Keeping Two Bantam Roos?

[Abronsyth]

At this point in time we're not sure if our 11 wk. old silkie is a rooster or a hen. We were certain that our little Tater is a "she" but now I'm not as sure. She's developed waddles now, so I assume she's not bearded, and she's started growing spur "nubs" but so have all of our bantams, including hens. Anyways, we really love this little bird, she's extremely personable and is very friendly, even if she has a minor pecking problem (she likes to bite toes and fingers). She's our only silkie, so if she is a roo we'd still like to keep her.

Out of our 11 wk. old bantam flock, all of the other 9 are Old English Game bantams. Three of the OEG are roosters (already crowing!) and we've decided we'd like to keep the lowest ranking roo, who was brought home with Tater. His name is Tot (haha) and he's absolutely brilliant, always the first to figure things out and very friendly, even after we get after him for bugging the hens. He's the only one of the roos who will split up a fight between hens or give treats to the girls. He also gets along very well with Tater, as most of the flock does.

Now, in total we have a confirmed 6 OEG hens, and 8 older, standard sized hens, making 14 hens in total. We are getting rid of two of the OEG roosters, but if Tater turns out to be a rooster, do you think we could keep both "her" and Tot and not have problems with the hens being "overused?"

Thanks,
Abron

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Although this is a small flock for two roosters, you might be OK, since Tater is a bantam. I would personally give it a try. And remember, humans object to bare backs on hens FAR more than the hens themselves do. I would watch the hens for signs of stress when the roosters are around, and if they all look OK, I would say go for it.

 

[KFCcrafter]

I keep two silkie roos with all my girls (rir and buff orps) they are part of the gang, cant have their way with the larger hens, and only occasionally chest bump each other. However I may have just been lucky with these two. I hope it works out

 

[Abronsyth]

Thank you both for the information We're keeping a close eye on Tater, though guess we won't know for a while yet, haha. I'm hoping that since she's been raised with the flock she won't be bad if she turns out to be a he. The last rooster we raised with our 3 year old flock turned out to be the best rooster we've ever had...too bad he nearly killed one of our ducks We'd love to keep all 3 of the OEG Bantam roos, but the OEG hens couldn't put up with that, and Nickie and Mini, the other OEG roos, are, well, lacking a little in the head, haha. We've found that a smart rooster who can figure out that we're not going to let him get away with being a jerk but will still be affectionate towards us is the best.

Thanks,
Abron

 

[KFCcrafter]

i had to train one silkie who began to get aggressive by leashing him. I know its not prefered but some string around his ankle, and not being able to forage with his friends when he was being mean seemed to have set him straight