Is my rooster too young?

[NatJ]

My hens and rooster are both @8 1/2 months old. Roo is mating with one or two occasionally but not consistently. And it seems to last only a few seconds. Only one hen is laying so far. Is he just too young to know what he is doing? Should the others be laying already too?

Mating is important if you want to incubate eggs and have chicks hatch (or let a hen sit on eggs to hatch chicks.) Chicken mating generally is quite quick.

But hens will lay eggs even with no mating and no rooster at all. So what the rooster is doing (or not doing) will not affect whether your hens lay eggs.

Roosters are more likely to mate with hens that are already laying eggs, not with hens that are too young or molting or broody or otherwise not laying eggs. So if the others are not laying, maybe that is why he is not bothering to mate with them.

It is fairly common for hens to take the winter off, and start laying eggs in the springtime. If they were growing up in the fall and winter, they may wait until spring to start laying for the first time.

 

[Kgroves57]

Mating is important if you want to incubate eggs and have chicks hatch (or let a hen sit on eggs to hatch chicks.) Chicken mating generally is quite quick.

But hens will lay eggs even with no mating and no rooster at all. So what the rooster is doing (or not doing) will not affect whether your hens lay eggs.

Roosters are more likely to mate with hens that are already laying eggs, not with hens that are too young or molting or broody or otherwise not laying eggs. So if the others are not laying, maybe that is why he is not bothering to mate with them.

It is fairly common for hens to take the winter off, and start laying eggs in the springtime. If they were growing up in the fall and winter, they may wait until spring to start laying for the first time.

I guess I'll just have to be patient. Not my strong point!

 

[Mrs. K]

How sure are you on the age? They look younger to me.

MRs K

 

[Kgroves57]

How sure are you on the age? They look younger to me.

MRs K

This what the breeder told me how old they were. I don't think he would fib. Nice young man who was just culling his flock. He let me pick which ones I wanted and said they were all @ the same age. I knew they weren't laying yet but he said they were close. I got them first of February. Maybe just late bloomers!

 

[Mrs. K]

Well it really doesn't matter- they will lay when they lay.