@RoyalChick . This post may be long so please bare with me.
On the off chance that Chippy is a boy I would like to set your mind at ease that raising a rooster is not that difficult.
From time of hatching until 4 to 5 months old when hormones start to hit all of my chicks are treated exactly the same, even those I KNOW are cockerels at a young age.
If I am the one brooding them, everyone is handled daily. I will hold them in my lap even if they struggle at first. Once they calm down and settle for even just a minute then they can hop down if they choose. I need all of my chickens to accept to be handled whether they like it or not. Injuries, illness and just overall health checks and lice or mite infestation requires handling. From the time they hit the brooder I sit with them numerous times a day with their food in my hand and the feeder removed. It does not take long until they are all eating out of my hand, with most standing in my hand eating. I remain perfectly still the first week or two just so they get used to me feeding them.
If the hen is brooding them my interactions are based on what momma allows. Some hens are perfectly fine with you touching her chicks as soon as they pop out of the shell. Others AKA, the ole bat, Gryffyn and the silkie hoard are all hands off, I will kill you if you even look at my baby. Goose bless her, she let me hold Homer from day 1. She was proud to show off her chick to me, would call him out from under her when I sat with her and was fine with him hopping up on me. Gryffyn, well, she is called Grouchy Gryffyn and even as a momma she lives up to that name. She is still hanging onto her two chicks Georgina and Juice. Very much hands off the first 5 weeks. She is just now tolerating me giving them crop massages at night, but that is the full extent of it. She does not allow them to eat from my hand, she angrily throws the food from my hand to them while getting a few good bites in for good measure. I have held them, that involves cornering them, fending off Gryffyn and then taking said chick outside of the coop and locking her in. Once away from momma, Georgina loves me and melts for snuggles. Juice is getting better slowly, although he still calls for his momma like I am killing him half the time. Once Gryffyn finally lets them go true progress with Juice can be made. The silkies and Ducky? I tried picking him up once and chaos ensued with every chicken in that coop attacking me at once. I learned my boundaries fast. They can bring him around me. They will allow him to eat out of my hand if it is on the ground and perfectly still. Woe is me if I so much as move while he is within 2 feet of me. Dearly departed Ole Bat momma hen, she took great pleasure is clubbing me with that foot the first month and a half if I so much walked by them in her personal 5 foot no one enter bubble. Even placing food and water for them involved a beating and cursing from myself. I like to think she is looking down from heaven on the flock. Sometimes, sometimes when I remember her antics I believe she is looking up gleaming with pride.
Seeing as how Tassels is brooding these chicks phase 2 is going to begin when she starts teaching them to roost.
Again, pullet or cockerel they all get the same treatment at this age. The first night they hit the roost, and every night after, come out after dark with a head lamp. Massage those crops and rub them on their necks and the base of their wings along the shoulders. You may find they shy away at first, but it will not take long before they realize they enjoy that. If you have one that is destined to be super friendly, that one will try to push the other's out of the way when it is not their turn. Do not forget Momma or the other adults for that measure. All my chickens enjoy this nightly routine. I can even give the silkie momma's who are on the outside of the pile around Ducky a crop massage without too much fuss as long as I do not try to sneak a pet in on their baby.
Now would be a great time to start trying to get them to eat out of your hand. Bring out a high value treat that Tassels will go crazy for. She is going to want to call her chicks over for some. Do not throw it on the ground but hold you hand out and just sit. Even if she does not allow the chicks to eat from you hand but rakes it on the ground they will start associating you with good things. Bonus points if they get brave enough while still with her to eat out of your hand.
When Tassels is done it is time to tame them. In the mornings if you have time, kick the adults out of the palace and leave the littles in. It is time to start holding them individually. They will probably protest loudly at first for a minute or two which is why you want a barrier between you and the adults. Catch each chick and take it to a seat. Place it in your lap, talking calmly and with one hand gently securing the chick start with crop massages and the shoulder massages. Do not let it down until it settles and relaxes for a minute. Keep up with that crop or shoulder massage. Once it relaxes while continuing to rub take your other hand away. If it chooses to hop down then that is ok. If it chooses to stay keep at it until it hops down on it's own. Repeat this with each chick, have a cup of coffee or tea with you, the first few days can take a while. After you have handled them offer them breakfast and sit right beside the feeder while also offering some of their food in your hand for a few minutes. Then open up the palace and let them enjoy their day. Anytime you are out around them even if it is simply their normal feed grab a handful and offer it to them. You've raised chicks before, right now this is no different no matter the sex, you got this.
