Help - I need advice about adding pullets to my existing flock!!!

[Carlie]

Hello.

I am fairly new to chickens. I purchased 4 baby chicks this past spring but 2 of the 4 turned out to be roosters. I found a new home for my two boys (a Rhode Island Red & a silkie bantam) but now I only have two chickens (a Dominique & an Easter Egger). I am heartbroken about our situation and I would like to get two pullets so that I can have 4 chickens as I originally planned. I would prefer to get the two breeds that I lost due to incorrect sexing (silkie bantam & RIR) but I am not sure if this is a good idea. I have been reading about all the work that goes into adding new pullets to a flock but I am not sure if what I am reading applies to me b/c I only have 2 pullets. I know that I must quarantine & I am willing to do this but I do not want to have to worry about the new pullets fighting with the 2 pullets that I still have. My chickens are pets to me & I would be horrified to see one pecked to pieces. I also do not want to have to build an additional coop. My husband made a nice coop based on building plans that we bought online. The coop is designed to house 4 chickens. I would like to add the pullets to that coop but I have been reading that you have to provide separate housing sometimes - especially for silkies. Can someone please help me with my situation? Is it a good idea to add 2 new pullets to the existing 2? If so, is it ok to get sikie pullets or do I have to get a large fowl breed? What should I do? I need some good advice!

Thank you in advance.

 

[Judy]

Some people succeed in housing Silkies or other bantams with large fowl and some find it doesn't work. The head crest seems to provide a good pecking target. iIn the end, though, they are individuals.

Personally, if I had two large fowl, I would get two more large fowl, and combine them only when they were all about the same size, after a period of being able to see each other but not reach each other. I would also probably go with something like orp breeds (buff orp, black australorp) or barred rock rather than RIR, if these are hatchery birds we are talking about, because the reds tend to be aggressive. You will see pecking when you mix them; there's no getting around their establishing their pecking order. Hopefully you will not see blood.

 

[Carlie]

Thank you for your input. I have another question: Is a buff orphington the same as a golden buff?

 

[goldies99]

i have added to my flock 4 different times!....i was just trying to get 8 chickens!!!...i have had 7 roosters in the process!...i am adding one more time!...(got rid of my last rooster)...
this time i added older pullets instead of chicks not knowing the sex.....it is trying to get them all together...but i am doing it!....but im not so
sure about adding a silky....they are a mild bird and probably will get a pecking!...good luck!

 

[Fred's Hens]

If by "golden buff" you mean Meyers' hatchery Gold Buff, then no. The Golden Buff, so called, at Meyers is a Red Sex link, likely in the heritage of the commercial Bovan Brown. Why in the world the confusing name Golden Buff got pinned on them by Meyers is anyone's guess. Perhaps to try to distinguish them from the other sex links, or just marketing?? Whatever.

The Golden Buff is a fantastic layer. Personable and on the small size, like other sex links are. They'll compete with the very best layers out there.

If you are considering buying "started pullets", do consider that these have been pre-beaked, or had their beaks trimmed because that is the way the commercial, caged chicken industry prefers them.

Here's what they look like:

 

[Fred's Hens]

If you want/need older pullets, please let us know where you are located. There are folks here who have pullets for sale.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Quote:
Sex links assure you that "as hatched" you get just what you want. Others, like the Barred Rocks, as about 90% accurate at hatch by sexing, using the head spot.

 

[Carlie]

I live in south jersey. I would like to buy 2 pullets to add to the two that I already have (Dominique & Easter Egger). I would want the new ones to get along with the existing ones as much as possible. I am open to suggestions / advice.

BTW, what does pre-beaking do to their beak? I am unfamiliar with this. I am assuming that they trim their beaks, but will it grow back? Will it affect them negatively?

 

[Fred's Hens]

Yes, they trim their beaks, and NO, it does not grow back.

Just a head's up. I do not personally desire that being done to my birds.

 

[Avalon1984]

I have red sex links and buckeyes. Such friendly birds and very reliable layers. Quite hardly for cold and long Michigan winters too! Good luck on your search