No chicks?

[lauda]

I have an 8 month old dark cornish Hen and a 15 month Swedish Flower rooster. They are very close, atleast it seems that way, and Lauda, my rooster, is never aggressive towards Mo, the hen, in any way. Mo will lay massive amounts of eggs in different places around the barn, and I'm wondering why Lauda is not trying to mate with her. Not that I mind, I am just genuinely curious as to why

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

Are we sure that they are male and female? If so then maybe you are just not seeing any mating. Have you checked for fertility of the eggs?

 

[lauda]

Yes, 100 percent male and female

, here is Lauda,the rooster. That could be the case, that we aren't seeing the mating, but we are out there most of the day with the horses and them. I have not checked for fertility, nor do I know how to.. I just assumed they were infertile became Mo lays them and leaves them, never sitting on them

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

Definitely a roo there.
Firstly, to check fertility, and I am sure they are fertile.
Crack an egg in a bowl without breaking the yolk
You are looking for a spot in the yolk
A little speck usually a pale white, indicates no sperm fertilized
A spot with a pale yellow circle around it, reminiscing of a bull’s-eye, indicates a fertile egg. This egg will most likely develop with proper incubation.

As for her not setting, that is normal. Many breeds are bred to never 'go broody'.
When a hen goes broody her body temp increases. This rise in body temperature releases hormones that tell a hen to sit. She will not lay eggs after a day or two into the brooding. A broody hen will only leave for short periods of time to eat, drink and poop. Many broody hens will set until they get babies, although there are ways to 'break' a broody.
As far as I know you can't really force a hen to go broody. What breed is she? Some breeds are more prone than others.

 

[lauda]

She is a dark cornish, she's absolutely gorgeous with a green sheen to her feathers.. I only have pictures of her as a youngester, but we were told that because she was bred for meat she wouldn't lay very many eggs, which we are finding to be untrue haha

 

[lauda]

I think I see something in the bottom right?

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

Congrats, that is a fertile egg! I don't know much about dark cornish, honestly. I am not sure if they are broody birds or not. I would suggest that if you want chicks before spring, your best bet is an incubator.

Is your hen the only one? I am surprised he is not overbreeding her. Usually it is a good idea to have at least 3 hens for one roo. A single roo can easily cover 6 to 8 hens. There are several breeds that are prone to broodiness.

 

[lauda]

Oh, wow! Yes, she is the only one, and having read up prior to posting this, I was very worried he would overbreed her, but from the interactions I have seen between them, and I am around them 5 to 8 hours a day, he is the timid one and she is the one in control.. Again, I do not know much on chicken behavior, but she is certainly not been harmed at all by him, she has not even a scratch on her. If course if one day she started showing signs of it I'd get more hens, right now they seem perfectly content with each other!

 

[aart]

Looks fertile to me too. Funny, I find it easier to see in the thumbnail than when I click to enlarge it.

Nice looking rooster!
Now we just need a pic of the pullet and her shelled eggs

...and you need an incubator

This thread shows a plethora of examples of fertile and non-fertile yolks:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/16008/how-to-tell-a-fertile-vs-infertile-egg-pictures

 

[lauda]

It was easy for me to tell when I contrasted the picture

and zoomed in, I had trouble seeing it in my hand! Here is a picture of Mo

,

(taken about 5 months ago) she was very vulture like for a while haha but now she is very plump and beautiful! I'll try to get a recent picture this afternoon for y'all and thank you, Lauda, the rooster, is my baby, I love him to death!