chickens and mating behavior

[kindir]

OK, this is may be a strange question, but I had a broody cochin hen in with a bantam mixed-breed roo and I put some eggs under the cochin. She hatched one single golden laced polish chick. I kept the three of them together and the roo has always been great. Now the polish chick has grown into an adult, fully feathered, hen but I have not ONCE seen the rooster try to mate with her.

I'm sure if I removed her and put her back he probably would, but if they are kept together from day one do roosters "know" that it's a bad idea? It just seemed odd to me but I spend quite a bit of time with my chickens and I've NEVER seen him try. Anyone else experienced this?

 

[Ridgerunner]

They don't know it is a bad idea. Have you checked the eggs for the bull's eye to see of they are fertile?

 

[kindir]

No, she's not laying yet. My polish always seem to take FOREVER to lay. But excellent idea when she does start! I certainly tend to agree that they wouldn't know any better (especially since I've seen siblings raised together have no problem) but it is just so bizarre that I never see him try it, there is no feather loss where the cochin has some. Maybe he just prefers the cochin ;-)

 

[Erica]

A docile rooster generally doesn't try to tread non-laying females.

Often adolescent or extra hormonal roosters will try to tread anything in sight. But yours sounds like normal behaviour given that the pullet isn't laying.

regards
Erica

 

[BlazeJester]

Grown men aren't interested in pencil-thin 12yr-olds... Grown roosters aren't interested in pencil-thin pre-adolescent pullets. Hormones speak silent volumes!!

 

[Wyandottelover]

Hi. I've got same problem with my Wyandottes. I bought them together and raised them in the same coop. It's been 17 weeks since I bought them and never seen the rooster trt to mate the hen. Thehen does not lay egg yet. Also last week I bought 3 Araucana, 2 of them laying eggs. The first time I mixed rhemqirh the Wyandottes in the garden the rooster mounted all of them.