Silkie mix tried to kill multiple roosters

[nuthatched]

You're much more tolerant than I am, I would have had black chicken soup by now.
have you tried pinless peepers or separating him from everyone?

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Hi! I have a Silkie mix rooster, named Manny, that I hatched here in the incubator. He is 18 months old now. His dad is my absolute sweetest little blue Silkie ever. His mom is a Midnight Majesty Marans (a hatchery Marans mix) that is a bit more aggressive with her flock (super sweet with humans) than my other head hens. Their son, Manny (Silkie mix mentioned above) is very gentle with humans and cute as a button. All of my other roosters are terrified of Manny, even the roosters that are larger. They always move out of his way and treat him like a king. I have noticed that Manny seems to HATE my white Silkie rooster but gets along really well with the other boys as long as they obey his rules. The white Silkie can't seem to do anything to get on Manny's good side. If the boys are free ranging, it's not a huge problem. Since I am having to keep all of my birds locked up, I have to keep the white Silkie with my bantam boys. I would be afraid to keep them locked up together

Edited to add that my situation is different than most with my roosters not being in a flock with my girls. When free ranging, they gaurd the coops and girls and hang out in the yard. Now that I'm having to lock them up 24/7, it's more like a bachelor flock situation.

Your setup seems much like mine.

You're much more tolerant than I am, I would have had black chicken soup by now.
have you tried pinless peepers or separating him from everyone?

I like his attitude. My set up is basically a pen for the layers. And the rest (pets/extra males) get to do what they want on you 5 acre lot. The free ranging birds are about 1/2 male and 1/2 female. There would be more fights but they have plenty of room to work out there differences.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Has anyone ever had an issue like this... with a silkie??

This is one of many threads and stories on here that show that Silkies really are chickens. They act like chickens. Regardless of breed some chickens are mild and easily dominated by another chicken of any breed, some are determined to be the boss. Don't think of them as Silkies or Silkie mixes, think of them as chickens.

I have a silkie mix (blue partridge silkie over black star) he is 24 weeks old.

My question was directed towards the reason behind this problem.

He is maturing to the point that he wants to take over as flock master. I've had them try that anywhere from 5 months to almost a year old. 24 weeks is relatively young but not unheard of. As they mature dominance can change. That's your reason, he's in the process of maturing from an adolescent boy to a mature rooster.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Yeah, I figured as much. The funny thing is that the other silkie rooster is totally fine with being the lowest ranking rooster out of 5. But no, the silkie mix has to be the best...

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Yeah, I figured as much. The funny thing is that the other silkie rooster is totally fine with being the lowest ranking rooster out of 5. But no, the silkie mix has to be the best...

When it comes to "fight or flight", I have one rooster that must have been absent on the day when their fight was handed out as he is all flight. He's a fairly big boy but I don't think he knows that this can be to his advantage. It's all in each individual bird. That's why there are some phenomenal roosters and some free loaders aka eye candy It's like hitting the jackpot when you find one that's eye candy, phenomenal with his flock, and doesn't mind humans.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Yup, I am working with my boy (recently named Zeus) With his human skills, which are are currently subpar.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Well, here is an update for those who care. The silkie mix has prevailed as of today. With almost no bloodshed! A week ago they fought and he lost which kept them relativity peaceful, but he is now third out of 6 and he is the youngest... and my favorite. I like roosters with a little spunk.