Weird Hatch Mishap

[Midna03]

Our roosters, and most roosters, are fine with chicks. They will sometimes defend them from aggressive hens and find food for them. In my latest case, a hen with 40 silkie chicks was in a pen with hutch and two other roosters. The two roosters get along is why they were together, and the two hens that had been in there were in broody jail. When I'd come in the pen, mom couldn't hide them all, so some would go cower behind the roosters. They just stood there.

I would like to try to do that sometime in spring or summer, maybe. Our rooster is pretty mellow with everyone, even people and kids. Everyone but young roosters, he puts the smack down on them x:
he doesn't like to break up hen fights though, probably for fear of his own life haha

It's a little cold to try that with our chicks this time though. It's supposed to get down to 21 degrees the next two nights with a wind chill of 17 and lower

 

[Debbie292d]

I would like to try to do that sometime in spring or summer, maybe. Our rooster is pretty mellow with everyone, even people and kids. Everyone but young roosters, he puts the smack down on them x:
he doesn't like to break up hen fights though, probably for fear of his own life haha

It's a little cold to try that with our chicks this time though. It's supposed to get down to 21 degrees the next two nights with a wind chill of 17 and lower

Ditto that here too. (Wisconsin). These same chicks are now six weeks old, weaned, and live in a different, huge pen with eight four-month-olds and two heated hutches. Not a single one ever touches these. Momma laid down the law when she was still their mom.

Here were all of them a couple of weeks ago when they still had a mother hen. I had sold about half of them by this point.