Hello from NC

[vmlocks]

Hello all. My wife and I just started a small backyard setup of hens that were given to us by some neighbors. Those 5 bulk sex links hens quickly had a Silkie added, then another 2 Bielefelder chicks (sadly one was killed, the other was injured but is recovering). And finally, for the moment, this weekend added another Bielefelder chick, traded 3 of the sex links for an Orpington hen, and a Faverolles roo. Oh yeah and we have three silkies and two black Spanish eggs incubating hoping those hatch this weekend.

That spiraled quickly.

Thanx for reading please let us know if we have made a huge mistake having such a mixed bag????

Victor & Mother Tucker

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi

Glad you could join the flock! Sorry to hear you lost a chick Was the chick killed by other flock members when you added it to your existing birds? If so you really need to wait untill chicks are fully grown before adding them to your flock. Here is a lovely article on adding new flock members ~ https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/introducing-new-chickens-using-the-see-but-don-t-touch-method

Good luck with your recovering chick and your eggs in the incubator.

Enjoy BYC and all the chicken chat

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC, Victor and Mother Tucker. Glad you decided to join our flock. Sorry about the loss of your chick. It's always sad to lose one of our flock. You have some wonderful breeds. Faverolles, Orpingtons, and Silkies all have a well deserved reputation for being calm and gentle (great lap pets). X2 on waiting until your chicks are grown and using the "look but don't touch" method of adding them to your flock. If you haven't done so already, definitely check out our Learning Center at https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center. There is lots of useful information there. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Cheers.

 

[vmlocks]

It was weird with the murder. The two bielefelder chicks stayed in the run in a crate and at night we had a young-ish Silkie we got from the same breeder and we put her in with the chicks as she was picked on some by our sex links so all seemed well. Then we put the Silkie and the bielefelder a in a tractor by them selves during the day so they could stretch out some and the Silkie who had been mothering them in the evenings killed her, and was chasing the now injured one.. We couldn't believe it. We are looking to do all the brooding in the coop and then add an additional small door and a tunnel made of chicken wire to let them have some outside time amongst but still protected.

I will say we have been very pleased with addition of the docile rooster. He seems to be the type that can take care of business when needed but pretty chill when not needed. The whole yard seems more pleasant as we have diversified and got rid of our "alpha" hen.

 

[vmlocks]

Thanx for the welcome!!!

@Michael OShay. What is generally considered grown? These were around 8wks old.

 

[Michael OShay]

Thanx for the welcome!!!

@Michael OShay. What is generally considered grown? These were around 8wks old.

You're welcome. Most breeds are sexually mature around 5 months, however some breeds do not reach their full size and weight until they are 9 or more months old.

 

[vmlocks]

So we may have to keep somewhat segregated for 5-9 months? Ouch. That changes the game when it comes to a narrow for them to run in but not get bullied.

 

[N F C]

One other important thing to keep in mind when introducing new birds to your existing flock...the new ones should be isolated from your existing flock for 30 days. That gives you time to be sure they don't have an illness or pests that would be passed on to your existing birds. Integration takes time for it to go smoothly.

Thanks for joining us!

 

[vmlocks]

@NorthFLchick: completely segregated or do you think it would be ok to be in an enclosure around the rest of the flock. Currently including chix we have 9 birds

 

[N F C]

@NorthFLchick: completely segregated or do you think it would be ok to be in an enclosure around the rest of the flock. Currently including chix we have 9 birds

The new birds should be completely separate from your existing flock. This article explains it very well (the first part of the article):
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock

Once the 30 day isolation period is up and assuming none of the new birds are showing any health issues, then you can use the look/don't touch integration method. That gives everyone a chance to get used to each other before they come in physical contact. As much as we'd like to think all our chickens will get along as one big happy family right from the start, the pecking order has to be re-worked by the chickens and that takes time (along with some skirmishes usually).

Isolation and integration can't be rushed without risking some problems.