Does anyone have a "broody" Rooster???

[dutchbunny83]

I'm not sure if this is the exact terminology you would use, but a rooster that acts like a mama hen. I just call him broody

We have a silkie bantam that's about 6 months old and definitely a rooster (he's been crowing for about 6 weeks now, getting louder by the day!) My son got a baby chick (mystery breed, definitely a frizzle) at the local flock swap Easter weekend. We kept him inside, but let him go out and free range with all the other chickens a little since its so warm here. A few days after we got this little guy one of our Wyandottes was refusing to get off the eggs and tried to bite us when we tried to take them. I thought she might be feeling broody, so I tried to give her the baby chick. She immediately pecked at him and ran out of the coop wanting nothing to do with him. My silkie roo immediately came over to the chick, and the two have been inseparable ever since.

Anytime the chick starts peeping, my roo runs right to him. The frizzle chick will hop on my rooster's back, and the rooster will walk around letting the little guy ride on him. Anytime any of the hens come near the baby, my rooster chases them away. My silkie shows the baby how to scratch and get bugs and to eat the grass. The baby even jumps up and eats leaves right out of my roo's mouth as he's chewing on a plant. Last night we decided to let the chick sleep outside in the coop, and my rooster slept in the nesting box snuggling the chick instead of on a roost.

I've never seen anything like it. Anyone else ever have a "broody" rooster? I'd love to hear your story!

I just went a took a couple pics of them. Sorry they're not so good, they're from my phone. I tried to get one of the chick on my silkie's back, but they wouldn't hold still so they were all blurry.

 

[LillianMae]

Maybe he sees the little (adorable I might add) chick as something like himself, they look alike. Wouldn't it be cool if maybe he's mentoring him in roostering skills?

 

[ShellLea]

Never heard of anything like that, but that is so adorable!

 

[dutchbunny83]

Thanks!
I think the chick thinks the rooster is his mom because they do look a lot alike (all my other chickens are barred rocks, wyandottes, and americaunas so they aren't at all similar to the little guy).
It's the funniest thing watching them together, I didn't know if anyone else had a rooster like this.
I know silkie hens are supposed to be broody, wasn't sure if the males had the draw to parenting as well?

 

[LillianMae]

Sometimes males do that, I had this tomcat, and he wouldn't watch any of these kittens, then I put this one with him that looked just like him and he played with her all day. I didn't realize roosters do that, maybe he's seeing her/him as part of his flock he's got to protect

 

[Arizona Son]

Wow, that is amazing, I've never heard of anything like that! Adorable story of the two of them. Keep us updated on this unusual friendship.

 

[jasmer]

I know this is an old topic but i just wanted to mention our last roo was kind of like this. The chicks were raised by their mother but the old man would show them all the good spots for eating and helped protect them from a particularly homicidal hen. He did tje same with our next batch of chicks too.