silkie won't come out of the coop

[shaggy]

so my younger chickens have matured ... we kept 1 barred rock rooster


since the rooster has started to do his business ... the silkie has been hiding out in the coop ... will not come out

 

[Caseman]

yes give her some time after he mates with her then she will be ok...

 

[shaggy]

Quote:
she has been hiding out in the coop for 2 weeks


once in a while i will toss her in to the pen ... he chases her down and she escapes




yesterday i locked the rooster up in a cage and tossed the silkie in the pen ... she squaked and made a mad dash back to the coop

 

[NYREDS]

Sounds like Agoraphobia. Talk to your vet about anti-anxiety medications.

 

[sourland]

Think logically: a 12+ pound rooster breeding a 3 pound hen. Does that sound reasonable to you? Standard roosters inadvertantly hurt bantam hens when breeding them. It's a fact.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Quote:
This....

 

[shaggy]

trying to talk the wife into letting me incubate some eggs and then getting rid of the rooster


it would be nice if i could wait until the barred rock hen and ee hen start laying though ... i figure that once they start laying then i can collect eggs for a week ... incubate and get rid of the rooster

 

[pennie1]

I wouldn't come out either if I even THOUGHT that the Silkie monster was out there.

 

[growinupinfl]

I'm with your silkie in hiding. I would be scarred. You need to think do you want bantams, standard, or large breed. If you want standard and to incubate some eggs I would tell you to just buy some eggs and not put the poor girl through it. The eggs are not that expensive. I hope you figure it out...

Christal

 

[WonderWoman0625]

This is an old post but I'm sure, a recurrent problem. Happened to my ladies. Try making or buying a "hen saddle" or "chicken apron".
This protects the backs of the ladies when they are receiving the....umm....attention from the roo's. Also, I use a Pedipaw to trim my roosters toenails and make them blunt. Figured that one out after poor Fuzz, my Buff Orpington, got sliced and diced down her back
from all the male attention. The apron allowed the wound to heal, allowed feathers to start growing back, and kept her from getting hurt during mounting.

I ordered them from a wonderful lady named Marion. Cheap and easy fix to give confidence to your shy lady. I mean, it probably hurts them to be "tended to" by their man. Marion can be found at mbldesigns.com I believe. Best money I ever spent on my hens!