3 week old silkies

[m2wandc]

I have two silkie chicks that look about the size of my other chicks at a day old...

...I'm guessing they can't go outside until they are bigger, but holy smokes, how long until they get any bigger?

Do silkies tend to grow very slowly?

They are getting their feathers in, but still about the size of a golf ball with a head...

I'm fine with them in the brooder for a longer time, I'm just concerned, because I can't really expose them to the big bad world outside or the other chicks because of their size and I don't want them to grow up and be freaked out later because they didn't ease into life on the outside.

I can't even put them in the outside pen because they are so small they can get thru the wire slots...

About how long on average do you keep your silkies in a brooder?

Do you notice them growing MUCH SLOWER then your other chicks?

 

[chickenwhisperer123]

Well I have some in with the polish, Silver Campine, GLW,EE, Partridge Giant Cochin batch, and they are TINY compared to them. I did move them all out at the same time, because I figured seperating the batch would only cause more stress. It all turned out okay.

 

[insiderart]

Good question.

 

[mrsgibber]

Check out my BYC page to see the difference in my Silkie from 3 weeks to 13 weeks of age. They are Bantams so they will always be smaller. I have four standards that he was raised with and they have always been kept together from the beginning (brooder to coop). My guy gets bigger by the day now.

 

[coffeelady3]

Just get some 2' wide chicken wire and attach it to the bottom of the run, then put them all out together. Plain old chicken wire is ok in this case, because it's purpose is not to keep predators out, you just want to keep the little guys it.