Getting Addicted to Chickens...Question on Bantam...

[Kat's Silly Chickens]

Well, now that we fell in love with these 5 baby chicks as backyard pets
Now we are adding 1 Blue Silkie, 1 Buff Silkie, and another Sultan Bantam to our brood on 10/13.
With the 1st 5 being 6 weeks old when we get the new ones, will we be able to put the new ones in with them?

I have another question... Is a bantam just a smaller breed of chicken? When we ordered the new ones the lady asked if we wanted standard or bantam for the Sultan...

 

[Rozzie]

Bantams are smaller sized chickens. Think "Miniature chickens." Standards would be the larger, full-sized chickens.

You can keep bantams in a bit smaller space. They also lay a smaller egg.

 

[geebs]

Highly addicting.... Worse than large fowl... Try and maintain composure... they are cuter as chicks and you can house MORE...did you hear me... MORE... AAAARRRRGGGG It is a slippery slope!!!

 

[dsqard]

I'll bet you can fit extra bantam eggs in a bator too!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

If your new chicks are day old chicks being sent to you, you should keep them separate until they are about the same size as the other flock.

If they are bantams, and they won't ever be the same size, some people wait until 3 months of age to join flocks. Others do it earlier. But I would at least wait until they are finished with the heat lamps around 6 weeks of age or so. If you need help dealing with baby chicks, the first hatchery I ever ordered from has a good website for information on chick raising with temperatures needed:

http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/chickcare.html

You can do a search on here for "integrate flocks" or something like that. There have been lots of threads on this.

Bantams are smaller. Some breeds come in bantam size and LF (large fowl) and some are just bantams.

Silkies have a soft spot like a baby on their heads (their skulls have a hole in them). Don't allow anyone to pick on your silkies, or they could be killed with one peck on the top of the head or brain damaged. A LOT of people have them mixed in with their flocks- just make sure that they aren't being bullied when you do integrate them.

When you do put them together, there will be a discovery of the pecking order. As long as feathers are not being pulled out and blood is not being drawn, people usually say it's ok.

But when they gang up on a little one and try to kill it, then they just might.

I have some older girls that I just couldn't get to stop being bullies. They are their own separate flock now (19 of them). They are happier that way. My bantams are too! I do have some LF in with my bantams, though. They were raised with them.

 

[kla37]

Quote:
I really needed to hear that, but I still want some banties....

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Someone just posted a link to this in another thread- scroll down some:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-adding-to-your-flock

 

[secuono]

How is everyone finding Silkie chicks??!

 

[Kat's Silly Chickens]

Thank you Everyone for the helpful answers.
I read thru the link ChickensAreSweet and we will follow the advice for introducing new chicks to young chicks.
We will take the advice on the silkies, the last thing we want is to lose a Silkie. I'm not exactly new at raising chicks, I had some I raised back in early2008-mid2009 but I never had rare delicate breeds. We will put a wire divider in their pen if the 6 weeks olds can be farther away from the lamp. Our others were all gotten together so they are use to each other and don't pick on the Sultan.

@secuono we are in Texas and order them from Ideal Poultry, then go down to pick them up since we are so close to the hatchery...