Bachelor Flock Problems

[cmom]

I have done this with success. Take the older males out for awhile and put the newer males in and let them figure out their pecking order then after a few days put the older males back in and they will have to re-establish their pecking order. I have several coops and pens. I have also changed coops and pens and moved all of the birds I wanted to integrate into the new coop then everyone will be somewhat discombobulated and they will still have to establish a new pecking order. Good luck...

 

[cmom]

Once I took a male out of a bachelor pen to take to a show. A couple of days later when I put him back in, the other males wanted to kill him so I had to take him out and put him in another coop and pen.

 

[Matilda Belle]

I used to have a bachelor flock of 7. They all got a long great until the hormones kicked in and they started fighting and mating each other. I ultimately decided it wasn't a humane situation so rehomed some and gave some away to be eaten.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

My concern about integrating the new boys is their small size. Two of them are Silkies and the other one is a Barred Cochin Bantam. The three boys in my existing bachelor flock are two Cream Legbar/Black Copper Marans crosses and the other is a Barred Rock. The bachelor flock guys could easily injure or I don't really know but I would guess the little guys could be killed. That's the only reason I am not acting on it already. Thoughts? I'd love to be wrong about this.

In my bachelor pad sometimes the bantams got along well with the standards, sometimes the bantams got bullied. It depends on the individual roos. If your standard roos are too assertive it might not work out.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I tried introducing the Silkie (guy who is most assertive in the baby mixed flock) to the lead cockerel (Marans/Cream Legbar Cross) of the existing Bachelor Flock. It didn't go well, AT ALL. It was absolutely awful. The silkie wouldn't stop attacking the other (much larger) guy. He was attacking anything he could reach and the big guy stayed calm and handled the situation really well. The only injury the silkie obtained was a peck injury to his (huge) comb. I had to intervene because the silkie was absolutely relentless in his attacks. I know the the larger cockerel could have definitely put the silkie in his place, but it was like he knew that he was so much smaller so decided that he needed to be gentle. The silkie is 2 lbs vs a standard size cockerel. I should add that the Marans cross cockerel has had to fight to hold onto his leadership position, so it's not that he doesn't know how to fight. He is very gentle and overall the only cockerel that doesn't cause any problems, so far. I had to separate this same silkie cockerel from the cochin bantam earlier this evening. The silkie cockerel is just turning out to be a real handful, for humans and flockmates

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I tried introducing the Silkie (guy who is most assertive in the baby mixed flock) to the lead cockerel (Marans/Cream Legbar Cross) of the existing Bachelor Flock. It didn't go well, AT ALL. It was absolutely awful. The silkie wouldn't stop attacking the other (much larger) guy. He was attacking anything he could reach and the big guy stayed calm and handled the situation really well. The only injury the silkie obtained was a peck injury to his (huge) comb. I had to intervene because the silkie was absolutely relentless in his attacks. I know the the larger cockerel could have definitely put the silkie in his place, but it was like he knew that he was so much smaller so decided that he needed to be gentle. The silkie is 2 lbs vs a standard size cockerel. I should add that the Marans cross cockerel has had to fight to hold onto his leadership position, so it's not that he doesn't know how to fight. He is very gentle and overall the only cockerel that doesn't cause any problems, so far. I had to separate this same silkie cockerel from the cochin bantam earlier this evening. The silkie cockerel is just turning out to be a real handful, for humans and flockmates

I hate to say this, since silkies are everyone’s darling and I love the girls so much... but we ended up butchering our silkie rooster at 1 year old. We couldn’t rehome because of the Marek’s in our flock, and that silkie was relentless at attacking us. He was so little that he didn’t do us any harm, but when he’d attack, our large fowl roosters would also go off and it would turn into an all out brawl, with some aggression towards each other and some towards us. I couldn’t walk in to feed without that guy attacking. When the behavior didn’t improve, we decided he was temperamentally unsuited to breeding and he was poorly affecting the bachelor pad dynamics. I thought about housing him separately with the silkie girls, but decided against it due to his pugnacious temperament. I know that there are nice silkie roos, but there are also unpleasant one. Hoping that your guy mellows out!

