Will my Bantam Rooster be a threat to my chicks?

[beckstaar96]

Hi all,

I have a broody Bantam hen who is sitting. If she continues to sit then they should be hatching in about two weeks. (On day 9 currently).

My Rooster is SO friendly (apart from to the dog and cat..), he loves to be picked up and cuddled and he'll follow me around all day. I'm wondering if he'll be a threat to the chicks when/if they hatch?

Last year I had more hens and we had a big group of chicks hatch, however at the time it was easy to keep them seperate from the rooster. We never had problems with him, the only problem we had was with another hen who attacked and killed two chicks. He never really showed interest in them, but I never put them together in the same place so I don't know if he would've attacked them.


We lost two of my hens and all of my chicks to what we think were rats, so now we only have the one hen and rooster together. I'm worried that he will attack the chicks because the hen is preoccupied?

I think i'll try to keep them separate as much as I can to be safe, but is there a way I can integrate them?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[DuckPro]

It depends what behaviour your rooster has.
I can't tell. Sorry..

 

[Pork Pie]

I'd suggest keeping a keen eye on him, just to be on the safe side. I've never had an issue with chick-aggressive cock birds, but caution is always prudent

 

[beckstaar96]

Thank you both! I guess it is hard to tell at this stage. You're right though PPK, I think I'll just have to keep an eye on him.

 

[keesmom]

In general mature roosters are not a threat to young chicks. At worst they ignore them, at best they help take care of them. Mature hens are much more likely to attack strange chicks, and sometimes even a broody hen will attack her hatchlings.

Of course every chicken is an individual and you will have to watch both of them to see how they do.

 

[Hickory Creek]

I put some orphan chicks in with my lonely splash cochin roo and he started taking care of them.
I have had another cochin bantam help take care of chicks.
Both sweet tempered roos

 

[beckstaar96]

Thank you both! The hen last time was a really good mamma while the chicks were only a few weeks old. After about a month she started to wonder off on her own again and leave the other hen to look after her chicks, is this something I need to worry about this time round? She is the only hen so perhaps she'll stay with them for longer.

The rooster didn't really pay much attention to them, but he never attacked them from what I remember so I have hope they will be okay!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree with Keesmom. Each chicken is an individual so no one can give you guarantees, but if a rooster is introduced to the chicks when they are fairly young he normally accepts them as his. He might help take care of them, he might ignore them. I've never had a mature rooster attack young chicks. When the cockerels become obnoxious teenagers, well occasionally, but even then that's usually when they are bothering his hens. Some people have seen roosters attack chicks but one person I respect on this forum said that was with multiple mature roosters, not just one dominant rooster in the flock.

You are not in a normal situation with just one hen and one rooster. I think the odds are pretty high that rooster would help raise the chicks but when a broody may kill her own chicks as Keesmom said I can't give you guarantees. Still, if it were me I'd have them together from hatch.

I've had a broody hen wean her chicks at three weeks a few different times and totally leave them alone to make their way with the flock (and they did). I've had hens take care of their chicks for nine weeks or longer. There is no telling at what age that hen will wean her chicks. When she weans them they will probably form a sub-flock and avoid the adults as much as possible until they mature enough to make their way into the pecking order. With my pullets that's normally when they start to lay. With cockerels who knows. Mine sometimes mingle a lot during the day even as fairly young chicks but sleep separately at night. The adults are on the roost while the kids are on the floor or somewhere else. I put in a separate roost, lower than the main roosts and horizontally separated to give the chicks a safe place to go that is not my nests.

 

[LilJoe]

My bantam rooster (silkie) actually helped raise them with the mama.
He called them for food and if the mother wanted to leave for a few minutes he and the chicks wpuld stay together.

Depends on the roo though. ...

 

[beckstaar96]

Wow, thank you guys!

I am wondering if my Roo is going to be a helpful dad, as so many times he has desperatley tried to get my hen broody e.g. he makes nests for her and sits in them making purring noises, he's even sat on her eggs multiple times before and he's constantly mating with her. Is it possible for a roo to be broody haha?

As for sleeping arrangements, they're currently sleeping in a two story hutch (but they free roam during the day), and last time I gave the mummas and chicks on the top floor and the roo and the aggressive hen on the bottom. So I will be able to separate them if needed.

Thank you both for your advise! Sorry for all the questions.