will my rooster kill the chicks?

chickengeorgeto said:

I fully agree with centrachid. I have in almost 60 years of chicken husbandry never seen an adult rooster even peck at a chick.
Now if you go into a pen or do something crazy or stupid and cause chicken drama or panic anything can and will happen, like a rooster or more likely the chicks' own mother killing one or more of her own chicks from collateral damage. She will do this by hitting you, hitting at you, or fighting with another hen, usually in a misguided attempt to protect her brood.

I have seen this happen more times than I can count and it was always my fault, but the crazy hen involved was never allowed to brood another clutch of eggs. Folks, you got to stop and remember that chickens aren't brain surgeons, they're totally controlled by their instincts and that no chicken can comprehend the results of its own actions. When the eggs hatch some hens undergo a complete personally reversal, be ready for it when she comes off the nest, and don't say that I didn't warn you.

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I dont keep my chickens in a pen. They have a little room for them in which they sleep at night. But i totally agree with chickengeorgeto if you keepi your chickens in a pen!

I was wondering how your rooster received your chicks? We are new to raising chickens... We had a hen go broody mid December and now all 4 chicks are broody and we have at least 16 eggs that they are sitting on. You can imagine our dilemma. We didn't know to date the eggs, that they would move eggs from nest to nest and we have collected 5 eggs accidentally that had babies in them... We were able to keep one alive and is in the incubator in the house. I'm worried about many things. How did your rooster do?

tiburciob33 said:

i have a silver phoenix rooster and i will be getting some chicks soon, will he try o kill them , he is not really that aggressive towards other roosters. And at what age is it safe to put them in there with him.

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i didn't put my my chicks directly with my roosters when i first got them, but they knew the chicks existed. separated by a cage the chicks would sit in the pen on a nice day and the roosters would be running around. my NHR was especially sweet though i was surprised. he would come up to the cage and lower his head and close his eyes while the chicks pecked at his comb. he didn't even flinch! they were at the scraggly pin feather stage, still to young to be with the big boys. My Rooster probably wouldn't have hurt the chicks, but it was never a risk i was willing to take. but you can place the chicks in a cage and place it where your rooster can see them. it'll help get them acquainted before they are old enough to be set loose. it might also minimize fighting in any accidental rooster for awhile longer if the adult is able to watch the chicks grow up and they realize who's boss. i've got two banty roosters who will be a year old in the spring, that i just put with the adult banties. they were already crowing but have since all but stopped as they found out they were not really the boss.