Bad roo

[Mal26]

My 7 month old silkie roo has decided to chase one of my year old hens. She is very healthy and a big girl. My flock consist of one roo and 9 hens. Four hens are his age and five are one year of age. He is kind and gentle with all the hens except this one. He chases her and pens her down stands in fromt of her biting and pecking her face and head. She runs at first with panic but then lays down but he still bites her. She will hide but he hunts her down. If i am outside he will avoid attacking her but i do believe its because she stays by my side now since he has been attacking her. He is good with us the kids, my dogs, and the other hens but he will not let up on my pinkers!! Is there anything i can do to better this situation short of having to rwhome him?

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

that is strange. are you sure he is not just trying to breed a un-willing hen?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Welcome to BYC!

Well, if it persisted I would rehome to him freezer. Silkies are edible too!

Who would wanna take a boy that MIGHT be good to their ladies or abuse them.

Beyond that, you can try putting him in kennel while he gains some maturity. 7 months does not a rooster make, he is still a cockerel. And to be honest Silkies are my biggest Stew Pidasso's out of all the breeds I've raised! Only reason he get's a second chance on my watch is because you describe him as decent most the time. And they do treat non breeding females differently than ones who accept their advances. But the way he is continuing to abuse her even though she submits tells something more about him to me. If she isn't laying yet, that could be part of it. I did wonder if it's another male that hadn't bloomed yet, but you would probably already know.

I would put the thump on him every time he did it to her. Anytime someone starts up with a relentless issue, I put the chase to the chaser. If they are on the defense they can't be on the offense. I don't go excessive. Just enough so they know I don't accept or tolerate the behavior. Not enough to flip a switch in their brain that turn their aggression towards me.

Another alternative if you like him is to rehome the gal he has issues with. Pullets fetch a fair price.

 

[chickendreams24]

Okay well I'm going to start at the beginning. He is not a mature rooster he is a cockeral and they're hormonal little teenage boys that throw fits and spazz out if they don't get their way.

The girls his age are not hens yet either. They are pullets the pullets are generally more likely to give up and submit.

Generally if I see anything like this in my flock it's only from cockerals and usually because the hen will not submit to his breeding.

He's young and clumsy and silkies aren't exactly known for being graceful. He'll get the hang of it(usually or he won't) but in the meantime I would give him some time separate from your ladies. A time out might do him some good.

This is his first spring and he's flooded with massive amounts of testosterone right now so he's a little crazy.

Other than your silkie cockeral what breeds do you have in your flock? What breed is the girl he's attacking?

 

[Mal26]

My hen is an steady layer. The girls that are his age are also laying. He dances around all my girls and is good with all of them except Pinkers. If I am out there he doesn’t approach Pinkers at all but the second I go back inside he hunts her down for the chase. I have separated him as of now. Every time I see him after my Pinkers I correct him and chase him until he summits to me which he does with hesitation. Pinkers is a silver laced Wyandotte and is my biggest bodied hen.

 

[Chickassan]

He's trying to dominate a hen that wants no part of him right now because he isn't good enough for her yet. She is testing him, she is big enough to put a stop to it if she wanted yes?

 

[Mal26]

She is definitely twice his size but my calmest sweetest hen. There are two other hens her age and out of the three of them Pinkers would be on the bottom but she is higher on the pecking order when it comes to my younger girls. Can that have something to do with his reaction to Pinkers?

 

[Chickassan]

He's just being a little jerk, they all are at that age to some extent. My guess is she didn't submit the first time and he's still peeved. As far as him caring about her place on the pecking order, he dosen't roosters don't even factor into the hens order it is all their thing. If she has enough of his crap she will let him know, honestly she might not even get he's a rooster since he is a silkie.

She is definitely twice his size but my calmest sweetest hen. There are two other hens her age and out of the three of them Pinkers would be on the bottom but she is higher on the pecking order when it comes to my younger girls. Can that have something to do with his reaction to Pinkers?

 

[RWise]

I keep cockerels off the flock, until they are at least 1 YO, and I prefer 2YO. I would give him private quarters in site of the flock until he grows up.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

He can easily dominate those his age. But I agree he has to prove himself to the older hens. Her large body does not account for personality.

I also don't let my stags among the flock until a year or on VERY limited basis.

And whether she stands up to him or not it would be a cold day in hell before I tolerate that behavior. He would get a time out for some maturing or a permanent time out.

I agree boys don't care about hen pecking order, they are at the top of it. They break up fights and they mate who they WANT. Anyone who doesn't comply will get pecked when they come to roost or if they try to score treats. They will NOT be treated equal as hens who mate. I've seen it. I'm OK with not equal. I am NOT ok with hateful or relentless bleep bleep, bleep.. bleep.

Another alternative is a rooster tie out station. The ladies who like come by and get serviced while everyone else lives in peace.