Baby Silkie

[tdrengenberg]

My sister gave my daughter a Silkie chick. She's 8 weeks old.
Sadly, something got into my sister's pen and killed all her chickens, but this one.
I have no idea what to do with ONE chick. Can I integrate her into my established flock? I'm worried that my Orpington's will be too rough.
Can a young chick take our TX heat (104°).
Should she be an inside pet? I've read that they make good pets. But I'm completely unfamiliar with with this breed & have NO idea about having an inside chicken.
As you can probably tell, I'm lost.

I should have asked more questions before I agreed to take the chick. I had no idea my sister even had silkies!

 

[LadiesAndJane]

How old is the chick? Can you get another chick about the same age to be her buddy? Silkies make awesome pets! They are sweet birds. I would keep them inside in this heat if you are able depending on age of the chick. Good luck!

 

[tdrengenberg]

How old is the chick? Can you get another chick about the same age to be her buddy? Silkies make awesome pets! They are sweet birds. I would keep them inside in this heat if you are able depending on age of the chick. Good luck!

I heard back from my sister. The Silkie was born in early July. So it's about 8 weeks old.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Oh, so she is a big baby then! At 8 weeks, you can try to slowly integrate her into your flock, but do it very slowly. Best if you first get her a similar aged buddy, another silkie if you can, to bond with and then try to integrate with the rest of your birds. Do the "look don't touch" method that is described in many threads in the forum. Silkies are often picked on by larger fowl birds, especially if they are not raised together.
I have 4 silkies currently that live peacefully with larger birds, but they were all brooded and raised together as day old chicks.
Alternately you could make a seperate area for this little one, plus possible buddy. Advantage is silkies do not need quite as much room as large fowl birds do.
I recommend getting on some of the silkie threads as well. Lots of good advice there.