If Chippy is a boy, phase 3 begins when those hormones first hit. Being late summer chicks that may not happen until January on. Again I want to state you have several older hens, they WILL be your allies during the idiot phase. The Idiot phase will come to all cockerels and their first spring is the worst. At some point he is going to start tidbitting to the girls, and you. Let him, offer him food and let him pretend he "found" it. He is going to start dropping that wing and dancing for his ladies, perfectly fine. He dances for you? Nope that is rude young man. Walk towards him calmly and make him back up and move out of your space. The dancing is cute, but not directed towards you. At some point, he is going to try to charge you from behind whether he makes contact or not. Be ready for this. When you hear him running up, and you will spin around and scoop him up before he makes contact if you can. Secure him gently but firmly under your arm and pack him around while doing "chores". Make some up if you have to but pack him around for a good 5 minutes. I carry mine around for 10 to 15 minutes while in "time out". The smart ones learn after 1 or 2 tries, the dumb ones, it may take a couple. I never change the way I treat the girls around the boys. If I want to hold one of my lap chickens, I will do so. If I want to feed them, I do so, he is welcome to join them and pretend he found the food out of my hand. If he turns out to be a boy that loves handling, I will pick him up whenever I want and take him and sit down for a bit, in full sight of the girls. If he is one that prefers not to be held, I will still reach down and stroke his back as he walks by.
Honestly the hard part is going to be when he turns his attentions to the hens. He is going to want to chase anything that moves. At first he is not going to know to properly court the ladies by tidbitting and then the rooster dance. He will probably pounce and roughly grab them on the back of the neck. Here is where your older girls will come into play. They are going to beat him senseless. They will also come to the aid of the younger pullets who will probably want to run and not turn and fight. DO NOT INTERFERE!! I do not care if it looks like they are killing the young lad leave them alone. The only way he is going to learn how to properly "woo" the hens is for them to lay down the law. That ego of his needs knocked down a peg or two, or ten if you have a really randy boy.
It should not take long and you will notice a change in him. He will stop charging the girls, but call them to him. He will be a little excited first thing in the morning and right before roosting time. The rest of the day, he is going to be on the lookout. He is going to start finding what "HE" considers good nesting spots and take up nest building. Sometimes he may go all day making new nests and none of them be suitable spots for the girls. He is going to start responding to their escort calls. He is actually going to be a really busy boy. His time will be spent escorting the girls to and from the nests, he may even sit with them while they lay their eggs. He is going to be on the lookout for predators. He is going to be searching for food. A good rooster always lets the hens eat first, and have the choice bites. If you have a lap rooster, he will take time out of his busy schedule to come say hi. My lap roosters trust me enough to hop up in my lap when I am out and take a well deserved nap. The ones who do not like to be held, they still will come visit and will stand or lay around me preening or dustbathing.
If you can make it through that first spring and year congratulations. He is going to mellow out and his true self shine through. Remember again, every young cockerel is going to try you at some point. Branch, Bubba, Drumstick, George, they had their moments. They were idiots each and every one of them. We got through it and they stole my heart and were dearly loved. They are deeply missed and each one of them took a huge chunk of it with them when they passed.
On the off chance that Chippy is a boy I would like to set your mind at ease that raising a rooster is not that difficult.
From time of hatching until 4 to 5 months old when hormones start to hit all of my chicks are treated exactly the same, even those I KNOW are cockerels at a young age.
If I am the one brooding them, everyone is handled daily. I will hold them in my lap even if they struggle at first. Once they calm down and settle for even just a minute then they can hop down if they choose. I need all of my chickens to accept to be handled whether they like it or not. Injuries, illness and just overall health checks and lice or mite infestation requires handling. From the time they hit the brooder I sit with them numerous times a day with their food in my hand and the feeder removed. It does not take long until they are all eating out of my hand, with most standing in my hand eating. I remain perfectly still the first week or two just so they get used to me feeding them.
If the hen is brooding them my interactions are based on what momma allows. Some hens are perfectly fine with you touching her chicks as soon as they pop out of the shell. Others AKA, the ole bat, Gryffyn and the silkie hoard are all hands off, I will kill you if you even look at my baby. Goose bless her, she let me hold Homer from day 1. She was proud to show off her chick to me, would call him out from under her when I sat with her and was fine with him hopping up on me. Gryffyn, well, she is called Grouchy Gryffyn and even as a momma she lives up to that name. She is still hanging onto her two chicks Georgina and Juice. Very much hands off the first 5 weeks. She is just now tolerating me giving them crop massages at night, but that is the full extent of it. She does not allow them to eat from my hand, she angrily throws the food from my hand to them while getting a few good bites in for good measure. I have held them, that involves cornering them, fending off Gryffyn and then taking said chick outside of the coop and locking her in. Once away from momma, Georgina loves me and melts for snuggles. Juice is getting better slowly, although he still calls for his momma like I am killing him half the time. Once Gryffyn finally lets them go true progress with Juice can be made. The silkies and Ducky? I tried picking him up once and chaos ensued with every chicken in that coop attacking me at once. I learned my boundaries fast. They can bring him around me. They will allow him to eat out of my hand if it is on the ground and perfectly still. Woe is me if I so much as move while he is within 2 feet of me. Dearly departed Ole Bat momma hen, she took great pleasure is clubbing me with that foot the first month and a half if I so much walked by them in her personal 5 foot no one enter bubble. Even placing food and water for them involved a beating and cursing from myself. I like to think she is looking down from heaven on the flock. Sometimes, sometimes when I remember her antics I believe she is looking up gleaming with pride.
Seeing as how Tassels is brooding these chicks phase 2 is going to begin when she starts teaching them to roost.
