Early breeding?

[aart]

My Rhode Island Red I can get one and a half fingers between pelvic and 3 fingers between pelvic and breast so does that mean she is closer to laying then the other?

I would say so, yes.
Tho I've found that pelvic bones can spread to laying status a good week or two before laying actually commences...uptick in vocalizations and especially messing in nests is more a sign that laying is imminent.

 

[Matieus27]

So what I seen was likely dominance mounting rather than mating? And the squatting of the pullet was just her submitting?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've seen a 13 week old pullet willingly squat for a 13 week old cockerel. They went through the entire mating routine, including touching vents. That pullet did not start laying for another two months. A pullet squatting does not mean she is ready to lay.

The mating routine with adolescents is much more about dominance than it is about sex. The one on bottom is accepting the dominance of the one on top, either willingly or by force. It sounds like your pullet accepts the dominance of that cockerel. An adolescent cockerel looks like a sex crazed maniac but he's not really. The hormones are more pushing him to be dominant than just going after sex. He can enforce his dominance by fighting if they fight back. If they don't fight back he may chase and peck. Or he may force them to mate with him on top.

It's fairly rare but occasionally a cockerel will mount another cockerel. That doesn't mean he is weird, it means he is dominant. Occasionally, especially if no mature rooster or somewhat mature cockerel is in the flock, you will see a hen or pullet mounting another female. That doesn't mean she is weird, it means she is dominant.

I suggest you get the nests installed and opened now with a fake egg in them. I have seen pullets start to lay by 16 weeks. I expect some have had them start even earlier. Often before they start to lay a pullet looks for a suitable nest to lay her eggs, often as much as a week in advance. I want mine to learn to lay in the nests instead of somewhere else. Not all pullets do that, egg laying seems to catch some by surprise. Those can drop an egg anywhere, from the roosts at night or just walking around. But at some point they will look for a nest to lay in. I want my nests to be in consideration.

Another reason I want the nests open before they start to lay is that if I am going to have problems I want to know about them before I have broken or poopy eggs. Part of that nest search usually involves scratching. If your nesting material or fake eggs end up on the coop floor it probably means you need to raise the lip on the nest.

Occasionally chickens will sleep in the nests instead of on the roosts. If your roosts are noticeably higher than the nests this usually doesn't happen but it still can. If they are sleeping in the nests instead of the roosts there is usually a reason. Chickens poop a lot at night. If they are going to sleep in the nests I want to solve that problem before I start to get poopy eggs.

 

[aart]

So what I seen was likely dominance mounting rather than mating? And the squatting of the pullet was just her submitting?

Hard to say for sure.
Was it the RIR that squatted for the male?
Are her comb and wattles bright red?
Did they actually do the cloacal kiss?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

So what I seen was likely dominance mounting rather than mating? And the squatting of the pullet was just her submitting?

I don't think so. I think it was practice mating.

 

[Matieus27]

Hard to say for sure.
Was it the RIR that squatted for the male?
Are her comb and wattles bright red?
Did they actually do the cloacal kiss?

I was not that close to see that and it was the black australorp and the white leghorn

 

[MissChick@dee]

Personally I’m worried more about having just 2 hens with 2 roosters.
The ratio is way off.
A over bred hen suffers. Loss of feathers leaves skin exposed rips and tears of the skin can be nasty and infected. Just my 2cents.

 

[Matieus27]

Personally I’m worried more about having just 2 hens with 2 roosters.
The ratio is way off.
A over bred hen suffers. Loss of feathers leaves skin exposed rips and tears of the skin can be nasty and infected. Just my 2cents.

Yes I plan to remedy the situation I’m hatching eggs now and I plan to dispatch a rooster or build a bachelor pad for them I’m not sure yet my girls have grown attached to the white leghorn they have named him Leo but I’m partial to the silver laced Wyandotte so there is that so it’s making the decision that much harder

 

[Ginmary]

Here are the ages my girls started laying:
Buff Orpington: 18 weeks
Ameracauna: 23 weeks
Silkie: 26 weeks

Seramas: 16 weeks and within a month after, there were fertile eggs since they have a roo.

 

[Matieus27]

Here are the ages my girls started laying:
Buff Orpington: 18 weeks
Ameracauna: 23 weeks
Silkie: 26 weeks

Seramas: 16 weeks and within a month after, there were fertile eggs since they have a roo.

Now with it being cold and pretty much winter will that make eggs later than normal?