Does a rooster have to start crowing before it is able to reproduce?

[littlels]

Is it possible to have a rooster who is sexually active but hasn't yet crowed or is the crowing kind of a "coming of age"? Or is the only way to know is if he begins mounting the hens?

 

[TinyTotsSeramas]

Rooster doesnt need to crow in order to mate. Some roosters never crow.

 

[Ole rooster]

Mine crowed every morning. Now he says nothing. I guess figures what's the use.

 

[aoxa]

You can check to see if your eggs are fertilized by cracking them open and looking for the bullseye. Other than that, I'm sure crowing has nothing to do with mating.

 

[centrarchid]

In my experience, roosters / cockerels / males begin crowing long before able to breed. Individuals vary greatly in repect to frequency of crowing and the frequency for individuals seems to go up and down over time.

 

[littlels]

Does it have anything to do with breed? Are some breeds noisier than others?

I have a cockreal that I have and I am getting rid of the older rooster. When can I put the cockreal with the hens? How many hens can one rooster handle? I would like all or the great majority of my eggs fertile?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

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X2

I've had them crow as early as 7 weeks.

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Some breeds are much noisier than others, some early maturing breeds like Jaerhons start very early. I guess in Norway you have get up to speed fast.

I usually raise the cockerels with the hens. Light breeds can handle 12 or more. Heavier breeds are better with about 8. Young cockerels will try to breed for a while before they are quite ready. It's better to wait till they're about the same age as when pullets eggs of the same breed start to reach normal size. Also IMO roosters need to be photo stimulated for breeding just like hens for egg laying.

 

[TinyTotsSeramas]

it depends on the bird.. I have 2 Serama roos, one crows and one doesnt. just their personal choice.

As far as getting fertile eggs.. either way you look at it, with a cockerel your taking a shot in the dark and he might not fertilize the eggs because of lack of experiance or not ferilized by the older rooster due to declining fertility.. so if you were to swap out the older roo with the cockerel, you'd have to crack an egg and look for the bullseye for a while until you know he's getting the hang of it.