is my roo a dud

[max101]

i have a 15 week silkie roo he is not crowing at all yet. I have 3 hens 2 the same age and 1 is 7 months old. I have had her for 2 weeks now and she laid her first egg for me yesterday To day I seen my roo grab and jump on her, it was quick though. Is he trying to mate with her and if so is he capable?? he doenst seem interested in my other hens that way. The hen laid her first egg for me just on the floor how do I make her lay them in her box, and if the roo is old enough to be a dad will she just naterally sit on the egg Thanks

 

[Year of the Rooster]

Some roos take longer to crow than others, each individual is different.

He wasn't TRYING to mate with her, he WAS mating with her. Chickens do not take long to mate like mammals. They get on, the get off, then they're done. As little as 4 seconds sometimes.

The reason he's probably most interested in her is because she is laying. Roosters will mate with hens that are laying or are getting close to laying age. Why would you want to mate with hen thats not producing yet?

If you want her to lay in the nest boxes, try showing them to her or put some fake eggs or golf balls in the boxes to encourage her.

The rooster does not have any effect on whether a hen will go broody. It is a hormonal thing and there are plenty of hens that have sat on eggs without a rooster.

 

[max101]

I see but is my roo old enough to do the job is he fertile at 15 weeks even though he is not crowing. I will grab some fake eggs and put in the nest box for her and hopefully she will sit on them as I dont have an incubatorer as I didnt think this would happen so fast. Thanks

 

[Year of the Rooster]

I doubt that he is fertile at that age. It may take a month or two.

 

[The Chicken Lady]

There are varying opinions out there about this, but it seems to boil down for the most part to hens choosing to go broody of their own volition. You can't really make them want to...(it seems like you might be wondering about this).

If you have a Silkie hen, that's in your favor, because that breed has a tendency to go broody (with some breeds, the hens hardly ever go broody at all!).

She's still pretty young, though, especially if she just started laying eggs. Have patience, but if you want more chickens now, check out your local feedstore or look into incubating and hatching your own chicks.