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I hate to say this, since silkies are everyone’s darling and I love the girls so much... but we ended up butchering our silkie rooster at 1 year old. We couldn’t rehome because of the Marek’s in our flock, and that silkie was relentless at attacking us. He was so little that he didn’t do us any harm, but when he’d attack, our large fowl roosters would also go off and it would turn into an all out brawl, with some aggression towards each other and some towards us. I couldn’t walk in to feed without that guy attacking. When the behavior didn’t improve, we decided he was temperamentally unsuited to breeding and he was poorly affecting the bachelor pad dynamics. I thought about housing him separately with the silkie girls, but decided against it due to his pugnacious temperament. I know that there are nice silkie roos, but there are also unpleasant one. Hoping that your guy mellows out!

This thought crossed my mind and I just hate it. The other 2 little guys in the Flock with him (another silkie and a barred bantam cochin) both took a beating from him (no injuries but he kept at them until they submitted and let him mount them) today. He is the smallest boy I have but he is the worst to the other birds. I was hoping he could father some chicks with my little silkie pullet, but that seems like a terrible idea at this point. He is not a bird that should reproduce. He screams at any little sound and anytime he sees myself or anyone, he screams trying to alert everyone. Once everyone knows he has alerted, he continues to scream over every single thing. It's like he is on edge all the time. Even his crow is like a one syllable scream, nothing like a typical crow. The other silkie cockerel (Zane, a larger white silkie) seems to watch this one (Blue) & tries to mimic everything Blue does. This is worrisome due to Blue's behavior. When I am holding Blue, he is still on edge a bit, but he calms down some. He seems to enjoy the affection and closes his eyes and rest but still screams about every little thing. Sometimes I wonder if he has a mental disorder because he does tend to act unstable most of the time. I know that I am humanizing him, so please overlook me. He is 20 weeks old now so I know his hormones are crazy but in reality, even as a very young chick, I remember constantly telling my daughter that she needed to be calm and quiet to interact with him. He would get upset if anyone spoke to him in more than a whisper and try to escape from their hands. I'm thinking this is just how he is. Even if I make another bachelor Flock, the other silkie and bantam cochin will probably be miserable with him unless he calms down. Maybe getting away from the pullets full time will help, but it seems unlikely. I wonder if this is common with silkies? It's such a shame because I really enjoy silkies, other than Blue's extreme behavior. He is a handsome little guy.

 

[Folly's place]

Every individual isn't going to be 'normal', in any population. I think this little guy is causing problems where ever he is, and as a flock member, he's not an asset. Certainly not a breeder!
I wouldn't inflict him on the hens or pullets!
Do what's best for the flock.
Mary

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

This thought crossed my mind and I just hate it. The other 2 little guys in the Flock with him (another silkie and a barred bantam cochin) both took a beating from him (no injuries but he kept at them until they submitted and let him mount them) today. He is the smallest boy I have but he is the worst to the other birds. I was hoping he could father some chicks with my little silkie pullet, but that seems like a terrible idea at this point. He is not a bird that should reproduce. He screams at any little sound and anytime he sees myself or anyone, he screams trying to alert everyone. Once everyone knows he has alerted, he continues to scream over every single thing. It's like he is on edge all the time. Even his crow is like a one syllable scream, nothing like a typical crow. The other silkie cockerel (Zane, a larger white silkie) seems to watch this one (Blue) & tries to mimic everything Blue does. This is worrisome due to Blue's behavior. When I am holding Blue, he is still on edge a bit, but he calms down some. He seems to enjoy the affection and closes his eyes and rest but still screams about every little thing. Sometimes I wonder if he has a mental disorder because he does tend to act unstable most of the time. I know that I am humanizing him, so please overlook me. He is 20 weeks old now so I know his hormones are crazy but in reality, even as a very young chick, I remember constantly telling my daughter that she needed to be calm and quiet to interact with him. He would get upset if anyone spoke to him in more than a whisper and try to escape from their hands. I'm thinking this is just how he is. Even if I make another bachelor Flock, the other silkie and bantam cochin will probably be miserable with him unless he calms down. Maybe getting away from the pullets full time will help, but it seems unlikely. I wonder if this is common with silkies? It's such a shame because I really enjoy silkies, other than Blue's extreme behavior. He is a handsome little guy.

May he try putting your silkie in with the two other standard roos? They might teach him some manners.