Easter eggers and Silkies

[LeslieAnne]

Does anyone have any experience integrating Silkies with Easter eggers? I have a few easter egger chicks. It is my understanding that they are a particularly docile chicken. This is what I read about silkies as well so I wondered if they could cohabitate without too many issues.

 

[Zgm12]

Does anyone have any experience integrating Silkies with Easter eggers?  I have a few easter egger chicks.  It is my understanding that they are a particularly docile chicken.  This is what I read about silkies as well so I wondered if they could cohabitate without too many issues.

Keeping LF and bantam breeds together can be a challenge. If you get both breeds as chicks you may have an easier time integrating them as long as they're the same age. I have both Easter Eggers and silkies and I keep them in separate coops and free-range them at different times of the week so they don't cross paths. I do however have two Easter Eggers that are especially docile that I keep with my OEG bantam hen. I don't mix silkies with larger hens because of how fragile they are as well as their poor sight. I lost two silkies to LF chickens beating them up. Based on my experiences, I would suggest putting the two breeds in separate coops.

 

[ECBW]

Silkies physically can't do things others can, so their coop would have to be built different.

I never have breed integration issue. Just the silkies are handicapped compared to other breeds.

 

[Notaneggspurt]

My very first flock consists of 1 silkie and 7 isa Browns. I know it's not the Easter eggers but they are a hybrid known to be very friendly. I've done a lot of reading since I've brought them home. As ECBW said silkies are a more limited on what they can do. I read that roosting is harder for them as they can't fly up like chickens can.

I added a bale of hay into the coop next to the roost just to help out the silkie. They've just been moved out to the coop and are still getting used to it. Right now they all seem to be getting along. I'm suspecting the silkie may be a rooster so I'm not sure if that is a factor or that they are just starting to develop their personalities.

I think it's mainly up to the chicken how accepting they will be of others. There have been some really good posts about integrating new flock members. Good luck! I'm hoping to add some Easter eggers to my flock once we have an empty brood box

 

[LeslieAnne]

Thank you for the advice. Much appreciated! I already have the easter eggers but not the silkies so no chance of them growing up together. :-(

 

[LeslieAnne]

Thank you for the reply. If you have silkies, what recommendations would you make for coop arrangement if I were to house them separately from the others?

 

[LeslieAnne]

Thanks for your reply. Your chicks look happy and healthy. Maybe I will try to have some alternative accomadations for some silkies, if I can't make it work with my current group of EE's.

 

[Notaneggspurt]

Thanks for your reply.  Your chicks look happy and healthy.  Maybe I will try to have some alternative accomadations for some silkies, if I can't make it work with my current group of EE's.

We had a "practice" roost in the larger brood box. After reading through the forums and seeing most people said their silkies tended not to roost I was surprised to see ours as the first one up there. The majority of posts said they just put a roost bar lower (about 6" from the ground) for their silkies. (Post #3 on this thread https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/430665/do-silkies-roost)

 

[Notaneggspurt]

Went out to check on them a little while ago and it seems Patsy (the silkie) has made their way up the roost all on their own

A little note about Patsy. By the time I got her/him she was probably about 2 weeks old. I didn't know about curling toes until well after the recommended time to try to correct it. I was very concerned this would keep her from being able to do a lot of things. So far she's been proving me wrong with each step

 

[LeslieAnne]

Haha! Maybe Patsy is an overachiever!