I am raising my first batch of chicks and they will be 10 weeks old tomorrow. This is my first time having any chickens myself, and they are all from the same place and are all the same age.
I believe I have four cockerels, all Cuckoo Marans. One of my boys, JB (short for "Johnny Bravo") has always been ahead of the curve in development. He has always been biggest, he got the most feathers the earliest, his comb and wattles turned red and started to grow first and they are now the biggest and reddest of the group. At about 8 weeks old, he started to crow and is now pretty good at it. I've been hearing from people that 8 weeks is pretty early to crow... is that true?
And just now this evening, I was out with them while they free-ranging and I heard terrible squawking. My first thought was - oh no! Predator attack! But no, it was my man, JB. He had a hold of a BO pullet's head feathers and was trying to get on top of her from behind while she fought with all her strength to get away. After a few seconds he let go of her and went back to grazing.
A little while later, I heard cute little clucking noises and JB was standing with one of my Cuckoo Marans girls and he put his left wing down on the ground and started dancing in a circle around her while clucking/singing at her. I tired to look it up and I think this is courting behavior - is that right? He did it again to one of the BOs too before I put them away for the night.
Am I right in guessing that this is mating/courting behavior? If so, isn't this really young? At 10 weeks old, my girls have another 10 or more weeks to go before they start laying, right? My other roos are not nearly as developed as JB... smaller, pinker combs and wattles, no crowing, etc.
Anyway, just looking for opinions and clarifications on the behavior I'm seeing
Here's my big boy at 9.5 weeks old (this past Monday - I don't have a more recent pic that is in focus):
oh heck, here's one from yesterday, sorry it's blurry and a bad angle:
I believe I have four cockerels, all Cuckoo Marans. One of my boys, JB (short for "Johnny Bravo") has always been ahead of the curve in development. He has always been biggest, he got the most feathers the earliest, his comb and wattles turned red and started to grow first and they are now the biggest and reddest of the group. At about 8 weeks old, he started to crow and is now pretty good at it. I've been hearing from people that 8 weeks is pretty early to crow... is that true?
And just now this evening, I was out with them while they free-ranging and I heard terrible squawking. My first thought was - oh no! Predator attack! But no, it was my man, JB. He had a hold of a BO pullet's head feathers and was trying to get on top of her from behind while she fought with all her strength to get away. After a few seconds he let go of her and went back to grazing.
A little while later, I heard cute little clucking noises and JB was standing with one of my Cuckoo Marans girls and he put his left wing down on the ground and started dancing in a circle around her while clucking/singing at her. I tired to look it up and I think this is courting behavior - is that right? He did it again to one of the BOs too before I put them away for the night.
Am I right in guessing that this is mating/courting behavior? If so, isn't this really young? At 10 weeks old, my girls have another 10 or more weeks to go before they start laying, right? My other roos are not nearly as developed as JB... smaller, pinker combs and wattles, no crowing, etc.
Anyway, just looking for opinions and clarifications on the behavior I'm seeing
Here's my big boy at 9.5 weeks old (this past Monday - I don't have a more recent pic that is in focus):
oh heck, here's one from yesterday, sorry it's blurry and a bad angle:
Last edited:
