Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: Hooee on March 22, 2010, 18:48
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Would a cockeril kill offspring that were not his own,? I Know it's a daft question, just wondered ! :)
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as he isn't involved in hatching the chicks he wouldn't know if they were his offspring or not. I would be very cautious when introducing any young chicks to any adult birds male or female, ideally you should make sure that they are fully feathered and able to defend themselves before leaving them unattended. I have introduced chicks younger than this but their mums were at the higher end of the pecking order (one was joint top hen and the other was 4th top hen) so any nastyness was down to a bare minimum, however then I didn't have any cockerels.
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ah! so It was'nt such a daft question after all, We haven't done any Hatching yet , but intend to in a while, I understand what your saying though, At what age would you suggest that the chicks could join the main flock. and before that would it best to graze the chicks where he could see them daily, would this help with the main intro ? sorry to be a pain :wub:
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Your cockerel won't kill the chicks whether he "knows" they are his or not. I've only had minimal experience of raising chicks in the flock but have never had an acceptance problem. If their mother is still feeding them and she's a member of the flock I think you will be OK. Often when you hatch in the flock two hens will share the sitting but generally only one will hatch. You should give them their own coop within the run which is divided off from the rest, so they won't get trampled, until they are at least a couple of weeks old. Try and let them integrate when you will be around to sort any problems.
HF