Will my rooster attack baby chicks

[Ilovechickens123]

If my chickens were to have babies would our rooster attack? We used to have 2 roosters but one was to aggressive so my dad had to kill it but the other one was more nice and doesn’t attack anyone or anything so I was hoping someone could tell me if my roooster would attack any baby chicks so we could decide what to do with him. If anyone has any advice on what to do to keep chicks safe please let me know it’s our fist time having a rooster and I wanna know if it is safe for our hens do have babies.

 

[HappyClucker7]

Your rooster should not attack the babies. There have actually been stories of roosters raising chicks after the mother hens were killed.

 

[333113]

It depends.

Parenting instincts are mostly genetic in chickens.

Some breeds have had the broody instinct selected out of the hens; the hens are called non-setters. Occasionally a member of these breeds will set on eggs, but like one of my Crevecoeur hens, she may not recognize the young as family when they hatch and kill them. Others just ignore the chicks.

With roosters it can be trickier. Most breeders of non-setting hens do not check for how the roosters react to chicks, or select for breeding on that basis. So, for these roos, maybe they will get along with chicks, and maybe they won't.

With breeds that are selected for broodiness, the hens may be great moms, but, again, if the roosters are not selected to breed for their paternal instincts, they may or may not be good parents. However, you will have a better chance of a rooster being a good parent if he is a member of a setter breed.

With mixed chickens, it's more risky if you don't know what breeds they came from.

A rooster can be a great dad. I have used Nankins, Orpingtons, d'Uccles and Sultans to brood and foster chicks from my non-setters. Roosters can be outstanding parents, if they have inherited the right instincts.