I did not keep Ned and Lucky until they were full grown. At about 4-5 weeks Sydney was done with them and they found themselves at the end of the pecking order. The others did not chase them a lot. Phyllis did work some too keep them below her. Otherwise they were part of the group.
I must have missed that Ginger died, I'm sorry you lost her!We started with three birds and could not ever really settle on who was the top hen. It seemed they each took turns. However, after Ginger died a couple of weeks ago, a new order has definitely arrived, and it's not what I ever would have guessed. Honestly, it's been a bit unnerving for me to watch. Mrs. Howell has become an evil dictator. The most obvious behaviors are displayed when eating treats. A very menacing glare, sometimes along with a stern warning cluck to back off, which if not heeded results in pecking. They used to all get along so well.
Seems to me as long as your chicken hasn't gone catatonic when you are handling then, that's got to be better than inducing it on purpose. My Buckeyes are nervous at first and generally calm down quite a bit when they realize the certain handling I'm doing is as far as it goes. Butters even helped in preening back there when I was crumbling poo off her butt feathers. She was standing on my legs while I had one hand cupping her breast as a barrier.
As of right now, my silkies have seamlessly integrated themselves into my flock. My new top hen Butter played a key part in this. Prior to the silkie's Butter was a semi-loner, she didn't have a best friend per say. Holly hatched and raised the silkie's plus her own son Bubba. When she weaned them it was overnight and she was done. She went from sleeping with them to find your own roost away from me. They were between 6 and 7 weeks old, and they went to the roost they were used to sharing with their momma and cried piteously that night. Butter was already on her roost in her spot and flew down and came to them and roosted in between the 4. For almost 2 weeks she would come to them at night, I think building a bond/friendship. They also hung around her during the day as they quickly learned she would not allow ANYONE to bother them. She then decided it was time to go back to her original roost with the others. They followed and she placed herself between them and the other established hens on the roost and would not allow any bullying. She even tossed Momma Hen down a few times when the grouch decided she did not want them up there. Bubba who was raised with the silkies is bonded with them, and, he is also protective of them and sticks right with them. He also is semi-protective of Butter, and tries to keep the group within eyesight of her at all times. Now I would have expected the silkies to be at the bottom of the pecking order, but they are not. They are firmly in the middle only under the adult hens. Creamy, Raven and Blueberry give way to them as does Momma Hen. To me this is clearly due to Butter's influence. Being about to hit the 4 month mark, I will once again start to watch them closely, sexual maturity will happen soon and if anything shakes up the pecking order it will be that.
Nothing but some Composers magazine, but I didn’t order it, I guess she was waiting for it.
Steam them
even Xzit wants my attention. So we came inside to watch YouTube videos! 
And she’s snuggled up right next to me.
they would make fab charcoal for my girls bedding. 
I do.
I'll see what I can do. I'm having a lot of camera fails atm.
