What's your personal experience on this???

[bargain]

If the rooster is roughly the same age (maybe a month older) as your pullets almost hens and he starts dating the ladies,
How much longer till the hens will lay an egg:

Thanks and have a blessed Thanksgiving week. Nancy
(PS We've had chickens, guineas, ducks, turkeys for years and I have my own theories on this but haven't been scientific on charting it, so want to see what your experience has been)

 

[dsqard]

I don't know if this answers your question since my experience is a little different. My roo is three years old and all of the girls are pullets. He started trying to mate them at least a month before any of them started laying. He did start with the older pullets (they were born in March) and ignored the pullets that were born in May. I did notice one interesting thing though. About a week before one of the younger pullets started laying (at least I think it is the same pullet) she came running up to the rooster and squatted for him and he mounted her. That was the first time I have ever seen him mount one of the younger ones. Like I said, I don't know if this helps with your data collection but it is what I have seen with my little flock.

 

[kstaven]

Having a rooster or his mating activities has nothing to do with when they will lay. The time table will be the same rooster or not. Most heritage breeds it is after 6 months of age. Egg laying crosses can start at 4 months. But moving into winter with less heat and reduced hours of light will slow it all down more.

 

[dsqard]

kstaven I think bargain is asking this question as an indicator of how soon after a rooster shows interest in a pullet might she lay? At least that was what I took as the intent.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have not noticed a good correlation. I think when the rooster starts trying depends on his maturity more than the pullet's maturity, although they usually do not try the very young pullets. A lot of the time, the pullets continue to resist the rooster's advances even after they start to lay. It seems to be more up the individual personality than anything else.

Good luck on your data collection. I think you will get answers all over the board.

 

[CMV]

My cockerel came as a surprise in group of same aged pullets. He started wooing one girl in particular and only her. She was agreeable to mating for about a week before she started to lay. Once she started laying the others followed in rapid succession, and she stopped being the only one he mated with. At first, though, it was amazing how he zoned in on her and stuck to her side like glue. He was hovering over her when she laid her first egg.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I witnessed my rooster mating pullets about 2 weeks before they started laying. But this was a willing squat on the pullets side.

Nancy, are your pullets squatting for him, or is he chasing and tackling?

 

[Mak]

My first to lay hens started well before the rooster showed any interest in them. They were all hatched in late May, and we raised the chicks together, so I know they are the same age. I think our roo (WC Polish) was just slower to mature than the Red Stars (the first layers). I don't know if this is usual as these are my first chickens. I suspect it has more to do with maturity: if the hens are mature enough they will lay, whether or not the rooster has matured enough to try mating them. I don't have any idea how it would have gone if I'd had a rooster of one of the faster maturing breeds (I have Red Star, Dominique (maybe one BIR- she was supposed to be a Dom, but has the wrong conb) and a WC Polish.). The Polish hen has not layed yet, and the rooster has shown no interest at all in mating her, even tho he does mate all the other hens now.

 

[eenie114]

My cockerals, the same age as the pullets, started crowing and trying to breed the ladies about 2-3 weeks before I got an egg from a pullet.

(Both were RIRs)