Will Rooster Be Ok With Newborn Chicks?

[Duckbreeder2020]

Hi, I have a trio of 3 calico bantam Cochins and my one hen is broody and sitting on 5 eggs
Will the rooster kill his own chicks if I let the chicks be raised with him, the mom and other hen?

 

[azygous]

He may not be antagonistic toward the chicks, but he could be curious and too rough. It's best not to take the chance.

I learned the hard way, and didn't have adequate small mesh fencing and a chick stuck her head through the poultry mesh and go her head scalped by the rooster. I no longer allow my roosters to be anywhere near baby chicks, even though they are both very calm and gentle. Why take the chance?

 

[Duckbreeder2020]

He may not be antagonistic toward the chicks, but he could be curious and too rough. It's best not to take the chance.

I learned the hard way, and didn't have adequate small mesh fencing and a chick stuck her head through the poultry mesh and go her head scalped by the rooster. I no longer allow my roosters to be anywhere near baby chicks, even though they are both very calm and gentle. Why take the chance?

Ok thank you!

 

[Mrs. K]

Oh wow, my rooster was very good with chicks, I do not separate my broodys, and they raises chicks in the flock. In the beginning, the Rooster hangs with the layers, and broody hangs with the chicks.

True story, once the chicks were 3-4 weeks old, and peeping madly and scouring every where... must of been getting on the rooster's nerves, cause he gave a shout, and jumped up an down. Seriously, and all the chicks got quiet and right next to Mama. I laughed out loud.

In the above post, I wonder if the chick didn't scalp itself, trying to pull the head either in or out.

Mrs K

 

[PippinTheChicken]

My whole flock (including 2 roosters) is very gentle towards my hen's chicks. At first, they were curious, following the hen around to take a look at the chicks. But now they are all fine together- the roosters protect the hen from pigeons (that land close to the hen). And a young pullet is actually helping the hen look after them (food calls, sitting on 1 or 2 at night since they are too big to all fit under the hen).

I didn't separate my hen for a few reasons...

• I didn't want to do integration
• I wanted the chicks to learn about the pecking order and flock dynamics
• I don't have an extra coop
• My flock is very friendly anyway

 

[azygous]

No. The chick did not scalp itself. The tissue from the entire back of the head was missing, no skin flap. The skin was eaten. The mesh wasn't the small gauge. The rooster had a bad habit of biting.

Just because you have a friendly roo, doesn't mean he won't be curious or reactive and injure a chick by accident. Chicks are perfectly safe around roosters until the day something happens to indicate they aren't.

Currently, I have two perfectly well behaved roosters that wouldn't hurt anything. But I don't take the chance that one time one might accidentally hurt a chick. That would be one time too many.

Can you say with complete certainty a lovely roo absolutely wouldn't hurt a chick accidentally?

 

[Mrs. K]

Well no, not with complete certainty, not about any animal. But generally speaking, if the broody is left with the flock, SHE takes care of the chicks, and the rooster just ignores them.

I have never had a rooster attack chicks, and one helped care for them, he was a gem. We each do things differently, and really have different set ups. Often times the set up plays a key point in chicken behavior. I do have a huge run, 20 by 30 feet, so problems in a smaller run, might not apply for me.

Mrs K

 

[PippinTheChicken]

My rooster likes to sit in the nest with my mamma hen. It's very sweet.
It's been 5wks since she hatched them and it's all been fine

 

[katelwil]

To each their own but I do agree, a lot of times I think it better not to take the chance. That goes with any scenario really.

I actually did let my broody hen raise some chicks, their enclosure was literally right against the flocks fence, so I think that helped. Once the chicks were a bit bigger, I allowed them all in with the roo and the other hen & he was just great. It was the other hen that I had issues with. Now that the males are starting to grow up, he isn't being as nice but that's kind of expected.

 

[Skyle]

I let both my broodies in the flock (which roams in the 4000/4500 sqft garden) with their chicks. I only left them closed in a separated coop for few days (just the time the chicks need to be enough reactive to run away if a hen is bothering them).
Though, I never seen a severe peck (just few gentle ones when the chicks got too close to the hens when they were eating a snack), plus the mama protects them from curious cockerels and pullets.
At one week old all the chicks were fully integrated with the flock and knew how the pecking order worked.
My rooster protects the chicks as the broodies do, if he hears a scared baby he runs asap to see what's happening.
Some time ago, the broody left her 5 chicks definitely. Few days later a sudden downpour caught everyone offguard so the chickens ran in the bushes without having the chance to go in the covered run. Then there was me, running under the storm to take all the chickens in the dry run . Well, the rooster took all the 5 chicks and covered them from the rain, waiting for me to take them in the run, the chicks were completely dry.