Rooster in with egg layer

[sgtcude]

I have 2 silkie hen and 1 rooster in the same pen the hen are setting and now I see egg shell around the nesting area.. These hen are mean, Question is do I need to take the rooster out now that there baby in the pen ??

 

[SparkyCrows]

Maybe the rooster is still in mating mode and climbing in to mate???

 

[sgtcude]

Will the rooster hurt the baby chicks ??

 

[Pinky]

Most roosters will not hurt chicks, as long as there is a mother hen with them. My roosters know better than to mess with a broody hen. My first roo was real mean and I thought he would hurt the chicks. Even though he was agressive, he turned out to be great with the chicks. He even helped feed them. If you think he may harm chick, I would move him, just to be safe.

 

[SparkyCrows]

I have a pretty high rooster to hen ratio (owing to the fact that I seem to be incapable of saying "no"!) and if the hens are broody it's not uncommon for some of the lower ranking males to try to mate with the hens while they're sitting on the eggs. On the other hand, sometimes the higher ranking males will stand outside the boxes and fend off the unwanted suitors. Ahh, flock politics!