Has any one ever encountered a Rooster that would sit on the eggs? I have a banty roo that thinks when the girls lay eggs he needs to sit on them. If something scares him in the yard ( they are free range) & he gets separated from the girls then he goes to the nesting box & sits on the egg leaving his girls to fend for themselves. I've caught him several times a day just hopping into the nesting box & checking the egg too. I can't figure out what's wrong with him. for some reason Pepper laid her egg on the floor & it got broke last night ( bad storms here so maybe the wind scared the egg out of her) but when I went to collect eggs & check on my babies the silly roo was sitting next to the broken egg & pecked me repeatedly as I tried to take his egg away. Any suggestions on what to do with him?
Rooster with idenity problems
Don't do anything with him. It's his feminine side comming out. Whenever I use the word darling or precious my wife just smiles at me. One day I asked her why? She said I love it when you show me your feminine side. So maybe it will take a while for him to realize he's supposed to protect. I have seen a few guys like that who'd abandon a lady when she needs help the most. How old is this rooster anyway? By the way I love that name. (Pepper)
What kind of banty is he? I know that in at least one Game breed the rooster will care for the chicks. Are you sure he is a roo? I had a pullet with an enormous comb that grew sickle feathers. We were sure she was a roo till she started laying.
Me and Catscan have a Barnevelder roo that sits with the girls when they are laying.. Not so much now.. but when some of them first started laying.. He would be so close, if they had hands they would be holding them!
Her lil Dutch Bantam Roo would routinely go check on the eggs.. I saw him nudging one and was afraid he would break it.. but maby not!
Catscan has a point.. LOL That may not be a roo! LOL
o its definitely a roo.. I can tell at 5 am, 10 am, 3 pm, 7 pm & any time inbtwn when the neighbors roo decides to talk across the road at him. That was why i rescued them bc he was crowing so much that he was upsetting the neighbors & giving himself away. idk what he is other than a banty.. i have a pic tho, i'll attach it. i don't mind it so much as long as he didn't break the egg i am just afraid he will break eggs. I've never had a Roo who even went near the eggs. He even sleeps in the same box with Pepper, who is the only hen currently laying. He protects "his" girls quite well unless he loses sight of them. They must stay within his view of the yard or he forgets he's got 3 little girlfriends.
Haystack: I was going for a theme of spices for the first set of chickens.. Sage the Roo, Pepper, Nutmeg & Clove the hens. Pepper looks similar to a silver laced wyandotte but idk if they can be bantams & I suspect she's crossed. Nutmeg is cream & light brown & looks dirty all the time. Clove is black except when u look at her in teh light & she shimmers green & sometimes pink.
little blurry but here's a close up of Sage.
here is a pic of Pepper & Nutmeg.
LMBO, how about 5:30 am, 10:30 am, 3:30 pm, 7:30 pm ?
My father has a standard roo that is protective of the eggs as well. He does not sit on the but he watches over them and takes care of the nesting area. He is just a good roo.
I love Pepper and Nutmeg as well as Sage. I just love themes. ;)
I've already decided on a Twilight theme for one set, but i'm running out names really fast. I want them all unique & really don't want to give them normal names.
I've never had roosters before. So other than the horror stories from my mom's childhood of mean roo's I have no clue on what to expect from them. The egg sitting is getting kinda cute tho & i noticed that i have broken eggs when it storms the night before.. but i also have 4 chickens crammed into one nesting box, i'm assuming bc they are scared since they have 8 nesting boxes to themselves. I'm guessing they accidentally push the egg out onto the floor & it cracks. Which is nice to know he's not breaking the eggs.
I was told he crows so much because I left the light on them for so long bc it was getting so cold here at night & i screwed up his internal clock. Idk how much of that is true but the silly roo sure does like to talk!
I have a young Roo that just can't shut up, Today I showed him a roll of duct tape, and told him either shut up or else. The fool smirked and crowed right in my face. Well guess what happened!!! Na it was just an idle threat.
I love those names for your birds, great theme, and great creativity. Haystack
A friend of mine has roos that crow all day long and she never used lights. I have red bulbs for heat also that dont give off white light. Mine crowed whenever they wanted. I am not sure if the light made any difference. :) Love the names. So you have a Bella. ;) (Twilight) hehehe