.