- Jun 2, 2009
- 200
- 6
- 101
Okay, I need to show my lack of experience and my lack of knowledge here and see if I can get some answers. I hope I don't come across as too awful bad... lol
I have a coop that now contains 5 silkies from my first hatch on the fourth of July. I believe that in those five silkies, I have ended up with 4 roosters and one hen! I know, for a fact, that one is a rooster, as I have watched him crowing. He started a few weeks ago and then he became silent. The other one that is gray/splash (?) hasn't crowed, that I have witnessed, but he has the same red wattle (?) and is about the same size. I also believe that my two black ones are roosters, as well. They don't have a red wattle, but they have a large black, bumpy "growth" on their faces where the others have wattles. I also believe that they are roosters from the way they treat one another - dropping their wings and coming up on each other sideways. I have one little white silkie that I believe is my only hen from this group. She has no wattle of any kind on her face and she is quite a bit smaller than the other four. My problem is that they are constantly at her. Sometimes it seems as if it is a mating thing, but other times, they are just pecking at her sides and such. She spends much of her time cowering in corners or trying to hide herself. She spends most of her time between my feet, while I am in the coop and would rather me hold her the whole time I am out there. I intend to get rid of, at least, two of the roosters, but there isn't much of a market for them in my area.
Also in the coop, from my second hatch around August 7, I have four Guineas, one Araucana (sp?) rooster and one silkie. In the beginning, these 6 were inseparable. Now, the Araucana and the Guineas "run together" and the little silkie is no longer accepted by anyone. This is another splash silkie and I am hoping it is a hen. It is also smaller and doesn't appear to be developing anything on her face. lol
My questions are as follows:
If the while silkie is a hen, is there a reason that the other four are picking on her? Is there a better way for me to tell the roosters from the hens, if they aren't crowing or laying eggs yet? I want to get rid of the roosters, as there are just too many (if all four of them are roosters), but don't want to get rid of hens. If that one single silkie from the second hatch is a hen, with the silkie rooster that I keep see her as a chicken to mate with eventually? She just seems like a total outcast right now and I feel horrible about it. If I were to go get Araucana pullets, will the Araucana rooster that I have right now recognize them as "his breed" after hanging with the Guineas for so long? lol Will the Araucana rooster mate with the Guineas or the Silkies? What is the best way for me to introduce these Araucana pullets? They are about the same age as my rooster.
Whew...that was a few more than I thought I had. I hope that there is someone out there with some advice, as I am not quite sure what to do here! lol Thanks!
I have a coop that now contains 5 silkies from my first hatch on the fourth of July. I believe that in those five silkies, I have ended up with 4 roosters and one hen! I know, for a fact, that one is a rooster, as I have watched him crowing. He started a few weeks ago and then he became silent. The other one that is gray/splash (?) hasn't crowed, that I have witnessed, but he has the same red wattle (?) and is about the same size. I also believe that my two black ones are roosters, as well. They don't have a red wattle, but they have a large black, bumpy "growth" on their faces where the others have wattles. I also believe that they are roosters from the way they treat one another - dropping their wings and coming up on each other sideways. I have one little white silkie that I believe is my only hen from this group. She has no wattle of any kind on her face and she is quite a bit smaller than the other four. My problem is that they are constantly at her. Sometimes it seems as if it is a mating thing, but other times, they are just pecking at her sides and such. She spends much of her time cowering in corners or trying to hide herself. She spends most of her time between my feet, while I am in the coop and would rather me hold her the whole time I am out there. I intend to get rid of, at least, two of the roosters, but there isn't much of a market for them in my area.
Also in the coop, from my second hatch around August 7, I have four Guineas, one Araucana (sp?) rooster and one silkie. In the beginning, these 6 were inseparable. Now, the Araucana and the Guineas "run together" and the little silkie is no longer accepted by anyone. This is another splash silkie and I am hoping it is a hen. It is also smaller and doesn't appear to be developing anything on her face. lol
My questions are as follows:
If the while silkie is a hen, is there a reason that the other four are picking on her? Is there a better way for me to tell the roosters from the hens, if they aren't crowing or laying eggs yet? I want to get rid of the roosters, as there are just too many (if all four of them are roosters), but don't want to get rid of hens. If that one single silkie from the second hatch is a hen, with the silkie rooster that I keep see her as a chicken to mate with eventually? She just seems like a total outcast right now and I feel horrible about it. If I were to go get Araucana pullets, will the Araucana rooster that I have right now recognize them as "his breed" after hanging with the Guineas for so long? lol Will the Araucana rooster mate with the Guineas or the Silkies? What is the best way for me to introduce these Araucana pullets? They are about the same age as my rooster.
Whew...that was a few more than I thought I had. I hope that there is someone out there with some advice, as I am not quite sure what to do here! lol Thanks!
