Rooster in nest box

michickenwrangler

To Finish Is To Win
11 Years
Jun 8, 2008
4,511
39
241
NE Michigan
I returned from picking my daughter up and as I walked past the chicken run, all the hens came running over ... but no rooster. I called his name and looked and saw that he was in the coop, sitting on the nest box as though sitting on eggs. Now I know cochins are broody but ...
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Has this happened to anyone else? What could he have been doing?
 
One of mine did that when my first girl laid her second egg. I think he thought he was missing out on something.
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When one of my hens went broody I noticed that instead of perching at night the roo would sleep in the nest box all cuddled up to his hen....like he was helping with the incubation process:D

It was so cute....I think I have a picture buried in a file somewhere in this old computer....
 
Just yesterday, I had a white faced black spanish act like she was going to lay an egg finally. She stopped laying a month ago. Well, her 'friend', the silver-penciled leghorn ROOSTER then took HIS turn sitting in the nest, I guess thinking maybe he could be of some assistance? It reminded my of when my husband was in the delivery room with me. Only DH didn't knock me off the bed and climb up and lay down.

I went to see who the chicken in the box was, when the roo knew he was busted, he ran off in a feathery frenzy. The spanish laid her egg when she finally got another turn in the box.
 
My BR roo, Chuck, does it every time he thinks he has found a cool, new egg-laying spot for his girls. First, it was a rabbit hutch we temporarily moved into the chicken run, to use it as a "maternity ward" for our first broody. Chuck got it in, sat down, started yelling for his women, and showed them what they could use it for (he didn't get out for hours, and acted like he was laying an egg...).
The next time he "discovered" a new corner hay feeder in our goat shed. He jumped in it, started purring and carrying on like a hen, rolled around in it, made himself a little nest, and then once again pretended to lay. We think he's nuts! (But he's really good to his girls:) )
 
Some roosters do this. Mine used to nest with the ladies when they had the urge to be part of the 'parenting'.
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They kept my girls company. Other times, they'll want to gather the heat from the warm eggs or even just laze around for a while.
 
All of those stories are so cute!

It's good to hear about roosters who are great flock husbands.

I have a young cockerel who refuses to be weaned from his mother. He used to accompany her to the nestbox to lay, and now that she's brooding another clutch of eggs, he sits in there with her often. It looks very sweet, I just hope it doesn't harm the hatchability of the eggs...

I have to pull him out in the evenings so he won't poop all over everything!
 

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