Ophelia, one of my full-sized Cochins, was in her nest box this morning, clearly laying an egg. I gave her time to complete her mission and went out to collect the egg -- which was being laid in one of the more popular nest boxes. It's not unusual to find girl after girl wanting to lay her eggs there so I try to collect them as quickly as possible.
The side of the nest box drops down. When I opened it, I found someone else sitting on Ophelia's and the fake egg in the nest box -- Billy Boy, the Cochin Bantam rooster.
Billy lives in a different coop, where he has never shown any interest in nest boxes or the Cochin Bantam hen that lives with him. He does, however, show a lot of interest in mating with big girls, both in his coop and all the others.
He's such a sneaky little cad, I almost wonder if he was waiting in the box to surprise the next unsuspecting hen. Maybe he's trying to convince the girls that he would be a great dad -- if only they would allow him to romance them instead of running away?
Maybe I shouldn't suspect his motives, but it is the first time I've found a rooster sitting on eggs.
The side of the nest box drops down. When I opened it, I found someone else sitting on Ophelia's and the fake egg in the nest box -- Billy Boy, the Cochin Bantam rooster.
Billy lives in a different coop, where he has never shown any interest in nest boxes or the Cochin Bantam hen that lives with him. He does, however, show a lot of interest in mating with big girls, both in his coop and all the others.
He's such a sneaky little cad, I almost wonder if he was waiting in the box to surprise the next unsuspecting hen. Maybe he's trying to convince the girls that he would be a great dad -- if only they would allow him to romance them instead of running away?
Maybe I shouldn't suspect his motives, but it is the first time I've found a rooster sitting on eggs.
