male diplays. how do hens act?

[country_girl011]

when your male displays how d your hens act?
my kids are 2 this year so I have never seen then mate.
up until recently when poppy displayed. the girls ignored him.
today one hen did circles around the pen. with wings lowered, and obviously watching poppy display. every so often she would stop in front of him and look at him and then make laps again.
my other hen stood off to the side with wings lowered just watching.

so when your male displays how do your hens act?
just watching for breeding behaviors.

 

[DylansMom]

when your male displays how d your hens act?
my kids are 2 this year so I have never seen then mate.
up until recently when poppy displayed. the girls ignored him.
today one hen did circles around the pen. with wings lowered, and obviously watching poppy display. every so often she would stop in front of him and look at him and then make laps again.
my other hen stood off to the side with wings lowered just watching.

so when your male displays how do your hens act?
just watching for breeding behaviors.

Most times my hens ignore them, if the male persists and charges they will either drop to the ground and allow a mating or they will run or fly away if they are not in the mood. I have one very liberal minded hen who likes to choose her own mate. I noticed a couple years ago that she didn't seem to like the male she was in with a BS(also named Poppie). She is BS and a very mellow and well socialized girl and I can let her out to free range when she is not actually laying. So I let her out ,it was around the end of March or beginning of April, she practically ran out of her pen away from Poppie, and down the center aisle of the barn until she got to the IB pen. The IB male was displaying and she stopped and watched him for a minute or two, then dropped into mating position outside the pen. The male charged up to the wire several times, but couldn't get to her, so I ended up opening the door. She marched right in dropped and they mated, less than a minute and it was done. She came back to the door to be let out. She earned the right to choose her own fellows so that is what I do with her now.

 

[country_girl011]

Most times my hens ignore them, if the male persists and charges they will either drop to the ground and allow a mating or they will run or fly away if they are not in the mood. I have one very liberal minded hen who likes to choose her own mate. I noticed a couple years ago that she didn't seem to like the male she was in with a BS(also named Poppie). She is BS and a very mellow and well socialized girl and I can let her out to free range when she is not actually laying. So I let her out ,it was around the end of March or beginning of April, she practically ran out of her pen away from Poppie, and down the center aisle of the barn until she got to the IB pen. The IB male was displaying and she stopped and watched him for a minute or two, then dropped into mating position outside the pen. The male charged up to the wire several times, but couldn't get to her, so I ended up opening the door. She marched right in dropped and they mated, less than a minute and it was done. She came back to the door to be let out. She earned the right to choose her own fellows so that is what I do with her now.

sounds like a lady who knows what she wants lol.
I think my hens are starting to entertain the idea since they are actually paying attention to him. even if none of the really know what they are suppose to do .
atleast hes no longer cornering my ducks and making them watch his display

 

[DylansMom]

If both of your girls are 2, you will probably get some fertile eggs, but not a lot. Most 2 year old hens of mine lay only 1 small clutch of eggs. If you want some babies asap, I would recommend incubating those. I have never had a 2 year old hen go broody and sit on her eggs. I think they are just too young for that instinct to have kicked in yet.

 

[country_girl011]

If both of your girls are 2, you will probably get some fertile eggs, but not a lot. Most 2 year old hens of mine lay only 1 small clutch of eggs. If you want some babies asap, I would recommend incubating those. I have never had a 2 year old hen go broody and sit on her eggs. I think they are just too young for that instinct to have kicked in yet.

oh trust me I didn't plan on letting my dimwit birds try to raise their own clutch.
and if my kids don't give me fertile eggs. my grandmas trio will her male is 3 with a beautiful train coming in but his hens are also 2. but still better chances than my kids.
I love them but they are not very bright.
2 years ago (they were around 7 months old) we had some guinea chicks escape and wonder into the pea pen. they snatched up the keets and carried them around by their wings. it was a hay day rescuing them .

 

[DylansMom]

They definitely are not the smartest, but next to my guineas they're regular Einsteins.

 

[country_girl011]

They definitely are not the smartest, but next to my guineas they're regular Einsteins.

oh I know. I despise guineas. but grandma loves them.
we have hens that will hatch 2 dozen keets and we are lucky is 1 makes it to even get feathered out.
that's why we usually take the eggs and put them under chickens. or snatch the keets the day they hatch (which is always fun, seeing as how most of the hens will fight you for them)

 

[DylansMom]

oh I know. I despise guineas. but grandma loves them.
we have hens that will hatch 2 dozen keets and we are lucky is 1 makes it to even get feathered out.
that's why we usually take the eggs and put them under chickens. or snatch the keets the day they hatch (which is always fun, seeing as how most of the hens will fight you for them)

We got 4 keets, and lost 1 to my neighbors chickens when they were small. The 3 remaining ones are all boys, so no babies from them. We have named them Larry, Moe & Curly, I think it fits. And I can only imagine they put up a fight, mine Bite, for lack of a better term. They grab a beak full of skin and twist it as hard as they can, they have given me little blood blisters before. These are the thank you's I get for trying to administer first aid. Next time I think I'll let the Coon finish the job!

 

[country_girl011]

We got 4 keets, and lost 1 to my neighbors chickens when they were small. The 3 remaining ones are all boys, so no babies from them. We have named them Larry, Moe & Curly, I think it fits. And I can only imagine they put up a fight, mine Bite, for lack of a better term. They grab a beak full of skin and twist it as hard as they can, they have given me little blood blisters before. These are the thank you's I get for trying to administer first aid. Next time I think I'll let the Coon finish the job!

haha. the only good thing about them is they demolished our tick population

 

[zazouse]