Broody... roo?

I'm going to go out on a limb and say this isn't normal, but has anyone every come across a broody rooster?

Today I had the amusing opportunity to watch my Bantam rooster take over a nest in which 2 eggs had been laid. Each time another hen would form a nest to lay an egg, he'd get up from the ones he was setting on and go and interrupt her. Once he was satisfied that she had given up on that laying spot, he'd return to the other 2 eggs, where he sat for quite a while. Moose and I found he buried the eggs, but set on them none the less. He continued this throughout the day, each time he'd find a new egg.

The whole while he was making a soft growling noise, the larger rooster making a high pitched 'trill' noise all the while. The girls seemed quite annoyed with him and tried to kick him out of their nests, but like my broody hen in the other coop, he wouldn't move.

Has anyone experienced this before? As hilarious as it may have been, do you think this could become a problem?

He's either trying to 'woo' the hens as my bantam rooster will do by going in the nest box or you have to post two or three new pics of him so we can help you decide if he really is a 'he'. Has he crowed yet?

While I haven't had actually broody roos, I've certainly had paternal roos - when a mum abandoned her chicks at 6 weeks, our bantam cochin roo snuggled them under his wings at night.

Sounds quite believable to me - they all have the same genes and chromosomes, and each individual manifests them differently.

ChicoryFarm wrote:He's either trying to 'woo' the hens as my bantam rooster will do by going in the nest box or you have to post two or three new pics of him so we can help you decide if he really is a 'he'. Has he crowed yet?

Ooooh he is most definitely a roo. He crows... and crows..

and.. crows.

He and Wannachukanegg battle like underground rappers. Then with the T-rex that is Winston crowing in the distance, there's a battle of 3.

The little banty roo also breeds with the other smaller girls and gives it his best effort with the big hens.

Okay, so that's clear! LOL! Well, all I can say is that my Dutch bantam goes into the nest boxes probably once or twice a week and woos his girls in. They jump up on the roosts to the nest box and watch him and then often jump in once he's out. But he talks to them while he's in the nest box and they watch him. It's very dear. It's like he's encouraging their broodiness/mothering/mating instincts. That's my take anyways.