Do roosters go broody?

[Genevieve Levicki]

I have a silkoe roo, about 6 months old. Has clear, distinct rooster characteristics, crows, dances, the works. This morning, I found him sitting in the nest box. Is he just gender non confirmative or is this something roosters do from time to time. All the while my other silkie roo(I know, I know, I have too many!!!) is sitting on a roosting pole watching my buff orp lay an egg in another box.

 

[Ridgerunner]

@centrarchid had a thread about broody roosters. Is that normal rooster behavior? No, not really, but with living animals you can see a lot of different behaviors. It's also possible he was just showing a pullet where it might make a good nest if she is looking for a good place to lay.

These are just other examples of why chicken TV is often better than anything on cable, satellite, antenna, or whatever other methods they use these days.

 

[Shadrach]

I have a silkoe roo, about 6 months old. Has clear, distinct rooster characteristics, crows, dances, the works. This morning, I found him sitting in the nest box. Is he just gender non confirmative or is this something roosters do from time to time. All the while my other silkie roo(I know, I know, I have too many!!!) is sitting on a roosting pole watching my buff orp lay an egg in another box.

As Ridgerunner says, what you may be seeing is a rooster 'testing' a possible egg site for one of his hens.
Some roosters seem more prone to it than others.
I did get slightly concerned once when one of the roosters here spent the whole afternoon in the maternity unit. I think he just wanted a break from the hens.

 

[Michellep224]

Well this was happening quite frequently with my bantams. All three, 2 hens and 1 rooster, all liked to try to fit into this box, on top of their eggs.
I was so confused about why they were doing this, and ending up removing the rooster, and the hen that wasn't broody, putting them into another pen.

 

[Shadrach]

Well this was happening quite frequently with my bantams. All three, 2 hens and 1 rooster, all liked to try to fit into this box, on top of their eggs.
I was so confused about why they were doing this, and ending up removing the rooster, and the hen that wasn't broody, putting them into another pen.

View attachment 1513479

That could be different.
That looks to me as if the rooster is trying to protect both hens as they lay an egg.
Did they lays eggs?

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

it does happen, but it is VERY rare... my neighbors frizzle cochin roo hatched and raised his own!

 

[BlackHackle]

I have a silkoe roo, about 6 months old. Has clear, distinct rooster characteristics, crows, dances, the works. This morning, I found him sitting in the nest box. Is he just gender non confirmative or is this something roosters do from time to time. All the while my other silkie roo(I know, I know, I have too many!!!) is sitting on a roosting pole watching my buff orp lay an egg in another box.

Almost all my roosters sit in the nest box and make a buncha clucky noises until a hen comes and sits in it. I have no clue why they do this, but it is very very common

Though I've never had a rooster hatch eggs

 

[Shadrach]

Almost all my roosters sit in the nest box and make a buncha clucky noises until a hen comes and sits in it. I have no clue why they do this, but it is very very common

Though I've never had a rooster hatch eggs

It usually happens when a hen goes to lay an egg in a new net site or an established nest site that hasn't been used by that hen recently.
The idea is I believe, the cock and hen look for a site together. Sometimes the cock will suggest a site by doing as you describe and scratching the ground. If the hen settles, then the cock knows where she is and often returns to the group. Sometimes the cock will stay, particularly when he feels the site is not secure. When the hen has laid the egg she calls for the cock to escort her back to the group. If the cock responds quickly he gets first chance to fertilise the next egg.

 

[centrarchid]

@centrarchid had a thread about broody roosters. Is that normal rooster behavior? No, not really, but with living animals you can see a lot of different behaviors. It's also possible he was just showing a pullet where it might make a good nest if she is looking for a good place to lay.

These are just other examples of why chicken TV is often better than anything on cable, satellite, antenna, or whatever other methods they use these days.

In a normal natural social grouping with chickens that have not been selected against investing in their own offspring, you can frequently see broody behavior. What is not natural is the sex ratio skewed so extremely towards females and with so many adults in such small spaces.

Backyards and commercial production is not "normal". We are to point we do not know what natural is anymore.

 

[centrarchid]

I have a silkoe roo, about 6 months old. Has clear, distinct rooster characteristics, crows, dances, the works. This morning, I found him sitting in the nest box. Is he just gender non confirmative or is this something roosters do from time to time. All the while my other silkie roo(I know, I know, I have too many!!!) is sitting on a roosting pole watching my buff orp lay an egg in another box.

When I have natural social groupings, the roosters have a home range that has some characteristics of a territory where he excludes other roosters and sometimes even hens he is not associated with. He develops a pretty good handle on where good nesting sites are located. When a female is starting to come back into lay she gives a signal, apparently a vocalization, that stimulates him to point out a nest site for her. He takes her to it making his own vocalizations and gets down into nest where he initiates construction while giving a growling like sound and sitting in place. At the very least the hen checks out the nest site and more often than not adopts the nest site. In the following day or so she deposits here first egg which is then repeatedly almost daily until clutch is complete and she goes broody. In my setting the rooster is very much aware of nesting sites used by female(s) of his harem even though he may not enter the nest again. When the rooster has only one hen in his harem, then he is more likely to follow here to immediate vicinity of nest for egg deposition. Having juvenile offspring from previous brood distracts from following hen to nest.


His awareness of site is important when potential nest predators are present as he can then provide appropriate distraction to lead baddy away from nest site. Rooster seems more engaged in subterfuge than hen unless nest site found then things can get more complex.

There is business of cockoldry that complicates things further.