Aggressive Silkie Rooster problems

[OldMcContri]

I have a White Silkie Rooster just under a year old. I feel he is causing stress amongst the girls as their tail feathers are disappearing and look ragedy and he is picking on them as well. They get so frustrated with him that I placed some elevated areas just so they could get away from him. What else could I do? I am thinking about tryin to find a new home for him as a think one of my neighbors is beginning to get frustrated at him as well with his constant crowing throughout the day. Any ideas?

 

[chooks4life]

I have a White Silkie Rooster just under a year old. I feel he is causing stress amongst the girls as their tail feathers are disappearing and look ragedy and he is picking on them as well.

Can't quite tell whether they're just moulting or are also being attacked. What do you mean by 'picking on them'?

Either way, a normal rooster does not rip out feathers during every mating, it's a rare and accidental occurrence if ever he does; constantly removing feathers is a sign of a vicious mentality. It takes a fair bit of effort to rip out feathers, it's not an accident if it happens regularly; it's intentional. And they're actually pretty intelligent and they know when they're hurting one another, so he wouldn't be oblivious to the distress he's causing, either.

They get so frustrated with him that I placed some elevated areas just so they could get away from him.

What do you mean by 'frustrated' with him? Sounds like they would appreciate it if he just up and vanished, really. If your hens are not enjoying his presence then I'd get rid of him. A good rooster is something hens appreciate having around, not a plague or source of abuse and distress.

There must be equal importance placed on quality of life for the hens as well as the rooster... Depending on whether or not an individual's behavior causes decreased quality of life for others, in which case their right to quality of life is forfeit.

Well-behaved individuals that do not abuse others have equal rights to quality of life in my opinion and those that cause suffering to others should be rehomed to a more appropriate place or humanely destroyed. Preferably they should never be bred because it is often very strongly heritable.

His quality of life is not worth more than any one hen's quality of life. Contrary to popular belief there is nothing natural about a rooster abusing hens, that's a sad situation they just have to put up with under domestic conditions thanks to human mismanagement over the generations before. In the wild situation such a male would find the hens abandon him and find better males.

What else could I do? I am thinking about tryin to find a new home for him as a think one of my neighbors is beginning to get frustrated at him as well with his constant crowing throughout the day. Any ideas?

Be done with him, I suggest, nothing you can do will make him treat the hens better; your post gives the distinct impression this rooster has little to no positive value for you or the poor hens.

If it's just crowing being an issue, you could try out a no-crow collar on him, but I would reserve that for a rooster worth the effort, which he clearly isn't.

The space, resources, and hens this bully is taking up could go to a better rooster, one the hens enjoy having around. Many good roosters die every day for want of a home to take them, while nasty ones take up space that could have gone to the good roosters instead.

Best wishes.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

x2.
Don't tolerate an aggressive rooster, whether its towards you or the hens. Behavior like that is the result of poor breeding, in my opinion.

 

[chooks4life]

x2.
Don't tolerate an aggressive rooster, whether its towards you or the hens. Behavior like that is the result of poor breeding, in my opinion.

I agree, but it all depends how you evaluate good breeding. People define it differently. For example the aesthetic breeder values are often responsible for perpetuating severely aggressive lines, because appearance is all they're selecting for, and going by appearance alone one could say it's good breeding that went into that bird. But he may have the weakest immune system it's possible to survive with, perpetually living like a HIV patient, or carry a whole raft of severe genetic faults, or have extreme behavioral faults. Usually all three are common in show-bred lines in my experience.

My idea of good breeding, which I would guess is similar to yours, is placing more importance on health (both physical and mental/social) than on appearance. Not the easiest trade-off to do if you're in it for show-type animals though. Many show-breeders would look at our birds and call them poorly bred I'd bet. Hardiness and health aren't necessarily sought after show traits.

Best wishes.