Do Chickens Get Married?

[chicknmania]

We have 40 birds with names, speaking of queasy. I have a list. I have to refer to it sometimes....

 

[drumstick diva]

Doesn't seem like many people get married anymore. I'm the single parent of a 34 year old son.. My son and his girlfriend have been living together since the covid thing. I don't see any reason they have to get married and I don't think they plan on doing it.

 

[Saaniya]

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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This is so cute except the sitting on top.

 

[Manhen]

We have 40 birds with names, speaking of queasy. I have a list. I have to refer to it sometimes....

Professor Schweetie (EE roo)
Owl-Head (nobody likes him) (EE roo)
Singleton (EE roo)
Hanz, Franz, and Boris (Welsummer roos)
Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky III (Dominique roos)
The Duke (RIR roo)
Rudy (Leghorn roo)
Marco Pollo (Buff Orpington roo)
Blanch (black hen)
Picadilly (Buff Orpington hen)
The Three Sisters (Speckled Sussex hens)
Matilda (Dominque hen)
There are 49 more hens...I did lose track and the guilt weighs heavy.

 

[LunaPhase]

I pair bonded and got a little baby from it.

 

[BDutch]

I don't see that it is hurting the chickens, it is temporary, and it is an object lesson for the children.

Opinion
I do imagine it can hurt the chickens, especially the hen. Chickens don’t show hurt unless it is about fatal. People search help on this forum for a hen that is over-mated because she shows wounds. Not because the hen is complaining she doesn't like it that the rooster wants to mate even if she doesn’t. Time for a chickens #metoo!
Imo: One rooster needs at least 3 hens (most breeds).

Experimenting with animals can be cruel. And I don't think its a good thing to educate children in experimenting with animals when animals can get hurt.

Btw, I think the large chicken factories for eggs and meat are cruel for the chickens too. But millions of people buy these eggs and meat in the supermarkets. So .. millions of people seem to think otherwise (or don't think if they buy food).

 

[aart]

Opinion
I do imagine it can hurt the chickens, especially the hen. Chickens don’t show hurt unless it is about fatal. People search help on this forum for a hen that is over-mated because she shows wounds. Not because the hen is complaining she doesn't like it that the rooster wants to mate even if she doesn’t. Time for a chickens #metoo!
Imo: One rooster needs at least 3 hens (most breeds).

Not sure if you are familiar with @centrarchid and his background.
Pretty sure you don't have a clue.
He has a plethora of education and experience with animal husbandry and biology.

 

[Don 27]

You're on the homepage!View attachment 2113185

That's a funny par of birds!
wonder who made that picture?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Opinion
I do imagine it can hurt the chickens, especially the hen. Chickens don’t show hurt unless it is about fatal. People search help on this forum for a hen that is over-mated because she shows wounds. Not because the hen is complaining she doesn't like it that the rooster wants to mate even if she doesn’t. Time for a chickens #metoo!
Imo: One rooster needs at least 3 hens (most breeds).

Experimenting with animals can be cruel. And I don't think its a good thing to educate children in experimenting with animals when animals can get hurt.

Btw, I think the large chicken factories for eggs and meat are cruel for the chickens too. But millions of people buy these eggs and meat in the supermarkets. So .. millions of people seem to think otherwise (or don't think if they buy food).

You're right, that is an opinion and you're certainly entitled to it. Have a nice day.

 

[centrarchid]

Opinion
I do imagine it can hurt the chickens, especially the hen. Chickens don’t show hurt unless it is about fatal. People search help on this forum for a hen that is over-mated because she shows wounds. Not because the hen is complaining she doesn't like it that the rooster wants to mate even if she doesn’t. Time for a chickens #metoo!
Imo: One rooster needs at least 3 hens (most breeds).

Experimenting with animals can be cruel. And I don't think its a good thing to educate children in experimenting with animals when animals can get hurt.

Btw, I think the large chicken factories for eggs and meat are cruel for the chickens too. But millions of people buy these eggs and meat in the supermarkets. So .. millions of people seem to think otherwise (or don't think if they buy food).

Alright, I am biting. I routinely run my chickens as pairs in free-range and penned settings. I got four single mate-ted pairs going right now in similar pens plus the following combinations; six hens one rooster, four hens one rooster, and two trios. The only ones looking a little rough involved the six hens to one rooster because they are in sustained lay and the rooster is a lot heavier. Most of the time in the single mated setups the rooster can be left with the hen through start of hatch. There are some roosters that have demonstrated good behavior around chicks and can be left in with biddies. This approach better in larger pens than used for this thread.

Now for when your pants are getting smart, this an experiment for my kids (especially daughter). For me, this is a well worn path excepting for modifications to actual nest box which I have good reason to suspect will work based on voluntary use of the milk crates left all over the place in the barn. The only real envelope pushing is the use of a cereal box to keep nesting materials in place. Normally a piece of plywood would be used until chicks ready to come out. The plywood removed so chicks can some and go without getting separated from momma, especially when cold. Or the milk crate is simply tipped on its side.

The other part that will certainly stress you out is we are going to lower the nest boxes to ground when chicks hatch so hens with broods can retreat to them each night after a wonderful day of free-range foraging. Once chicks about two weeks old we are going to do something I have done many times before; we are going to incrementally raise nest boxes back up on those T-posts to get whole kit and caboodle roosting up almost four feet (1 meter since you are in Europe) to shorten interval needed to get above snakes.

These poor dear birds must be in contact with nasty soil and vegetation, plus eat a lot horrible insects. They will be watched over by free-range dogs that might them at any moment eat them.

Mind you, I have only been using the plastic milk crates for about 10 years so I clearly have more to learn. We used to use wooden dynamite crates which were easier to get in a area that used to do a lot of mining. Or worse yet we stuffed a bunch hay or straw into a bucket and placed bucket on its side either tied to a wall or under manger in barn. Terrible, horrible things not keeping the birds cramped in an under sized coop.