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Hi there. I'm looking for the benefit of someone's experience please! I've got a marans hen who's been acting a bit odd- she's keen to stay in the house and particularly in the nest box of late, acting as if she could be broody? The thing is, she's due to come in to lay any time now, as are the rest of the girls in that enclosure. This morning I found a small, soft egg in that nest box and I'm thinking it's probably hers. Has anyone else had hens behaving like this when coming into lay? Is there anything I could be doing to help them? I've had hens for a while but up til now I've not been in this position of them coming into lay for the first time. Any help much appreciated!!!!

[JulieWall]

There is a way to tell her status quickly and easily which can be used at any age. If you hold her under your arm and feel for the two bony protrusions on either side of her vent you can measure how many finger widths they are apart. If she is two to three finger widths she is in lay or about to be. When hens go off lay, such as for the moult or in winter, these bones close down to a finger width or so and reopen when they come back into lay. Also her comb will redden up and the cockerel may very well be paying special court to her along with any other layers who's status means he can pass on his genes.
I use this behaviour to my advantage if I need to introduce youngsters to an established flock because if you put them in when the cockerel will stick to them like glue he protects them from bullying and they seem to get an elevated status in the pecking order to some degree also, just because they are laying.

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Thanks Julie- that's very helpful indeed!! I had no idea about this and will go and have a look at her now. Her comb is indeed red. As to the cockerel-I have two boys who are in with twelve girls (a RIR boy and a Welsummer boy) This group were hatched and raised together. I can't say I've noticed the boys paying particular attention to her (or indeed any of them as yet-it could be maybe the boys are not fully mature).
I certainly appreciate any advice my fellow chicken keepers can give me!

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Just an update on my marans hen-I examined her as Julie advised and she is a good 3 fingers!!! Just for the he'll of it I also did the other 2 marans who were 2-3 fingers and for a comparison I also did my buff Orpington Connie, who is a good month younger, and she was 1 finger width, so that would seem to hold true. What an amazing piece of advise-I will certainly use this again as the girls don't seem to mind! They are all well used to being handled and some like Connie positively enjoy a cuddle! Thanks again Julie! 

[Marches Farmer]

You'll almost certainly find your cockerels revving up for the breeding season soon, and may well have to split them up.  Once they start fighting they'll go on doing it every chance they get.

[JulieWall]

Glad to help  hope you get some eggs very soon, the days are getting longer so that should do the trick.

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Thanks very much for the advice folks!!
Marches farmer-is a cockerel fight inevitable do you think? If it's a case of a ticking time bomb then I will certainly separate my boys as that's the last thing I would want!! They are both obviously cockerels to look at but neither are crowing at the moment or seem interested in the girls. They are the same age as the marans who are starting to come into lay now. How much time would you guess I have or do you think separate now and avoid problems? Many thanks-Linda 

[JulieWall]

It's fairly likely although not definite. RIRs tend to be a bit bolshy so maybe he will come out as the boss but you will get a bit of warning if they start squaring up to one another, lots of neck stretching and flared out feathers, then jumping around trying to get a peck in before the other one does.
A couple of years ago we had a hatch with a lot of Silkie cockerels in it, they decided to behave like hens and keep a low profile, they had me fooled for a while but as soon as I necked the old cockerel a battle to succeed him started.
I would say it depends entirely on whether one of your boys is happy to be subordinate and how dominant the other is. It's very likely they will fight but not a certainty.

[chrismahon]

Hi Linda. What JulieWall is describing is the old successful method of preventing fighting amongst young cockerels. You put them with a 'peacekeeper', an older cock who no-one dares to challenge. There is no in-fighting and the cockerels put on more weight with less toughness in the legs. Usually the youngsters get brave enough at about 6 months, so you pull the peacekeeper out (because they will gang up on him) and cull the unwanted cockerels before chaos ensues.

[JulieWall]

That's interesting, I didn't know that!  I suppose the trick would be to put the other birds in the pot before six months old so the peace continued? Just goes to show that if something works it has probably been tried and tested for eons.
We prefer to let any table birds roam with the flock until they start to cause trouble, then it's freezer time I'm afraid. It just feels like too much hassle to start penning them up separately and they can put on lean muscle if they are getting some exercise.
 

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Thanks for the advice, guys. My husband said he heard one of them crowing the other day but didn't notice which one it was!! I think it's probably going to be a case of careful watching. They don't seem to have started squaring up to each other yet but I expect they will soon. I must admit the RIR cockerel was chased around by one of the marans hens and given a peck for his trouble yesterday!! Maybe he was trying to take unwelcome liberties!! A case of watch and see if think!

[Marches Farmer]

Once heard Raymond Blanc say he uses 14 week old cockerels at Le Manoir Au Quat' Saisons - which is much older than supermarket chicken.  Older than 14 weeks is OK if you use the slow cooker!

[JulieWall]

We had one of our Marans cocks last night, just roasted and he was fine and tender. Definitely over 4 months old as I didn't get round to doing them until winter was approaching.

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Interestingly I've heard both boys crow now but as yet no trouble . My marans hen that I was concerned about is now laying beautifully and her sisters are gearing up for it Any time now I'm sure. Barney, my Welsummer has the loveliest crow, quite deep, and of course he's so gorgeous to look at, so I think we'll be keeping him! Anyone want a free RIR cockerel in Norfolk Broads area?
 

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I successfully managed to rehome Fred, my lovely RIR boy! He was so handsome to look at and had a lovely personality-I could pick him up and cuddle him but he was HUGE, so I didn't want to kill such a lovely boy. He's gone to live with 30 hens so hopefully he's as happy as a pig in the messy stuff!!!