Breed combination.

[Mrs. K]

I would be leery of putting silkies with full size chickens. However, the other breeds I would expect to do fine, and many of us have started with chicks from the farm store.

Roosters are a fact of life, and one needs a plan for them. If asked, I do recommend an all hen flock for the first year. Gives one some experience.

Good luck,

Mrs k

 

[SueT]

I would skip the Rhode Island Red. A lot of us have found they can tend to be bullies, and the gentle little silkies would suffer the brunt of it.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

Indeed, like @Mrs. K my first set were farm store chicks, the hamburgs I got from another owner here in Ct, ant the rest were from a mail order from Meyers. I got extremely lucky and didn’t get any cockerels.

 

[yellowish_chickenfeet]

I would skip the Rhode Island Red. A lot of us have found they can tend to be bullies, and the gentle little silkies would suffer the brunt of it.

I was a little worried about that...A few other people said it would be fine if they were raised together, but I don't want to endanger any chickens.

 

[SueT]

Maybe they'll have Buff Orpingtons....the 'golden retriever' of the chicken world. Generally considered much gentler than the Rhode Islands. The EE's are said to be gentle, as are the Wyandottes. I've had an Australorp who was very sweet. All these are generalizations and there are always exceptions.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

For 'sweet' factor, I love my Giant. She's really not huge, since she's a hatchery chicken, but she's so sweet.

 

[herbalmother]

My Wyandottes and Easter Eggers are super sweet. My experience with a Silkie has me off them completely lol. My partner raised RIR as a kids and says they’re really passive and great, I’d never heard of them being bullies. Just our experience though. I had Buff Orpington roos and they were bullies to my girls from the start (got them as day old chicks).