Will my Roo eat my day old chicks?

[owlett5]

Hi guys,

So I made anew impulse buy and bought a single araucana roo chicken from my local farm supply store. Figured he'd make olive Eggers for me later. Anyhow, I've got eggs in the incubator not due to hatch until May 6th or so. By that time my roo will be 4 weeks old and pretty big.

He's friendly, and gentle around me, but if I mix day olds, he's not going to try and eat them will he?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Hi guys,

So I made anew impulse buy and bought a single araucana roo chicken from my local farm supply store. Figured he'd make olive Eggers for me later. Anyhow, I've got eggs in the incubator not due to hatch until May 6th or so. By that time my roo will be 4 weeks old and pretty big.

He's friendly, and gentle around me, but if I mix day olds, he's not going to try and eat them will he?

The problem is not only potential aggression (and, yes, with that age gap that is a very legitimate concern), but also with the fact that the needs of a 4+ week old bird and hatchlings are quite different.

 

[owlett5]

Yeah, I was aware they need different warmth requirements. I was hoping to try out the momma heat pad way this time around and figured they could then choose when they wanted to be warmer or not by going under the "momma". At 4 weeks my roo is fine sitting inside the house at room temp. He's remarkably mellow. I worry more about him being alone than anything else but haven't been able to find anyone selling pullets in my area.

I'll keep an eye on him for aggression when my chicks hatch and if he seems aggressive I'll have to remove him if I have to.