Do Chickens Get Married?

[casportpony]

Congratulations on having your thread featured!

 

[Ihavesomechickens]

So have they officially tied the knot with like a proper ceremony or are they just eggaged?

Now I’m imagining the ring but instead of a diamond it’s an egg

 

[centrarchid]

Congratulations on having your thread featured!

Say what?

So have they officially tied the knot with like a proper ceremony or are they just eggaged?

Now I’m imagining the ring but instead of a diamond it’s an egg

Some recent details have been left out that have been difficult to explain to kids. When hen comes off the nest, rooster has loving feelings the hen has no interest in at this point in time. He will be moved shortly to a pen nearby to as not to stress hen or inadvertently harm chicks that will hatch shortly. We have a container effect going on where rooster is more amorous than he needs to be. If hen could sneak off nest she could keep him at bay better.

 

[casportpony]

Say what?

You're on the homepage!

 

[centrarchid]

I see it now. The picture on link threw me.

 

[9SpiceyChickens]

Subbing

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Congrats, @centrarchid! I'm glad, this is a thread I am happy to follow and this makes it easier to find. You guys get a little technical for me sometimes but what I am wondering now is, what do the kids think? Do chickens (in their minds) get married? Was there a ceremony? Singing, flowers? How did the kids know it had happened -because there were eggs? How will you explain removing the rooster from the nesting area? Will they think a divorce occurred? (I'm all about the kids!) Thanks!

 

[kcan2]

My dad always tells a story about his sister marrying two snakes she found. She made little bonnets for them. The ceremony took place in the basement. I guess the snakes hissed at each other throughout their ceremony. One snake got away in the basement and they never found it. When mom found out about the missing snake, she was not happy, very much, at all. I think chickens have a better shot at a happy marriage!

 

[Wolfefarmyard]

We once purchase a pair of silkies and integrated them onto a flock of hens and one rooster.

The silkie pair stuck together, the silkie rooster took absolutely no interest in any of the other hens and the silkie hen would boss our other rooster around so he would never bother her.

When the silkie hen went broody, the silkie rooster stayed with her the ENTIRE time, they would actually sit on the egg together.
The egg hatched and the were the best parents ever, they cared so well for it.

To me it truly was like they were married and had a little family! They were such an interesting and unique family. I had never seen anything like them before!

 

[BYC Project Manager]

This is a question given by my six year old daughter and some of her friends. It is a kind to ticklish question to answer, so we decided to see how the birds operate as a pair. My daughter and her eight year old brother got it in their minds to run a trial. My daughter was gifted a hen of her choosing and I selected a stag that was suitable for the job as easy to handle. Daughter named the hen "Love Heart" and my son named the stag "Trace". We must have 20 chickens with names which makes me queasy sometimes.

My requirement is we are to purchase nothing extra to conserve money. We rounded up materials to construct an elevated nest made of a black plastic milk crate, cardboard from a cereal box, and bungee cords all attached to a pair of T-posts. Kids added some soil and grass for nesting materials. Then we rounded up a couple pens that are soon to be replaced by much heavier versions. A hole was cut into each pen and my son tied them together using short wires be cut to length by bending them repeatedly to promote failure by fatigue. The holes where aligned so the birds can use both pens. One pen covered the nest with shade while the other pen provided more space and will be where feed is applied. In day or so we will place a game camera so we can monitor activity in the nest. If all goes well we will post what is happening so my daughters teacher than distribute findings to the whole class. The kids are already learning a lot. First round of images below.

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Wow, what an interesting read right there @centrarchid! Congrats on the homepage feature!!