Change in flock dynamic.

[NysiaAnera]

There's no doubt of that....plenty of mating goes on when we are not around.      It may take a bit before she'll let a younger cockerel mate with her but one may eventually force the issue if he's dominant enough and it will go on from there.   If each male has plenty of mating opportunities to be had, then it's possible that she will get mated infrequently but most likely will still get bred enough to keep her eggs fertilized.  She'll be fertilized from Mo for up to 30 days after his last breeding if not currently being mated, but I'm betting she's getting bred if she's laying daily. 

Perhaps she is then. She is laying
almost daily. We hadn't planned on hatching any of her eggs, but I did add 2 to the ones I put under a hen a few days ago, just to try to get 2 more "layers only" from Mo.
I have been watching to see which rooster wins out to become the alpha roo. So far, they are all too docile to really assert themselves, even though all 3 seem to try. It is so funny to watch. One mates a hen, the other two run over and do their little dance around the hen, then one acts like it is trying to pick a fight, he gets completely ignored, and the other 2 walk off and leave him standing there looking disappointed. Lol Usually that one is Red, a Buff Orpington. The other 2 we call "The Twins", they are Buff Brahmas. None of them ever push the issue.

 

[centrarchid]

With smaller, more natural groups where the sex ratio is balanced, adjustments require only on a few days. With extreme gender imbalance in a larger social group you may not see what I call stable social interactions. For my birds that can freely choose who they interact with and where, the stability only last for a single breeding season. Harems become tightly nit in early to mid winter and maintain that through late summer when heavy molt commences. During heavy molt the birds are more loosy - goosy in terms of who they associate with. It is immediately after molt completion I see birds move into social groups they will be in the following season. Several factors seem to destabilize social groups and high among them are imbalanced sex ratios, loss of a brood, and limited forage.


What I call balanced most people will consider to have far too many roosters.

 

[NysiaAnera]

With smaller, more natural groups where the sex ratio is balanced, adjustments require only on a few days. With extreme gender imbalance in a larger social group you may not see what I call stable social interactions. For my birds that can freely choose who they interact with and where, the stability only last for a single breeding season. Harems become tightly nit in early to mid winter and maintain that through late summer when heavy molt commences. During heavy molt the birds are more loosy - goosy in terms of who they associate with. It is immediately after molt completion I see birds move into social groups they will be in the following season. Several factors seem to destabilize social groups and high among them are imbalanced sex ratios, loss of a brood, and limited forage.


What I call balanced most people will consider to have far too many roosters.

Okay, I know I typed up a big reply to this a while back... like 8 days ago! I guess I never actually posted it. :-(

So, in your own opinion, what is a balanced sex ratio, and what do you consider to be stable social interactions?

 

[centrarchid]

Okay, I know I typed up a big reply to this a while back... like 8 days ago! I guess I never actually posted it. :-(

So, in your own opinion, what is a balanced sex ratio, and what do you consider to be stable social interactions?

Balanced sex ratio is closer to 1 to 1 favoring females a little. In more stable social groups / harems, the cock (harem master) and hen(s) move about in a tighter group staying together thoughout the day and night except when hen is on the nest. Pattern can be maintained for an entire production season (January thru about September). With larger groups broody hens with chicks will not associate as much if at all with the harem master. In situations where hens more abundant but you still have multiple cocks, then you will see more fluid relationships between cocks and hens. Hens under those conditions might associate mostly with one cock but visit with others and be mated by them as well on a frequent basis. When female abundance skewed towards females even more then females may not associate closely with males at all beyond mating. Most flocks are managed to be in that category.

Harems move about much more tightly than do the other groups.