Possible "lemon" rooster? Advice please!

[RedIII]

Hey all! Got a couple of questions that I would love some input on, if you feel so inclined

I am a greenhorn here, so I would ask for your patience, as well.

Okay, is it possible for some roosters to be a lemon? By that, I mean can it be possible for them to never sire any chicks? My sweetie has a 2-yr-old roo that has never helped to produce chicks, so far as we know. It has been suggested that he needs to be done away with, but I'd hate to see him go if it's not the poor boy's fault. However, he does tend to bully the two hens that are with him. Is that normal? I think he is a New Hampshire, from my best guess, and I understand that they can be aggressive birds.

Oh, if it helps, I think the two hens are a New Hampshire and a black Orpy or an Australorp - I'm not sure which. Unsure of their age.

 

[wbruder17]

I've never heard of a normal rooster not "doing the deed". Perhaps you could watch him a bit more. He could just be shooting blanks, for some reason. What were his younger days like? Did he have any illnesses etc?

 

[RedIII]

He's been pretty healthy to my knowledge. He came from one of the hens my boyfriend had before and I'm just baffled about this. I'll try to keep a closer eye on him to see what I can find out.

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Forgive me for this rather obvious question, but have the hens gone broody?

 

[kari_dawn]

does he crow at all? Have you had him his whole life? there is something called caponing a rooster I think...essentially it is neutering them. They get plump, complacent, and quiet down

then again if he is being a bully, maybe not

If he is bullying his hens, that would be a reason for me to get rid of a rooster like that. It has nothing to do with his fertility, and everything to do with his maners!

Another thing you can do to check his fertility is to separate him and a few girls, after three weeks, collect and incubate eggs, and see if any hatch. I believe it takes 30 days for a hen to "use up" the fertility of a mating. If any of the eggs you incubate after the 30 day "fast" so to speak hatch, you know he is the dad.

 

[RedIII]

Yay Chicks - Nope, the ladies seem to be taking a break from laying right now. However, I'll have to do a thorough search of the yard to be sure. Thanks for posing the question!

kari_dawn - This is going to sound silly, but I'm not sure if he crows

I'm pretty sure he does, but I am not around him in the mornings. Goodness, I guess I'd better do more thorough research before asking questions next time! My boyfriend has had him since he was hatched, so I will talk to him and see if he's noticed anything unusual.

 

[RHRanch]

I have some questions.

1. What do you mean he has never helped to produce chicks? Do yo mean he doesn't breed the hens? Or that the eggs are not fertile?

2. Have you tried incubating your eggs or have your hens sat on eggs for 21 days consecutively? If you are using an incubator, what kind?

3. Does this guy mount the hens?

4. Can you post a picture of him?

 

[RedIII]

Quote:
Okay! Updates, starting first with some answers:

1 - I believe the problem is that the eggs aren't fertile. There has been at least one other hen around this rooster before the two that are currently with him, and none of them have had any chicks. I checked and he does mount them, so he's at least trying to do his part.

2 - I'm in the process of scouting around to see if the hens have hidden any eggs. If I find some, I'll grab them and try incubating them to see what happens.

3 - As mentioned above, yes, he does the deed.

4 - I'll try and get a picture of him up soon. Like I say, I am pretty sure he is a New Hampshire, but if I am wrong on the breed or something, I would love to be corrected

Also, he does crow. It still worries me how much he kicks those hens around, and I think my boyfriend is looking at getting rid of him because of that. I have to admit, I'm a little worried about getting any docile hens for fear of what he would do to them. He's already gotten enough feathers out of the black hen, sadness

 

[Yay Chicks!]

As far as him being a bully, he may be, or he might do better with a lot more hens.

My earlier question about whether or not the hens have ever gone broody - even if the eggs are fertile, if the hen has not had the broody hormones kick in and sat on those eggs until they hatched, he could be the most fertile guy in the world and nothing would happen.

 

[RHRanch]

Okay, to risk beating a dead horse, how do you know the eggs are not fertile? Have you tried incubating them and they did not hatch? If so, what methods were used and how many times? Fertile eggs will NOT hatch unless properly incubated for 21 days. If you have a crummy incubator, this can cause hatches to fail. If a brooddy hen gets off the eggs too much, a hatch can fail. If eggs are never incubated, no chicks will hatch. Please describe how you know the eggs are not fertile.