Leaving roo with chicks and mama?

[KarLee A]

Hi everyone! I'm hatching some eggs under my silkie right now. I've done this before and left them with the flock and they did great. Now I have myself a EE Roo and was wondering if I could do the same thing. I've heard of people leaving mama and chicks with the flock but wanted to see if anyone has had luck leaving them with a flock that has a Roo too. We have a large run and we free range. Thanks in advance!

 

[sourland]

In my experience, roosters have been far less likely to abuse chicks than the hens in the flock have been.

 

[Toothpick]

I had one hen that raised her chicks in with the flock and one that tried but the hens murdered the chicks. So IMO, all depends on how good a mother the hen is. How protective she is. I agree with sourland too, I saw more trouble from the hens than the Roo.

 

[KarLee A]

I had one hen that raised her chicks in with the flock and one that tried but the hens murdered the chicks. So IMO, all depends on how good a mother the hen is. How protective she is. I agree with sourland too, I saw more trouble from the hens than the Roo.

So my silkie has raised chicks before with this flock and did well. So with that said and hearing all of the positive comments with a roo, I'm going to leave her in the flock.

 

[KarLee A]

I had one hen that raised her chicks in with the flock and one that tried but the hens murdered the chicks. So IMO, all depends on how good a mother the hen is. How protective she is. I agree with sourland too, I saw more trouble from the hens than the Roo.

That's really crazy, but it does make sense. The other hens know they aren't their offspring, survival of the fittest. I've let this broody raise chicks with the flock before and she did well. I'm really happy to hear about the roosters not being much of a problem. Thanks for your feedback!