My rooster thinks he is a hen today

[mrbuch]

I have no idea why he is doing this he has never done it before I thought it was funny

 

[chooks4life]

He doesn't think he's a hen, he's just got enough natural instinct left to assume his 'husbandly' duties. In the wild a male chicken finds food, nesting sites, etc, often making many nests before the hen picks one to lay in, and when the chicks hatch he helps feed them and will also snuggle them like the hen does. Many domestic roosters do this too but some individuals from some breeds are useless for everything except mating and being eaten.

Best wishes.

 

[mrbuch]

Ha ha ha I just thought it was funny

 

[centrarchid]

That is more frequent than you might think. I can have a hen getting ready to start laying eggs walk by a row of pens with a rooster in each. As hen goes by each pen the rooster within with hunker down in corner next to her and make the gurgling growl and scratching movements to indicate a good nest site. Somehow hen acts differently to cause the rooster behavior.

 

[chooks4life]

That is more frequent than you might think. I can have a hen getting ready to start laying eggs walk by a row of pens with a rooster in each. As hen goes by each pen the rooster within with hunker down in corner next to her and make the gurgling growl and scratching movements to indicate a good nest site. Somehow hen acts differently to cause the rooster behavior.

With my hens I noticed most hens adopt a different posture, and make certain vocalizations, when 'thinking of making a clutch'. Roosters notice this and come to attend immediately, exhibiting this specific sort of behavior.

All my most instinctive hens advertise their intentions to make clutches, but those who never go broody or who are bad mothers never seem to advertise and never get that attention from the roosters.

Best wishes.