Chicks with roo

[Hughes Wildlife Farm]

I have 2 chicks both 7 wks old and I'm ready to move them out to the coop from the broader.. I have a very sexually active 7month old silkie roo.. He only has one hen at this time. Do I have to worry about him mounting the chicks?
The chicks are a EE cross and bout his size, as they are a bigger breed than the silkie, so eventually they will be bigger than him.

 

[sourland]

He may very well harass and try to breed the chicks. Monitor the introduction closely.

 

[Shadrach]

I'm convinced I've got a different species.
Not once in ten years of having broodies hatch chicks, in their coops, outside, in my house, have I ever had a rooster assault a chick in any way. Other hens have and will, but the roosters just don't. In fact here it's been the roosters that have offered some protection to the chicks from some of the more aggressive senior hens.
If a chick gets confused,or lost at roost time and doesn't go in with their mums I grab a rooster and place him on the ground outside the coop. The chicks usually come out of hiding and shelter under the rooster where I can catch them and put them in with their mum.
Even at pullet stage it's very rare for a rooster to bother a pullet that isn't laying. Once they start layinng it's very different.
It may all be different with incubator hatched chicks and roosters.
I suppose as always the best advice is to try and keep both eyes on how everyone behaves.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I'm convinced I've got a different species.
Not once in ten years of having broodies hatch chicks, in their coops, outside, in my house, have I ever had a rooster assault a chick in any way. Other hens have and will, but the roosters just don't. In fact here it's been the roosters that have offered some protection to the chicks from some of the more aggressive senior hens.
If a chick gets confused,or lost at roost time and doesn't go in with their mums I grab a rooster and place him on the ground outside the coop. The chicks usually come out of hiding and shelter under the rooster where I can catch them and put them in with their mum.
Even at pullet stage it's very rare for a rooster to bother a pullet that isn't laying. Once they start layinng it's very different.
It may all be different with incubator hatched chicks and roosters.
I suppose as always the best advice is to try and keep both eyes on how everyone behaves.

I have a silkie rooster that is very daddy like. When I put chicks in the coop, he'll feed, & protect them for awhile, until he feels like he doesn't need to help them out any longer.

 

[Chickassan]

Who knows what is going to happen?
You have sort of an unusual situation there.
He may be inappropriate, he may be vicious or he might not care one bit.
All you can really do is find out.

 

[Chickassan]

The first rooster I was gifted a few years ago when the current flock started was inappropriate with the children or he tried to be.
I'd never had it be an issue before him,
didn't even cross my mind.
I just returned him to the family that gifted him and grew a new one from scratch.
Never had such an awkward time returning a gift, that is for certain.

I'm convinced I've got a different species.
Not once in ten years of having broodies hatch chicks, in their coops, outside, in my house, have I ever had a rooster assault a chick in any way. Other hens have and will, but the roosters just don't. In fact here it's been the roosters that have offered some protection to the chicks from some of the more aggressive senior hens.
If a chick gets confused,or lost at roost time and doesn't go in with their mums I grab a rooster and place him on the ground outside the coop. The chicks usually come out of hiding and shelter under the rooster where I can catch them and put them in with their mum.
Even at pullet stage it's very rare for a rooster to bother a pullet that isn't laying. Once they start layinng it's very different.
It may all be different with incubator hatched chicks and roosters.
I suppose as always the best advice is to try and keep both eyes on how everyone behaves.

 

[Hughes Wildlife Farm]

My roo is super duper friendly... Hope he takes more of a father roll/protector roll.
Well, here to jumping in nd just go for it!!!

 

[Shadrach]

The first rooster I was gifted a few years ago when the current flock started was inappropriate with the children or he tried to be.
I'd never had it be an issue before him,
didn't even cross my mind.
I just returned him to the family that gifted him and grew a new one from scratch.
Never had such an awkward time returning a gift, that is for certain.

There's a lesson to be learn't there somewhere about neighbors bearing gifts.
So, I had a look through my records. This is what I've got.
2009. Forced integration. No rooster present 2 chicks injured by hens.
2009. Forced integration. Cockerel present. 1 chicks killed.
2010. Forced integration. No roosters present. I chick injured.
2011. Pre integration. 1 chick injured by mother.
2012. Pre integration. I chick injured by mother.
2014. Pre integration 3 chicks killed by mother.
2015. Pre integration, 3 chicks injured and put down.

Forced integration means incubator hatched and put in with group at night.
Pre integration means mother in nest site away from group.
So, why don't people write is it safe to put my chicks in with the hens more often?
My records here show that a hen is much more likely to injure or kill chicks.

 

[Henry&Friends]

.
So, why don't people write is it safe to put my chicks in with the hens more often?
My records here show that a hen is much more likely to injure or kill chicks.

the world is against roosters... but having been beaten up by roosters before, it would make sense to be more worried about Sir ShankLegs than a tiny, spurless hen. People don’t seem to notice that most of the bickering and violence plays out between hens. I had a hen hatch out chicks and the chicks were killed. My family swore up and down that my rooster had to have killed them, until we went out to separate them and found Ms. Broody pecking at the chick’s heads. That sucked, but Henry was innocent and they were about ready to lynch him for it!

 

[Shadrach]

Fortunately the world isn't against roosters. Plenty of roosters where I live and plenty of others in other parts of the world. It's mainly the backyard chicken keepers in the US and UK who either are not allowed roosters, or won't keep them for other reasons.