Ok, I have a roo that was born the 1st of April, so he is just over 5 months old. I bought two hens from a guy who did not know exactly how old they were or if they were laying or not. He had a fenced area with about 10-15 hens, he said they were all born this year, some were laying already but he did not know which ones, he just knew he was getting a few eggs a day. My two sons each picked a hen. Candie and Sally they named them. (hens are just back yard mixes, Sally is a tad bigger than Candie) Fred, our Roo was excited to see them... LOL but from the beginning he payed way more attention to Candie. 15 days after the girls moved in with us, Candie started laying eggs, for the next two weeks, Fred almost ignored Sally and paid much attention to Candie. Now for the past two weeks, Fred has paid them equal amount of attention. He is jumping on them both often! lol Does this mean Sally should start laying soon or should she have already, since he has been jumping on her for around 2 weeks... or does his affections towards the girls play any effect on them laying eggs or not? Thanks, Stacey
Hen does NOT need a rooster to lay eggs, only to fertilized the eggs. You say you are not sure how old the hens are some varies from 6 months to 9 month to lay their first eggs, some may be stressed and may take a while to have eggs. or she may not lay eggs is she older hen.
I never thought it mattered, but maybe it does...idk. they usually 'squat' ocasionally just before they start laying
Yes, I understand that a hen does not "need" a roo, I was more wondering that is he knew something we did not? ;-)
There is a school of thought that thinks the rooster know which hen is getting ready to lay. Of course the young hormone drive cockerels may not be listening to that small voice.
