Paternal instinct from a Serama Roo?

[riftnreef]

OK, I witnessed the strangest thing yesterday and I wanted to share. My daughter heard a bunch of commotion from the Serama pen, and asked me to check it out...so being the obiediant father I am...I obliged. Any way, when I get down there one of the roos was making what sounded like a LF laying cluck. I watched for a bit, and he starts into the nest box...where he proceeds to act like he wants to lay an egg...odd, but OK, I'm just watching. After a few moments of this, the black hen gets in the box with him and muddles around a bit...the roo gets out and she fusses with the bedding a bit, then gets out herself...well this went on back and forth for a good 20 minutes while I watched in amazment...at one point, she was in the nest box with both roos and the other hen standing right in front of it, as to either watch or block her exit. I watched for a while longer as they all were seeming to root her on to lay an egg, and I figured I may be impeeding the process so I left. After 30 minutes or so, I checked back...sure enough, she had laid and egg, but not in the nest box...she left it laying in the middle of the floor by the feeder. So, here is what I find so very odd about this...I have never wittnessed a roo trying to encourage a hen to lay. In fact, the only memories of a rooster I have from my childhood was "stay away from that one"...

So, do some roos have a "father" gene to them? Is this common, or do I have a great daddy roo on my hands?

 

[mamaKate]

My BO roo stands guard and sings along when one of his hens is laying. Sounds like your roo wants to share the experience. If the hen keeps laying outside the box, you might want to help her find a more private spot.

 

[slightlyscrambled]

My red pyle roo Rodney does the same thing, I think he is trying to tell them that" this nest box is just fine theres nothing in there". Kind of like "there is nothing under the bed thats going to get you".It is funny though because he sings along just like the hen wanting to lay!

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

My splash Orp - Versace - is a nest lovin' talker. He will check out, re-adjust, and sing about a nest. Help the hen decorate if she wants. Have a video of it somewhere.............





Versace and Lacy (Del)

 

[silkydragon]

lol my little sebright roo gets in the nest boxes with my standard girls sometimes just sits on them (guess the fluffy feathers are comfy) sometimes he sits just outside (our most popular nest box is a double cobart with a door removed) i always chase him out and tell him he dosnt lay eggs to leave the girls alone and before im out of the coop hes right back up there

 

[riftnreef]

I guess it makes a certain amount of sense. I think in just about all bird species the male helps prepare the nest, so I guess the behavior is not all that outlandish now that I'm thinking of it. I just never really pictured roosters as being anything more than watchdog sperm doners. Perhaps I need to rethink my impression of how my birds interact with one another...

 

[silkydragon]

mine its 1 out of the 5 the others dont care what happens in those boxes (or are too big to fit in them)

 

[elmo]

Yup.



He sits in the nestbox and makes his "Girls, I've found something good to eat!" cluck. I've read that hens are more willing to mate after they've laid an egg, so this behavior may not be purely unselfish on the rooster's part.

 

[riftnreef]

I observed this same behavior again last night...only a different hen this go round...oddly enough, she laid her egg in the middle of the floor too....maybe I need to redesign the nest box.

 

[catwalk]

Maybe, since they're new, they haven't decided where the best place to lay is yet. When I move my birds, they often lay all kinds of places for a while, then they settle on one spot.