Starting out...questions

[Sunshine77]

Hi..I am looking for guidance. Someone gave me a silkie and two chicks. We converted gardenshed to coop, and attached an "a-frame" chicken tractor...till we could build a proper pen. The chickens are absolutley adorable! I cannot believe how fast the chicks have grown. Looked into coop other day to see if one was beating the other..only to find that the racket was one standing on a log, chest puffed out, trying to do the rooster sound. So...I think one is a rooster. Question is....I only have the three. When he tries to mate he only has the hen and his sibling to chose from. Does this matter in the poultry world? Are the silkie roosters difficult? Right now he seems afraid of everything! If anyone goes near him he screams and runs in the opposite direction. I have noticed the other two seem to pick.......ooops...I guess the term is "peck" at him. Any suggestions? I was not going to have a rooster....but he is so cute! Help please......

 

[donrae]

silkies are a good choice for a rooster for a newbie, if you're determined to keep him. I usually advise new folks not to keep a rooster, and even a mild mannered silkie can get mean once those hormones hit. Lots of threads here about treating a rooster like a rooster, not a pet. That seems to have the best success rate of a respectful rooster.

It's fine for a rooster to mate his close female siblings. If you choose to hatch eggs anytime, just be aware that any problems in the parent stock will be magnified in the offspring. Then again, good traits are also magnified. My mom always said if you get good results, it's line breeding. If you get bad results, it's inbreeding.

 

[foreverlearning]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/297632/silkie-thread
Lots of info in there on silkies