Confirmation on one bantam.

[Creteloc]

I know that one chicken is bad, that they need a buddy. What about one bantam (silkie hen) with 7 full-sized chickens if the bantam and 5 of them were raised together from 1 day old? Does that bantam need a buddy or will those 5 others due, even though they are larger breeds?

 

[21hens-incharge]

Silkies tend to get picked on.
I don't keep them but I do keep bantam in with large.
Breed temperaments will be what decides if it will work.

What breeds large fowl are you keeping or intend to keep?

 

[Creteloc]

The two chickens I have right now are 20 week old RIR and an EE. The new ones I'm picking up and want to get a silkie with are 3 Sussex and 2 Wyandottes.

 

[21hens-incharge]

My experiences with wyandotte have not been good. Such a shame all mine were mean to every other breed.

Other people keep them quite happily in mixed flocks.

I would be careful of bringing in a lone silkies with RIR and wyandotte. Thin of it as the silkies re the skinny freckle faced kid and the others are the bully kids. Not fun to be the one different kid in the class.

Are you prepared to house them separate if things get crazy?

Personally, since silkies are broody a lot, look different then the big birds, and are quite small I would keep a flock of bits and a separate lock of silkies. It is hard for them to see well and that gives feather pullers an unfair advantage.

Same with Polish for me. Even my docile hens took note of the head feathers.

Can you get 3 silkies and the 3 Sussex without getting wyandotte?

My Sussex have all been mellow and sweet birds.

 

[Creteloc]

Shoot, the Wyandottes and Sussex are already ordered and on the way, so much for asking what I thought was the guru here. I can get Silkies their own homes though. I'll think through the silkies a little longer and decide if I want to get 3 of them in a separate home. Thanks for the advice.

So is it mean to raise silkie and full size chicks together and then separate them? The silkie home would start out as the coop for the babies until they integrated into the regular coop, and then I'd just leave the silkies and move the big ones over.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Not mean to separate at all.

Everyone has different experiences. Not anyone's fault since they may have been very successful keeping them mixed. You may be also.
All you can do is try it and see if it will work for you.
Just have a plan in case there are issues that come up.

I keep a small coop available in case I need to separate for a multitude of reasons.

 

[Creteloc]

That's what it is. Just a small coop I got for quarantines and/or new birds I need to integrate into the flock or whatever I think it may be needed for. It was ranked at 6 chickens, but I think they were high. I would rank it at 1 full-sized chicken, but it's perfect for chicks and short-term pullet parking.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Go with your gut. If you see problems early you can prevent fatal injuries.