Will a rooster mate with broody hen?

[muzaffar_ali99]

Hi
Just wanted to know will a rooster mate with a broody or avoid her or anything else? To my observation rooster avoids but i am not sure at all.

 

[Raven81]

my roo ignores any of our hens that go broody as they are either in the nest box or in a cage to break but he goes after them as soon as they come out.
this is just my personal observation with my chickens.

 

[magicpigeon]

Mine still try to but the hens reject them instead of accepting

 

[Judy]

I've never seen one try. The hens act like the roost or nest is a "safe" place where the roo will leave them alone, and the roos seem to cooperate.

The roos will sometimes hang around a nest with a hen on it, as if guarding it, or maybe waiting for his chance.

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
Mine sometimes do and mating appears solicited by hen. When a hen leaves nest for daily toilet and feeding away from nest she will often interact with rooster. This occurs most often when a only a single hen paired with rooster. Mating serves no purpose in respect to fertilizing eggs but may enhance paternal investment. Such mating largely stops once hen comes off nest with brood. My observations based on game chickens that are not confined. Rooster mating with hen on or very near nest is likely an artifact of confinement. In other words unnatural behavior promoted by conditions for which birds are not adapted. Such activity can put brood at risk.

 

[janinepeters]

Fascinating thread. I've never seen a roo mate a broody. I have had only bantam brahma roosters (and hens of various breeds), and have seen them mate only hens that are laying or about to start laying. In fact, I can always tell when a pullet is about to start laying, or a hen about to resume laying in late winter, by watching for rooster's behavior towards her. I've often wondered what triggers him. Is it her behavior? Does she squat more readily when about to start laying? This seems likely, yet the roos seem to "rape" even those hens who do not squat and try to resist, as long as they are laying. Could there be a pheromone that tips him off? Would be unusual in the avian world.

Further, I've noticed that my roosters preferentially feed hens that are laying or about to start laying. Those not laying often get chased away from tasty morsels. Those boys know what they're doing.

My chickens are confined in the coop/runs for part of the day and free range for part of it.

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
I think my hens interested in attention of rooster make their body look like a cube by position body feathers and clamp tail feathers into a cylinderical pattern at about 45 degrees from horizontal. May also make a very low grumbling sound. You also have the crouching behavior immediately prior to male doing his thing.

 

[M To The Maxx]

Well with my boodies they won't let the roos get near the eggs.