Likelihood of my silkie being a roo? How can I raise a gentle roo?

[franciemayhem]

Hi everyone!! Just the other day I made a post about my six week old silkie chick, Spark, and here I am talking about her again! I’m posting because I think she might actually not be a ‘she’ at all! I know that silkies are very difficult to sex when they’re young, and any early guesses could easily be wrong, but Spark is noticeably bigger than my other silkie chick, in both body and feet size, and has a wider/thicker beak where the comb would be if she were older. She’s also much more..spirited. She’s very high energy, and loves pecking the clear plastic doors of their brooder to get my attention. She also is definitely the one in charge between her and the other chick.



In terms of my question: if ‘she’ is actually a ‘he,’ what steps have y’all found work best for raising a gentle rooster, or at least as gentle as possible? I’m not sure if I’m taking the right steps. I’ll be honest, with university and work, I haven’t been able to spend as much time with these chicks as I’d like (when I’m not home, they’re taken care of by family members, so they’re never alone). They do get handled at least once a day, though, even on busy days, because I check them for pasty butt, clean their bedding, and move them from a bigger brooder that’s in our garage to the smaller one that we keep inside at night (we do this because these chicks seem much more sensitive to their environment compared to our Buff Orpingtons were as chicks, and Spark distress calls at night unless she’s ’talked down’ by a human. Plus we feel more comfortable having them nearby overnight). Despite her quirks, Spark seems to enjoy being pet, and doesn’t shy away from attention when she realizes it’s me who’s petting her. She also jumps—not sure why this little clown feels the need to jump, she could definitely walk onto my lap when I’m sitting—into my lap of her own volition, so I think that’s a pretty good sign for her socialization? What’s also nice is she doesn’t freak out at all when I hold her, something she does with other people. She does peck a little harder than my other chicks have, though, and other than the pecking that stems from their natural curiosity and the healthy exploration of their environment, I do not want her to display that behavior in excess, nor do I want it to be a precursor to actual aggression.

Anyway, I’m on winter holiday now, so I’ll have more time to spend with the chicks. I’m just hoping that if Spark is a rooster, it’s not too late to ensure she (or he, I guess) is well-socialized. I really love both of these chicks, and I’d be sad to have to give up Spark if there’s issues with aggression. Originally, we weren’t going to keep any roosters, as the local high school that my mom works at has a small trustworthy farm, but now we decided we’re too attached. All that being said, I do have hope that a silkie roo would be put in his place by my four lady Buffs, who at four months old are already substantial in size and gifted with a confidence I can only imagine comes from being part of an intrepid girl gang.



If you guys have any suggestions or feedback, I’d love to hear it. Sorry for the long post, by the way!! Happy holidays to you and yours!!!

 

[Debbie292d]

Spending time with them is the way to tame them up. I've sat in the yard with a bowl of scrambled eggs and make them come to me and I hand feed pieces to them.

But your rooster, he could be very tame, then will go through the hormone stage, and some of them get mean, despite whether they were tame or not.

We have several silkie roosters here, and many that aren't here anymore. One, in particular, was an orphan, and I was its mom. It would come running to us in the yard, and we could just pick him up.

Then one day, he started attacking me from behind. We dealt with it a few different methods and they were all temporary fixes, so we were going to pen him up.

One day someone was here for other chicks and saw my hubby walk up to this rooster and pick him up. She was so enamored and asked if she could buy him. This was hard for me as I loved that bird. I explained he was attacking us. She wanted him anyway, saying she has no rooster for her 5 silkie hens, so maybe he'd be better there. He was. She sent me back pictures. He was the perfect angel there. That's all he wanted was some girls of his own I guess.

They don't all end like this, as I've culled a couple that just never outgrew it. That one was about 6 months old. It usually takes closer to a year for them to grow out of their hormone stage and start acting like a rooster instead of a crazed animal. Sometimes they stay mean, sometimes they turn into great roosters.

When the time comes and if yours gets mean, penning it up for a month or two is about the only thing you can do, in hopes he matures and stops that behavior.

I've actually only had a couple that never went through any phases and just became a rooster without incidents. All you can do is try, and if he winds up hitting his hormone stage and becomes mean, you'll have to figure out whether you want to deal with it and wait it out or get rid of him and try with another.

Good luck!

 

[Chicken_Geek]

Sounds like a rooster to me. Your doing everything right when it comes to raising a tame rooster. I’d keep trying to socialise him and keep him comfortable around people. If he does end up aggressive you can usually train them out of it. If he looks like he wants to fight (puffs up his neck feathers or does a dance around one of the hens) don’t run away, make your self look big. They are more likely to attack you if you look scared. If he actually tries to attack or chase you, pick him up and carry him around for a while. You can give him a few light taps on the neck or comb with your finger, this is the equivalent of a stern talking to. Basically your trying to tell him that your in charge and not to mess with you. It is unlikely that he will be aggressive because he is friendly with people now but on the off chance that he is aggressive this works to stop it In most cases. From what you’ve said about him, it sounds like he will be a nice rooster. Just make sure there is a good hen to rooster ratio so that your hens don’t get harassed. 1 to 10 is ideal but since you have a larger breed for hens and you will probably be alright with 1 to 5. Best of luck with your chicken journey and university.

