HELP! Mean Rooster?!?

[Cockatrice6420]

When holding a dominant animal that is also a prey animal I am inclined to believe that he is submitting by letting you hold him. Humans reek of predator, our eyes and teeth display predator. Prey animals are very aware of these things.

 

[susmith]

How sweet! I wish my Silkie was well mannered like that. Based on my Silkie's actions when he's doing that, I think it's almost a dominant type thing. But he makes a chirpy/cackling noise when he's doing it. It almost looks like a side stepping dance, like look at me type thing. But I'm sure not a pro at this chicken stuff

 

[cjmama]

I don't think he is doing a side stepping thing. We had made a homemade incubator and hatched him out, the other eggs didn't fully develop. He was held a lot when he was young and I had to hand feed him a couple of times. He didn't like being hand fed but he was held more never the less.
He follows me around everywhere I go. He won't eat out of my hand or anything on the ground when I place his favorites in front of him. After I leave he will eat them. Also when he is around the other chickens he ignores them and only hangs by me.
I still wonder about the side stepping, if it doesn't always mean dominance??

 

[susmith]

What would you guys suggest for one of my Sultans, she seems thin, I really don't think she's eating very well She acts scared to do anything w/that silkie in sight. This evening I moved their coop around to the front yard. I'm hoping this will help. But, I didn't know if there's some type of food that I could give her to help her get to eating more/better.

 

[Cockatrice6420]

Plain yogurt with some oats and maybe a couple berries. The pro biotic will help with any stress related digestion issues, oats are hearty without too much protein like corn has for summer, and the berries are a little sweet, which they like and have the vitamin c for immune system and energy. Feed her separately so she is at ease.

 

[QueenMisha]

What would you guys suggest for one of my Sultans, she seems thin, I really don't think she's eating very well She acts scared to do anything w/that silkie in sight. This evening I moved their coop around to the front yard. I'm hoping this will help. But, I didn't know if there's some type of food that I could give her to help her get to eating more/better.

These are the effects of stress. Hens or pullets terrorized by mean roosters can stop eating, stop drinking, stop laying eggs, and refuse to even come out of the coop in the morning.

There's no really easy way to break this to you. You cannot keep this rooster. Not with the flock anyways. He is a mean rooster and a bully. If you really want to keep him, fine, but he needs to be ISOLATED. Visual contact only. Keep a good fence between him and the rest of the flock, or you will end up with a very stressed out, unhappy group of birds. No matter how much you like one rooster, your responsibility is to the flock at large to keep them in healthy, happy condition. If this means one mean rooster needs to live a separate life with no hens or chicken friends to play with, that's the sacrifice that needs to be made so your other (how many? 3 you said?) birds can remain in good condition.

 

[Mutt Farm]

I sure hope it doesn't come to that. I'm hoping it's just the move into the new coop, maybe testosterone since he is getting older, and just trying to establish his "role" in the flock.

2 roos and only 4 hens is not a stable flock. It's actually not a flock. His "role" in your "flock" of 4 hens and an additional roo will be to torment and mutilate your hens while incessantly breeding them and fight with the other roo.

 

[QueenMisha]

2 roos and only 4 hens is not a stable flock. It's actually not a flock. His "role" in your "flock" of 4 hens and an additional roo will be to torment and mutilate your hens while incessantly breeding them and fight with the other roo.

x2

 

[keesmom]

What would you guys suggest for one of my Sultans, she seems thin, I really don't think she's eating very well She acts scared to do anything w/that silkie in sight. This evening I moved their coop around to the front yard. I'm hoping this will help. But, I didn't know if there's some type of food that I could give her to help her get to eating more/better.

The removal a butt-headed silkie cockerel would be a good place to start. It may be a difficult thing to deal with, but you need to do what is right for the rest if your flock. Quoting aart, a long time poster on BYC, this is where the romance of keeping chickens meets reality.

 

[susmith]

Thanks for the advice. Tough love I guess lol. It's kind of like parenting your children, sometimes tough decisions need to made/done