Silkie Roos?

[plester01]

Can Silkie Roos live together? Of my 5 babies(they are almost 5 months old now) 2 are Roos and one of them is starting to pick on the other. Will he eventually give up the fight or do I need to rehome the one that is being picked on?

Also in the same pen are 3 milie fluer babies (also about 5 months old now) and one of them is a Roo. He does not seem to care that there are 2 other Roos in the same pen. I think it is because he is larger tham the other 2 and has already established that he is the king of the pen. But he does not pick on anyone or try to fight.

What should I do?

 

[peeps7]

Probably just establishing the pecking order, I would still watch though.

 

[jessupfamily]

In the pas we have had a few silkie roos and a couple mille roos together and it was fine. Silkies and Milles tend to be a lot more docile than other breeds and seem to work things at very well. While they are in confinement I would watch that they don't accidentally pluck something and cause blood to appear. If blood appears they will peck at it until it is really serious or even causes death.
Amy J.

 

[plester01]

I thought I saw a small blood spot on the picked on Roos head but I am not completely sure because of his colors. They are not used to being handled so all I can do is watch him. He has plenty of room to get away from the other one their pen is quite large and they have and even larger outside run, they also have 4 different levels of perches. Even thought they are confined they have been given a very large area. ( I can not let them out due to hawks, dogs, ect.)

 

[pipermark]

I just started with silkies , I have 7 roos and 5 pullets together in the pen at one time until yesterday, I am now down to 5 roos and 5 pullets, they range in age from 2-5 months old.

Yes they chase each other a bit, but I think as long as they have enough room to run away from the one showing dominance at the time , all is fine. The "chest banging" seems to happen first thing in the morning, after that, they seem to settle down nicely together.

 

[plester01]

I was hoping for that. They have been together since they were born so I thought that they would be fine together. Is 3 Roos to 5 hens ok? Do I need more hens? I hope so.

 

[NewGuineaChooks]

3 roosters is really too many for only 5 hens. The hens can get pretty battered that way, even if one is a mild-mannered roo. Depending on what you read, you should have 8, 10, or even 12 hens for each rooster.

8 hens x 3 roosters =24
24 - 5 already = 19

You need 19 more hens!

"enable, enable..."

 

[plester01]

Ok. In that case I am looking for some milie fluer hens and a couple of silkie hens and/or looking for a home for one silkie roo.