 

[franciemayhem]

Spending time with them is the way to tame them up. I've sat in the yard with a bowl of scrambled eggs and make them come to me and I hand feed pieces to them.

But your rooster, he could be very tame, then will go through the hormone stage, and some of them get mean, despite whether they were tame or not.

We have several silkie roosters here, and many that aren't here anymore. One, in particular, was an orphan, and I was its mom. It would come running to us in the yard, and we could just pick him up.

Then one day, he started attacking me from behind. We dealt with it a few different methods and they were all temporary fixes, so we were going to pen him up.

One day someone was here for other chicks and saw my hubby walk up to this rooster and pick him up. She was so enamored and asked if she could buy him. This was hard for me as I loved that bird. I explained he was attacking us. She wanted him anyway, saying she has no rooster for her 5 silkie hens, so maybe he'd be better there. He was. She sent me back pictures. He was the perfect angel there. That's all he wanted was some girls of his own I guess.

They don't all end like this, as I've culled a couple that just never outgrew it. That one was about 6 months old. It usually takes closer to a year for them to grow out of their hormone stage and start acting like a rooster instead of a crazed animal. Sometimes they stay mean, sometimes they turn into great roosters.

When the time comes and if yours gets mean, penning it up for a month or two is about the only thing you can do, in hopes he matures and stops that behavior.

I've actually only had a couple that never went through any phases and just became a rooster without incidents. All you can do is try, and if he winds up hitting his hormone stage and becomes mean, you'll have to figure out whether you want to deal with it and wait it out or get rid of him and try with another.

Good luck!

Thank you for sharing your experience and your advice!! Hopefully my hens will be enough; there’s 4 Buff Orpingtons and then the other silkie. I know the ratio is a little off, but I’m hoping since our Buffs are so big that it’ll help his disposition.

 

[franciemayhem]

Sounds like a rooster to me. You’re doing everything right when it comes to raising a tame rooster. I’d keep trying to socialise him and keep him comfortable around people. If he does end up aggressive you can usually train them out of it. If he looks like he wants to fight (puffs up his neck feathers or does a dance around one of the hens) don’t run away, make your self look big. They are more likely to attack you if you look scared. If he actually tries to attack or chase you, pick him up and carry him around for a while. You can give him a few light taps on the neck or comb with your finger, this is the equivalent of a stern talking to. Basically your trying to tell him that you’re in charge and not to mess with you. It is unlikely that he will be aggressive because he is friendly with people now but on the off chance that he is aggressive this works to stop it In most cases. From what you’ve said about him, it sounds like he will be a nice rooster. Just make sure there is a good hen to rooster ratio so that your hens don’t get harassed. 1 to 10 is ideal but since you have a larger breed for hens and you will probably be alright with 1 to 5. Best of luck with your chicken journey and university.

Thank you so much for the well wishes!! He is definitely a rooster as he’s already started crowing. He’s gotten a little more frenetic, too, though, as in running around and knocking stuff over, even when he has enough space, lol. Luckily he still is very docile when being held, and he was docile when we had to blow dry him (we needed to soak his feet in warm-ish water because his feathers had gunk stuck in them). I was expecting him to freak out when he was in the water + at the sound of the blow dryer, but he didn’t care at all, which was nice. He’s def showing more personality now, but if it’s just him being energetic, I’m okay with that.

 

[CombNWattles]

Can we see pictures of him?

One of our best roosters was a silkie named Moe. We also thought he was a hen, until he started crowing! My brothers and I were small children at that time, and Moe was pretty irresistible with his suit of fluff and silly topknot. We picked him up and petted him all the time. He even participated in an animal costume contest with a tiny cape and sword. He only ever attacked us once. I was wearing rubber boots, and he ran up to me and bounced off my leg a few times; my brothers and I thought he was pretty funny. Moe got embarrassed when we didn’t react, and he ran away to hide in a bush. Never attacked us again. He was also a perfect gentleman to the hens.

 

[franciemayhem]

Can we see pictures of him?

One of our best roosters was a silkie named Moe. We also thought he was a hen, until he started crowing! My brothers and I were small children at that time, and Moe was pretty irresistible with his suit of fluff and silly topknot. We picked him up and petted him all the time. He even participated in an animal costume contest with a tiny cape and sword. He only ever attacked us once. I was wearing rubber boots, and he ran up to me and bounced off my leg a few times; my brothers and I thought he was pretty funny. Moe got embarrassed when we didn’t react, and he ran away to hide in a bush. Never attacked us again. He was also a perfect gentleman to the hens.

I just posted a new thread with lots of pictures of him Moe sounds like he was such a sweet rooster! And his costume sounds like it was absolutely adorable. Thank you for sharing!!