I have never handled a silky cock and am too scared to google. 

I have no advice, Ditts... just a  request for a front row seat if you go for this option!

well....  I love the chickens...  a love them alot...   but I am not very impressed with the silkie ones

They're a bit up themselves

I have actually had a little practise of the cock fight dance tonight, infront of the girl

Is he getting grief from the other chickens? I remember a guy I worked with had silkies and they used to get picked on by his other chickens  - he ended up having to separate them.

Film it!  

http://www.chickencrossing.org...iewtopic.php?id=1650

actually no.    This was originally a concern, hence why they get the des res in the (heated) greenhouse.

But, I have seen a couple of the other young cockerals approach the silkie hens, & silkie cockeral sees them right off.

Also..    they'll come over to the main coop on a morning when I am scattering corn for the others and mingle to get the corn.     They appear to be fearless.     Even in front of Dinner  (Dinner is the Kingpin cockeral... he's huge.. and a notorious bully.   He pecked the bit off the top of Daves head...   hence why I call him Dinner).

So no..    I don't actually think the others are having a go at them.

Its amazing there is as much harmony as there is with the chickens cos we must have 9 cockerals in total..   but there seems to be an agreed pecking order and there are very few fights.

I do have a grudging respect for silkie cockeral...  he's a fearless brave little thing.  (mind you... I do wonder if when he is having a go at me he is scared...   but I have done nothing to make him scared....   I've been the one to feed & nuture him & his hens since we got them at christmas)

ooooooooh!!!!

thank you!!!

*goes off for a good read*

Rooster is a much better name for a boy chicken than cockeral

you'll want to provide enough hens. Generally, a ratio of 10 hens to 1 rooster is sufficent.

Blimey!!!   He is 8 hens short then!!! 

He is a bit rapey though...    maybe if he had more hens he'd be more romantic with the existing 2

One of the first things to ask yourself when faced with an aggressive rooster is "Am I overly afraid of my rooster?"

ahh maybe that's it.. he maybe thinks you;re not alpha enough like those posts on that forum say! The general advice I think is to pick him up ( easier said than done) and carry  him around till  he realises you're the boss . One forum was saying pick him up, call him cute and make kissing noises .. he'll either love the attention or avoid you totally after that!  

There are 3 ways to deal with an aggressive rooster that I personally know for a fact work:

If you are concerned about being scratched, prepare by wearing long sleeves and gloves.

(1) At the first sign of aggression grab your rooster up and hold him no matter how much he kicks, screams and protests. DO NOT PUT HIM DOWN!

Walk around with him, do chores while holding him or whatever, let him calm down and stay that way for 15-30 minutes until he has settled. Then at your descretion you can put him down. If he kicks, screams or squawks while you are releasing him, pick him up and repeat this cycle until he submits to you, and will walk off peacefully when you let him down.

Do this every time he shows aggression, repeat as needed.

My "chores" are inside the barn...  sitting at a computer...  processing data on excel.

I am trying to imagine my bosses face when I come in holding the chicken under one arm and sit down & start processing an auction.

Candlelit dinners? Flowers?  

awwwwww...    we do that with my son!!   

Right, so..    I have to assert myself as the silkie alpha!!!

Ooookay....    

I'll keep you posted

Hahahhah!! Oh, you have to!! A silkie cock under one arm like a set of bagpipes while you work  

Do NOT dress up as a giant furry chicken! ! 

funnily enough I have always had a penchant for dressing in a chicken costume...  I have done it to a fancy dress party once...

I am wondering now, how the other chickens would react if I rocked up in a chicken costume

I wanna go native with the chickens !!!!

I can hardly see to type as I'm laughing so much - sorry Ditty!

There's an ad on the right hand side for a free keeping chickens newsletter - might be worth a click,

All I know about chickens is that they can be vicious to any that look a bit different. Friend used to keep rescued ex battery hens and whenever she got new ones they had to be isolated for ages until all their feathers grew back as the others would attack them.

Perhaps Monsieur Le Silkey is thinking that your ankles are a variety of bald chicken. Stop shaving them for a while and see if that makes a difference

hahah! They'll think you're a chicken King Kong! ! 

OK Pinnochio! 

But I'm sure between the pair of us we could give ditty loads of advice on how to handle one.

ahhhahhaaahh! Or wear chicken socks ?

! 

Me and veggie have it covered Cinds- she has to keep the cock under her arm no matter how much it wriggles, and leave her ankles unshaven

Its winter...   so

a) my ankles are thankfully covered by jeans & my boots

b) even if they weren't...   its winter...   they can actually be quite hairy anyway  (cue sympathy to MrD )

On a more serious (ish) note..    I think its coming to the point where I am going to have to actually educate myself properly on the chickens.   My boss & his wife really shouldn't have them, cos they don't look after them...  and no longer have full time staff that do it.   I have just taken it on after some bodged higgledy piggledy arrangements for putting them away at night went wrong and a fox killed one of them & mauled 2 others (which are now fine).  

But I don't have a clue what I am doing...    I asked the bosses wife once how long they live & the only answer I could get was "oh quite a while"...    that meant nothing to me... could have been 6 weeks, 6 years or 60 years...   I didn't have a clue  (I think its about 5-6 yrs)

It'll take the wind right out of Dinners sails!

OKAY!!!!   ENOUGH!!!!    tooo many dodgy visuals... 

from here on we are going American...     lets call em Roosters! 

Ditty. My OH used to keep chickens and roosters years ago. He said that if he had an aggresive cockeral he would get a Morrisons carrier bag and sort of "Snap" it at it. If it persisted he would  sort whack it at it's head. My OH said that he didn't hurt them, the noise of the bag gave them a fright and then they would stay away from him. He said the main thing is that you somehow give them a fright and then they would respect you as the chief cock.

So between you and Veggie you have the silky cock covered?

I don't want to know! 

THANK YOU for this (thank the OH for me as well)... 

we don't have a Morrisons here...    I am assuming they are not too biased against Asda

I will try this one tomorrow...     I will ping a carrier bag at him & see if this makes me Chief Cock!   (I am soooo not telling the others at work that that is the title I am striving for)

ohh, ok .. you've to leave your roosters unshaven

there is just so much mileage for you lot here isn't there

You can't do that! Chicken rustling is illegal!  

1970's styley

Boom boom !

Just channelling Blizzie  

Jeez ,what size of a plastic bag do you have ?!

I haven't laughed so much in ages

On a serious note when I used to do a lot of animal rights the person with all the chicken knowledge was a woman called Linda Turvey who runs (or ran) Hen Heaven. Not sure how busy she is nowadays but might be worth giving her an email and asking for her suggestions for a really good book Ditty as what she doesn't know about chickens (notice I avoid the word 'cock') isn't worth knowing.