Again, pullet or cockerel they all get the same treatment at this age. The first night they hit the roost, and every night after, come out after dark with a head lamp. Massage those crops and rub them on their necks and the base of their wings along the shoulders. You may find they shy away at first, but it will not take long before they realize they enjoy that. If you have one that is destined to be super friendly, that one will try to push the other's out of the way when it is not their turn. Do not forget Momma or the other adults for that measure. All my chickens enjoy this nightly routine. I can even give the silkie momma's who are on the outside of the pile around Ducky a crop massage without too much fuss as long as I do not try to sneak a pet in on their baby.
Now would be a great time to start trying to get them to eat out of your hand. Bring out a high value treat that Tassels will go crazy for. She is going to want to call her chicks over for some. Do not throw it on the ground but hold you hand out and just sit. Even if she does not allow the chicks to eat from you hand but rakes it on the ground they will start associating you with good things. Bonus points if they get brave enough while still with her to eat out of your hand.
When Tassels is done it is time to tame them. In the mornings if you have time, kick the adults out of the palace and leave the littles in. It is time to start holding them individually. They will probably protest loudly at first for a minute or two which is why you want a barrier between you and the adults. Catch each chick and take it to a seat. Place it in your lap, talking calmly and with one hand gently securing the chick start with crop massages and the shoulder massages. Do not let it down until it settles and relaxes for a minute. Keep up with that crop or shoulder massage. Once it relaxes while continuing to rub take your other hand away. If it chooses to hop down then that is ok. If it chooses to stay keep at it until it hops down on it's own. Repeat this with each chick, have a cup of coffee or tea with you, the first few days can take a while. After you have handled them offer them breakfast and sit right beside the feeder while also offering some of their food in your hand for a few minutes. Then open up the palace and let them enjoy their day. Anytime you are out around them even if it is simply their normal feed grab a handful and offer it to them. You've raised chicks before, right now this is no different no matter the sex, you got this.
If Chippy is a boy, phase 3 begins when those hormones first hit. Being late summer chicks that may not happen until January on. Again I want to state you have several older hens, they WILL be your allies during the idiot phase. The Idiot phase will come to all cockerels and their first spring is the worst. At some point he is going to start tidbitting to the girls, and you. Let him, offer him food and let him pretend he "found" it. He is going to start dropping that wing and dancing for his ladies, perfectly fine. He dances for you? Nope that is rude young man. Walk towards him calmly and make him back up and move out of your space. The dancing is cute, but not directed towards you. At some point, he is going to try to charge you from behind whether he makes contact or not. Be ready for this. When you hear him running up, and you will spin around and scoop him up before he makes contact if you can. Secure him gently but firmly under your arm and pack him around while doing "chores". Make some up if you have to but pack him around for a good 5 minutes. I carry mine around for 10 to 15 minutes while in "time out". The smart ones learn after 1 or 2 tries, the dumb ones, it may take a couple. I never change the way I treat the girls around the boys. If I want to hold one of my lap chickens, I will do so. If I want to feed them, I do so, he is welcome to join them and pretend he found the food out of my hand. If he turns out to be a boy that loves handling, I will pick him up whenever I want and take him and sit down for a bit, in full sight of the girls. If he is one that prefers not to be held, I will still reach down and stroke his back as he walks by.
Honestly the hard part is going to be when he turns his attentions to the hens. He is going to want to chase anything that moves. At first he is not going to know to properly court the ladies by tidbitting and then the rooster dance. He will probably pounce and roughly grab them on the back of the neck. Here is where your older girls will come into play. They are going to beat him senseless. They will also come to the aid of the younger pullets who will probably want to run and not turn and fight. DO NOT INTERFERE!! I do not care if it looks like they are killing the young lad leave them alone. The only way he is going to learn how to properly "woo" the hens is for them to lay down the law. That ego of his needs knocked down a peg or two, or ten if you have a really randy boy.
It should not take long and you will notice a change in him. He will stop charging the girls, but call them to him. He will be a little excited first thing in the morning and right before roosting time. The rest of the day, he is going to be on the lookout. He is going to start finding what "HE" considers good nesting spots and take up nest building. Sometimes he may go all day making new nests and none of them be suitable spots for the girls. He is going to start responding to their escort calls. He is actually going to be a really busy boy. His time will be spent escorting the girls to and from the nests, he may even sit with them while they lay their eggs. He is going to be on the lookout for predators. He is going to be searching for food. A good rooster always lets the hens eat first, and have the choice bites. If you have a lap rooster, he will take time out of his busy schedule to come say hi. My lap roosters trust me enough to hop up in my lap when I am out and take a well deserved nap. The ones who do not like to be held, they still will come visit and will stand or lay around me preening or dustbathing.
If you can make it through that first spring and year congratulations. He is going to mellow out and his true self shine through. Remember again, every young cockerel is going to try you at some point. Branch, Bubba, Drumstick, George, they had their moments. They were idiots each and every one of them. We got through it and they stole my heart and were dearly loved. They are deeply missed and each one of them took a huge chunk of it with them when they passed.
To me, they are people too, (but just with more feathers) I raise them from chicks and they find me a lovable chicken daddy. How could I ever eat chicken again after this:
