I have silkies help

[purr]

I bought a trio of silkies and they don't seem to be able to get in the coop. I've had to catch them and put them in every night and now they are hudled under the coop cause its raining and DH is at work and I tried to catch them by myself to no avail. I've been thinking of building them their own housing since the don't seem to care for the rest of the chickens.
what does everyone else with silkies do?

 

[AtRendeAcres]

I have read silkies don't do well with other breeds!



is there a ramp for them to get in coop?
how old are they?
how old is the original flock & how much bigger are they?

this is what I do:
if they are smaller I put a dog pen in the coop with a small opening only they can get in

((so they have their own food & they can go out when they want but, have a place to get out of pecking way))

Joanne

 

[purr]

they are the same age as my original flock and bigger than the banty's but smaller than the standard cochins.
They have figured out the pecking order fine and none of the other chickens bother them.
They have a ramp but they won't use it.

 

[purr]

I should add that all my chickens free range over about a half an acre so there is plenty of room

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I keep my Silkies separate from my other breeds and I keep 2 pens of bachelors and 1 pen of 2 pullets and a roo.
One good peck on the head does a Silkie a lot of harm, though my bachelor boys rough and tumble together often enough.

Silkies can't always see well either because of all the fluff around their eyes. I keep mine trimmed so they have a better chance.

I know some people let their Silkies free range but I have mine in pens. They are much more disadvantaged (to say it nicely!) than other breeds!

 

[kobesmom81]

We keep our silkies in thier own coop, they have one OE bantam hen that sleeps on a roost in the silkie coop. The silkies sleep in a pile on the floor. They have a ramp and they use it most of the time but prefer to hop in the coop. Sometimes they hop from the ground sometimes they will get on the ramp and then hop from there. They have a weather proof, predator proof coop and free range during the day. At first I had to put them in the coop at night but now they go on their own.

 

[purr]

thank you for all the responses everyone.They actually went in on their own tonight but I think I am going to keep them seperate from the rest.
I have a large pet carrier in the big coop and have been putting them in there at night so the big chickens don't hurt them before I can let them all out at 7:30. This has worked well since I got them on saturday but I think they need a coop of their own. And an enclosed run too.They are so cute and have a personality of their own and I think they are worth the extra work. DH agrees so now I have to work on a small coop.

 

[silkiechicken]

I've done it both ways. With standards and in their own digs. What gives them the most problems is often they can't see. So might want to check to see if you can see their eyes.

 

[purr]

they seem to be able to see ok. Maybe the guy I bought them off of trimmed them. I certainly can't sneak up on them.
But it should be fun picking a style coop for them and I'll make it bigger than they need cause I just know 3 is not nearly enough. I have white ones but I would love to have splash too. what do you need to get a splash? I'm going to a chicken stock this weekend

 

[kobesmom81]

It must be a sneaky silkie thing to get people to cater to them and con you into building them their own coop. DH built a coop just for the silkies but when they came home and were old enough to go outside they only spent a week in the coop before he decided they needed a better improved coop! Which of course, he got to work on right away. Spoiled little birds!