My 2 year Rooster no longer doing his “job”

Sroe1427

In the Brooder
May 19, 2015
2
2
22
I have 11 hens and 1 Rooster - up until 3-4 months ago, I was getting around 6-7 eggs daily. Rooster was still pretty active -if things had slowed down I did not notice. Now I am getting 2-4 eggs a day and have not seen Mr. Right with any attraction to any of the ladies at all. Does this mean my Rooster is past his prime ? And does this have anything to do with my hens not laying. My best guess is that are all around 2 years old - except for 3 (only born early Feb 2017) who i know are still laying because their eggs are blue.) so 2 out of 4 are definitely my RIR or Americana’s. Is it the Rooster or My Hens or Both?.
 
:welcome!

A rooster does not need to mate with the hens for the hens to lay eggs, so he has no bearing on how many eggs you're getting.

Are you in the northern hemisphere? If so, hens are no longer getting enough daylight to trigger their hormones and make them lay. A rooster is the same way - less daylight, less hormones, less mating and interest in the hens.
 
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I have 11 hens and 1 Rooster - up until 3-4 months ago, I was getting around 6-7 eggs daily. Rooster was still pretty active -if things had slowed down I did not notice. Now I am getting 2-4 eggs a day and have not seen Mr. Right with any attraction to any of the ladies at all. Does this mean my Rooster is past his prime ? And does this have anything to do with my hens not laying. My best guess is that are all around 2 years old - except for 3 (only born early Feb 2017) who i know are still laying because their eggs are blue.) so 2 out of 4 are definitely my RIR or Americana’s. Is it the Rooster or My Hens or Both?.

look for loose feathers do not blame him please may not be his fault he will only breed to hen that lay, or if your girls are in Molt.. We are so Pleased you joined Backyard Chickens there are many of us fro all over the world... There is also the days getting shorter that cause the hens to take a break in laying but then again if they do not lay he will not breed you have smart cockerel there
 
I have 11 hens and 1 Rooster - up until 3-4 months ago, I was getting around 6-7 eggs daily. Rooster was still pretty active -if things had slowed down I did not notice. Now I am getting 2-4 eggs a day and have not seen Mr. Right with any attraction to any of the ladies at all. Does this mean my Rooster is past his prime ? And does this have anything to do with my hens not laying. My best guess is that are all around 2 years old - except for 3 (only born early Feb 2017) who i know are still laying because their eggs are blue.) so 2 out of 4 are definitely my RIR or Americana’s. Is it the Rooster or My Hens or Both?.
At 2yrs old, if your ladies haven't molted, then they may be getting ready to do so. Same with your rooster. If you are in the US, then shorter days will impact production as well. Your rooster has no bearing on how many eggs your girls produce.

Your pullets (Feb hatch girls) will most likely lay through winter until molt next fall/winter.

Check your hens and the rooster over for signs of molting and while you're at it, look for any external parasites. Once the days start getting longer then your girls should pick back up on production. Depending on breed, they may not produce quite as many eggs as they did their first year.

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/12/decrease-in-egg-production-causes.html
 
look for loose feathers do not blame him please may not be his fault he will only breed to hen that lay, or if your girls are in Molt.. We are so Pleased you joined Backyard Chickens there are many of us fro all over the world... There is also the days getting shorter that cause the hens to take a break in laying but then again if they do not lay he will not breed you have smart cockerel there
Thank you for replying -Its funny now that he’s not interested - I have the prettiest girls around - no broken feathers - no bare spots - but full and healthy hens. just don’t know what to do to figure out who’s producing and who’s just cozying up to the Breakfast -Lunch and Dinner Table.
 

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