Hello I'm New and want more!

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NevaehFeathers

NevaehFeathers

In the Brooder
Jul 11, 2015
39
6
31
York, Sc
So, I'm realizing it's true when they say chickening is addictive!
Fist off we built our own chicken tractor, learned from our mistakes and may need to built something new. We acquired three barred Plymouth rocks and three black somethings from a friend, most were supposed to be pullets, but all barred rocks are cocks. Bummer. We also bought two silkies, a male and a female for our daughter bc they were said to be friendly, well the pullet is the quickest to peck you and no one wants to be held. Also hoping the silkies will be broody and raise some chicks for us. I'm into low maintenance chick raising. Haha ... so as of now, need to home two cockrills, and need more pullets. Also, need to build something for the larger chickens to go to bed in and keep our tractor for the silkies, they sure do get picked on.
Questions: where to buy pullets this time of year around the same age: 4mo, I'd love to find some Amueracanas(sp?) Marrans (sp?) Buffs?, Rhode Island Reds and more barred Plymouth Rock pullets. Please excuse my lack of knowledge and knowing breeds! Haha Also, how should I introduce new chickens? Lastly, we have about an acre fenced for the chickens to free-range, and we plan to put the silkies up at night separate from the larger birds, but thinking it's ok to continue to let them free range together. Right now everyone stay together at night in the tractor , but it's close quarters for all 8. Any and all advice suggestions is welcome, please. Thanks in advance. This is a great recourse and thank you for that!
-Jesi
 
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Silkies are not the best candidates for free ranging even if the other flock members don't bully them. Silkies are not fliers they can jump high when they need to. Also their big crests and beards obscure their vision so they are as aware of predators as other breeds. They tend to be picked off first because they can't fly away or find good hiding places fast. Having them for the convenience of their broodiness is not without a price.
 
Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! There is a nice article in the Learning Center on integrating flocks you might like to check out, the part about actually combining them is after the quarantine section (depending on where you get new birds, you might need to do a medical quarantine) https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock and a nice article using the wire method https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/introducing-new-chickens-using-the-see-but-don-t-touch-method. If you get different age birds, enerally it is best to wait until the birds are about the same size, and then have a long period of the two flocks being able to see each other but no touching, through wire seem to work best, ie dividing the coop into two sections or keeping the new/younger ones in a cage inside the coup for a couple of weeks to a month at least. The chickens will get to know each other and sort of work out a pecking order before actually coming in contact with each other. After a week or two, letting them free range together is a good idea and should help... It will take a couple of weeks to get the pecking order sorted out.
You might try you state thread to see if anyone knows of older pullets available https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/127943/south-carolina/0_20 and don't forget the BST forum.
X2, Silkies do need special care, they tend to get picked on by other birds, and there is a good chance you will need to keep them separate when everyone is older. They are easy pickings for hawks, even if your area is fairly predator proof otherwise.
 
Thank you so so much! I'm trying to get my hubby to expedite production of the big coop so the silkies can have the tractor all to thenselves and they won't be let out, it's plenty big.
 

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