I recently created a flock of 21 hens, and someone brought me a beautiful big red Polish Roo. I named him "Handsome Boy"! He is aggressive, but, if I find him napping, he calms down, and I can carry him or pet him, and he even seems to like it. I told my friend that when I carry and pet him he reminds me a little bit of a kitty!
I love roos. They are so beautiful and funny and alive!
Shortly after getting the big red Polish Roo, someone gave me the sweetest little white Silkie cockerel. His name is "Treasure". This boy is almost 4 months old now, and I want to take him out of the little coop with 3 pullets and put him into the big coop with the 21 hens and Handsome Boy!
Will the big red kill the little guy? Silkies do not get big, and he will probably stay Bantum sized. Will the big hens (some are probably 4 times the little boy's weight) kill him?
Then, based upon what I do above, I have another question: The same person who gave me the white Silkie, also discovered another roo among her Silkie chicks, and she could not keep him within city limits. So, took him, too! I could not resist! He is a golden and black Silkie and just so beautiful! I named him "Amazing Bandito"! He will be an adult probably in about a month. So, assuming I have introduced the white Silkie (Treasure) by around 5 August, should I try introducing this golden Silkie to the hens in a month? Will having 3 roos together be a disaster?
In the past I have had good success with introducing new roos. We had a huge macho cutey guy (Barred Rock) named Kingy. We rescued a smaller one with green legs that we named Princey. When Princey was well (He had had no one feeding him and came to us almost starved and bedraggled but we fed him well, handled him, and then gave him 3 hens. Then, we decided to introduce him to the flock. Kingy and Princey came together and banged chests a few times. Then they jumped over one another and then: They lived together for 2 years. Kingy was the Alpha and Princey the Beta, and they ran together with the hens mounting them all day and protecting them. We did the same thing a couple years later when these two had passed on. We had Lord Jim (Iowa Blue) and Petey (forgot his breed but a little smaller than Lord JIm). Lord Jim was the dominant and Petey the lesser, and they never fought after the first encounter.
Will my little guys and the big guy work it out similarly? Should I risk it?
I love roos. They are so beautiful and funny and alive!
Shortly after getting the big red Polish Roo, someone gave me the sweetest little white Silkie cockerel. His name is "Treasure". This boy is almost 4 months old now, and I want to take him out of the little coop with 3 pullets and put him into the big coop with the 21 hens and Handsome Boy!
Will the big red kill the little guy? Silkies do not get big, and he will probably stay Bantum sized. Will the big hens (some are probably 4 times the little boy's weight) kill him?
Then, based upon what I do above, I have another question: The same person who gave me the white Silkie, also discovered another roo among her Silkie chicks, and she could not keep him within city limits. So, took him, too! I could not resist! He is a golden and black Silkie and just so beautiful! I named him "Amazing Bandito"! He will be an adult probably in about a month. So, assuming I have introduced the white Silkie (Treasure) by around 5 August, should I try introducing this golden Silkie to the hens in a month? Will having 3 roos together be a disaster?
In the past I have had good success with introducing new roos. We had a huge macho cutey guy (Barred Rock) named Kingy. We rescued a smaller one with green legs that we named Princey. When Princey was well (He had had no one feeding him and came to us almost starved and bedraggled but we fed him well, handled him, and then gave him 3 hens. Then, we decided to introduce him to the flock. Kingy and Princey came together and banged chests a few times. Then they jumped over one another and then: They lived together for 2 years. Kingy was the Alpha and Princey the Beta, and they ran together with the hens mounting them all day and protecting them. We did the same thing a couple years later when these two had passed on. We had Lord Jim (Iowa Blue) and Petey (forgot his breed but a little smaller than Lord JIm). Lord Jim was the dominant and Petey the lesser, and they never fought after the first encounter.
Will my little guys and the big guy work it out similarly? Should I risk it?
