Is my ROOSTER getting picked on by my HENS?

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HoneystoneHens

HoneystoneHens

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This may (likely) be a ridiculous question. But, I figured I'd explain and see what others on this site might think.

Louie, my young silkie rooster, is a very good boy. He's not overly aggressive and he loves his 20+ girls of varying breeds. My chickens free range during the day, and I put them in a coop at night.

To date, Louie mostly breeds only with a very tolerant older silkie hen and a young silkie hen he was hatched with. (They are not related.) He makes overtures and tries his dance moves out on the other hens- but the girls are not fully mature yet and...he's not large enough/bold enough to force the issue with them.

Recently, I added 10 lovely year-old laying hens (Isa Browns) to the flock. They are wonderful chickens and get along fine with the other girls - - However I frequently find Louie (during the day) trapped flat up against a corner of the coop...surrounded by the new Isa Browns. Ive never seen him on top of any of the new hens. When I look inside the coop, Louie appears to be frozen (and a little scared) and lets me pick him up and put him back outside. The other day, I was working around the coop and decided to see how long the hens would keep him inside...I spent and hour and a half out there - and Louie was still inside - - -standing like a statue - when I went into the house.

He does not appear injured, but with all those silkie feathers - it's kinda hard to spot peck marks.

The Isa girls do NOT appear interested in Louie when they are outside free ranging. They rebuff his attempts at wooing and chase him away.

Perhaps my rooster has performance anxiety (Who wouldn't, these girls are far more experienced than he is) Or, maybe these girls are rejecting Louie's advances and want him to buzz off - I just want to be sure that my favorite boy is not in danger of getting jumped by a girl gang.

Thanks in advance for any insight you may have.
 
It is very possible that they are trying to be ahead of him in the pecking order. Silkies are very small, layed back, and aren't that big of fighters. Most of my Silkie boys won't even question any one who wants to be ahead of them.
They probably want to be in charge, and being the little guy in the situation, he's not putting up much ofa fight against them. So long as he's letting them do what they won't, there shouldn't be a problem. Only thing I'd worry about is if he ever challenged them...then they could easily squash him if they were to get in a fight.
So I'd say to keep an eye on the situation. Even though he is a roo, he is a very small roo. If the situation worsens, I'd recomend seperating. Putting him with the Silkie girls and any smaller hens, and getting a bigger roo for your bigger girls.
Hens are strange creatures and don't always respect the fact that he's a roo and just know they're bigger.
Good luck!
 
Thanks for your response...I'm a little chagrinned to tell you that I just went to collect eggs...and, once again, Louie was trapped in the coop with 6 Isa hens..However, this time when I peeked inside - - there was some serious chicken-lovin' going on. I guess my sweet little guy is not as innocent or anxious as I thought. Haha. He's our only Roo and I think that has helped him think he's a much "bigger man" than he actually is. He's growing to be a great rooster who really watches out for his girls and is friendly and easy to manage. Now, I guess I have to add "unstoppable love machine" to his description.
 
MadamPoofyBrow said:
It is very possible that they are trying to be ahead of him in the pecking order. Silkies are very small, layed back, and aren't that big of fighters. Most of my Silkie boys won't even question any one who wants to be ahead of them.
They probably want to be in charge, and being the little guy in the situation, he's not putting up much ofa fight against them. So long as he's letting them do what they won't, there shouldn't be a problem. Only thing I'd worry about is if he ever challenged them...then they could easily squash him if they were to get in a fight.
So I'd say to keep an eye on the situation. Even though he is a roo, he is a very small roo. If the situation worsens, I'd recomend seperating. Putting him with the Silkie girls and any smaller hens, and getting a bigger roo for your bigger girls.
Hens are strange creatures and don't always respect the fact that he's a roo and just know they're bigger.
Good luck!
Click to expand...

X 2 - silkies are at a disadvantage in a mixed flock not only due to their generally easy-going nature, but also due to their feathering which can often be such that it impedes their vision, handicapping them from seeing and being able to avoid an incoming attack. This is a situation to keep a close eye on and to be prepared for taking corrective action if/when the need arises.
 
Thanks and I will keep an eye out for issues Other than a couple of inherited chickens - most of mine were hatched together - - and perhaps that's why it's a generally peaceful coop. Of course, there is a pecking order...but they free range during the day and at night are inside of a huge coop (actually, it was an abandoned cottage on our property - so it's larger than some of the homes I've lived in.) There is a lot of room for every bird. I had worried about my polish and silkies getting bullied - but other than a little snippy behavior when I'm handing out treats - - they seem to function pretty well.
 
I glad your roo has been picking up the slack - actually a rooster can handle 10 hens, and you've got 20. He could certainly use a backup rooster, or if you wanted to divide into two hen groups - each with a rooster.

Your silkie will be more vigilant if you carefully cut back some feathers away from his eyes/beard. They will grow back. Is he a white rooster? I ask because white birds tend to be picked off first by predators, so that is something to keep in mind.
 

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