YO GEORGIANS! :)

Maybe it signals a first egg coming soon. If she let him mount her.
Hens don't always get a choice in being mounted. One of mine did, because she was alpha hen, and the alpha roo backed her up. But when something has you by the back of your neck, it's kinda hard to stop them.
 
Ok, call me crazy, BUT.....I've been reading about how you're bator temp may determine the sex of your hatch. Actually, more like each sex has a temp it prefers to hatch at. So basically if you raise your temp 1*, your females are more like to hatch. If you lower it one, the females are more likely to quit and males hatch.

This kinda makes sense. Kinda. I'm almost willing to try it, if it will give me some girls!
 
Ok, call me crazy, BUT.....I've been reading about how you're bator temp may determine the sex of your hatch. Actually, more like each sex has a temp it prefers to hatch at. So basically if you raise your temp 1*, your females are more like to hatch. If you lower it one, the females are more likely to quit and males hatch.

This kinda makes sense. Kinda. I'm almost willing to try it, if it will give me some girls!
Yeah, but the only problem is, it kills off the other gender.
 
Ok, call me crazy, BUT.....I've been reading about how you're bator temp may determine the sex of your hatch. Actually, more like each sex has a temp it prefers to hatch at. So basically if you raise your temp 1*, your females are more like to hatch. If you lower it one, the females are more likely to quit and males hatch.

This kinda makes sense. Kinda. I'm almost willing to try it, if it will give me some girls!
it doesn't really work. I have heard the males are less likely to hatch in higher temps.
But eggs are laid male or female, hens determine gender, so if you hatch alot of males, it's not your roosters fault ;)
 
I am (im)patiently waiting for my girls to start laying. My Blue Copper Marans are at 20 weeks right now, so I know it is coming soon, especially since their combs and wattles are really getting red. I had blocked off my nesting boxes for the first couple of months they were in the coop to encourage the birds not to roost there. Since the birds are reaching egg laying age, I went ahead and opened it up, and now they are roosting (and pooping) in there. Any suggestions on breaking this behavior? I push them out of there each night, but it appears they get back in there after I close up the coop. I am thinking of putting a "curtain" up on the side right by their roost (an old towel...because I'm sure they will destroy it), but I want the nesting boxes to be open for laying. There is definitely enough roosting space.

Thanks!
 


My husband and I have a beautiful RIR rooster who needs a new place to live.

He is an amazing protector and has chased a raccoon out of our coop on three separate occasions. I am hesitate to give him up because of that, but our hens are showing a lot of back wear, I think he needs more than three hens to play with. We also just got four chicks and discovered one is a rooster. We decided to keep the new rooster, and rehome Richard Parker (the RIR).

He has also become increasingly aggressive only towards me, he is fine with my husband. I am having a hard time handling his attitude and I think he needs someone who can. He really is a great rooster, I will be sad to see him go!

We live ITP in Atlanta, GA, just south of decatur. Reply to this thread or e-mail me at [email protected]

My poor buff orpington is obviously his favorite, and her back is not looking good! At first it was just broken feathers, but today I noticed bare skin. I'm hoping to find him a home ASAP, otherwise I may have to separate him, which I feel a little bad about.
 
I am (im)patiently waiting for my girls to start laying. My Blue Copper Marans are at 20 weeks right now, so I know it is coming soon, especially since their combs and wattles are really getting red. I had blocked off my nesting boxes for the first couple of months they were in the coop to encourage the birds not to roost there. Since the birds are reaching egg laying age, I went ahead and opened it up, and now they are roosting (and pooping) in there. Any suggestions on breaking this behavior? I push them out of there each night, but it appears they get back in there after I close up the coop. I am thinking of putting a "curtain" up on the side right by their roost (an old towel...because I'm sure they will destroy it), but I want the nesting boxes to be open for laying. There is definitely enough roosting space.

Thanks!
Do you have roosting poles in your coop? Mine did that a couple times when I first put them out in the coop, but once I installed roosting poles, higher than the door to the nesting box, they started sleeping on the poles. Typically chickens like to sleep high up.

After they stopped sleeping in the nesting box they would periodically go in and explore. I read somewhere to put a golf ball in the nesting box to train them where to lay on egg, which we did. Initially when they started laying they laid in the coop, not the nesting box, and the eggs were soft. After a few days they started laying in the nesting box, always on top of the golf ball. Our chickens have been laying for a year and still lay on top of the golf ball.
 
Quote:
Do you have roosting poles in your coop? Mine did that a couple times when I first put them out in the coop, but once I installed roosting poles, higher than the door to the nesting box, they started sleeping on the poles. Typically chickens like to sleep high up.

After they stopped sleeping in the nesting box they would periodically go in and explore. I read somewhere to put a golf ball in the nesting box to train them where to lay on egg, which we did. Initially when they started laying they laid in the coop, not the nesting box, and the eggs were soft. After a few days they started laying in the nesting box, always on top of the golf ball. Our chickens have been laying for a year and still lay on top of the golf ball.
Our roosting poles are at the same level as our nesting boxes, so that could be the problem, but not going to change that quite yet. I have put golf balls in the boxes. I appreciate the advice!!!!
 
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