rooster questions

[new&learning]

i went to get two salmon faverolles and the man "threw in" a faverolle rooster...he didnt have tail feathers im guessing the other rooster with him picked them out) but other wise he was beautiful to me so i took him. he has been with my mixed flock (EE and his 2 faverolles hens) for about a month. the first 2-3 days i saw normal rooster behavior but a month later now he shows no rooster behavior except crowing. he is a shy guy but im concerned that he is not dancing or mating. any idea or suggestions would be appriciated..
.i have been thinking of giving my EE's away and just go with the faverolles since i like the personalities of them better but the faveroles are still not laying for me yet after a month having them...did i just get some elses problem...unattentive rooster and hens not laying...thanks for any help...cathy... after looking at these pictures i have notices the darkness at the back of his comb...any ideas there?

 

[gritsar]

I tried to look at the pics, but there was some kind of technical difficulty with them?

The SF hens are not laying and you are concerned about the rooster's health, correct? Lots of reasons they might not be laying. The thing that comes to mind first is a molt. If they are all going through a molt (roo included) the hens won't lay again until they come out of it. I've noticed that my roo does not attempt to mate when he's molting.

I would need to see a pic of the roo's comb to speculate on that.

 

[new&learning]

THANK YOU FOR THE REPLY i have reposted the images...we have had some trouble makers in the group and i have rehomed them thinking that might help the girls start laying but that has not helped the laying but they will come off the roost with the other girls now atleast...i reallly like the personalities of the SF and im thinking of starting my flock with these three but not sure if the quality is good enough... not to sell just for me and the eggs...any thoughts on that also?? thank you for the help

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

The darkness on the back of his comb looks like frostbite damage. They are hatchery quality Faverolles, which is great for your own use, but wouldn't do the breed any justice to hatch in large numbers.

Favs are amazing birds, I'm not surprised that you love them so much. We still have our hatchery Favs in a seperate pen from our breeders, because the roo is my son's favorite! They are really an awesome breed! Congrats on your birdies! Oh, and I would guess that they are moulting based on the look of the roos tail...also, I almost never see my roosters mate their hens, though the eggs are all fertile. I actually do not allow my roos to mate in front of me (it's a dominance thing) so they don't even try anymore.

 

[new&learning]

thank you for answering...i visited your website...very nice...i might look into getting better quality Faverolles next time around...also if he has frostbite on his comb then he is older than i thought...any guesses on his age...how can i tell? thanks again...cathy

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

new&learning :

thank you for answering...i visited your website...very nice...i might look into getting better quality Faverolles next time around...also if he has frostbite on his comb then he is older than i thought...any guesses on his age...how can i tell? thanks again...cathy

Thanks!

I'd only guess him to be a year or so old based on his spur size, unless they've been trimmed down. I don't really know of any other way to tell his age...was he supposed to have been hatched this year?​

 

[new&learning]

you had said that his comb darkness might be from frostbite and that would mean that he had been through a winter and i thought he was hatched this year but i went out yesterday and looked again at his comb and i guess that was just the camera because he looked fine yesterday...i did see him loose some feathers while flying around playing with the hens so i guess he might be molting like u said...thank you for following this for me with some answers....i also looked at the hens feet and they look pale and i'm guessing that it means that they have not started laying eggs yet like the man said or do hens also have pale feet during molting...you have been of help to me ty ty...cathy

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Nope, Faverolles are supposed to have white legs/feet. I would guess by the size of the comb on the hen in the pic, that she has also started laying, or will be very soon. She could be moulting, or sometimes they will just quit laying for a while when they go to a new place. And you are very welcome!

You should check this thread out... https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=268082 It's a lot of reading to get all caught up on it, but it would be time well spent. You will learn a TON.