Adding Silkies to Flock

[packobeagles]

They are all so cute! I just love me some fluffy silkies!
Anyway, All Flock can be fed to chicks over 7 weeks so your safe there. However, from experience it always seems my girls would chose starter over all flock when I was introducing my silkies last year so I just put everyone on starter and made sure to offer oyster shell and crushed egg shell. Make sure you have a mixture of different size grit. I used chick grit with the silkies for nearly 5 months before they started going to the big girl grit.
If you OE is a roo, then yes he could be pecking to keep order but usually those quick pecks nothing violent. Also, most roos would start showing the ladies food before he ate. However, he is a juvenile. Or maybe your OE is just an agressive hen and establishing pecking order among the younger gals because she can't win with the leghorns.
Also, I would go light on the scratch and sunflower seeds. The silkies really are not full grown until 6 months at the minimum and we don't want them filling up on treats.
BTW, I only ever do a small handful of Black sunflower seeds. I had a hen knock over a bird feeder and ate a big handful of black sunflower seeds and this caused an impacted crop. I got her thru it but it really sucked!!
Oh, and I would just use a couple of fingers to peck the top of the OE's head. They see you as the head roo and this may work better.

 

[moisland1962]

Any other suggestion my fellow chicken keepers?

I have the same problem here with my three Silkies! I have 11 mixed hens and one rooster. He went after the Silkies like a bully and I stepped in and kept blocking him from them. I thought about removing and isolating him in a cage while I tried bringing them back into the flock into the coop at night to see if they would all come out as normal in the morning. My Silkies are a little older but still small and seem frail. I also need suggestions!

 

[LaFleche]

I have the same problem here with my three Silkies! I have 11 mixed hens and one rooster. He went after the Silkies like a bully and I stepped in and kept blocking him from them. I thought about removing and isolating him in a cage while I tried bringing them back into the flock into the coop at night to see if they would all come out as normal in the morning. My Silkies are a little older but still small and seem frail. I also need suggestions!

Have a separate coop and run for breeds like Silkies and Polish. They are best kept by themselves as they will not be accepted if not brought up together with other breeds.

Just tossing them in with so-called normal breeds and production hybrids and hoping for the best will not work and often leads to severe injuries and death of the Silkies/Polish.