Large fowl and Bantams

[secuono]

I've had my Jap Roos beat up and run off my standards. But the braver and meaner of the Roos I had to re-home, he was on a mission and that's something I won't allow.

 

[zindel610]

Hmmm, well I found this thread looking for advice. I have one Silkie Bantam and she seems to have been outed by the other 5 large fowl. I don't think they are going to kill her but it may come to that if it lasts much longer... The LF New Hampshire Red is the most aggressive to her. We only have one waterer and one feeder since our flock is so small. I have also noticed that she sleeps in the nesting box by herself and all the other girls sit up on the roost together. Anyone have any suggestions? When they are free to range in the yard they are fine because the silkie keeps her distance, it's just in the run and the coop that I am worried. Should I get another bantam so that the one I have has company? Or would that cause more trouble? Any ideas would be appreciated!! thanks

 

[gryeyes]

I have had bantams in my very mixed flock of LF chickens for four years.... As long as I have been keeping chickens. I also have ducks, geese, and turkeys.

I also have multiple roosters. Only had one cockerel culled for being so rough he actually caused three pullets enough damage to kill them - he also took on a bantam rooster and darn near killed him, too. So he met his end after he broke the third pullet's back. The rest of the roosters get along; the dominant rooster keeps them in line.

There are silkies and silkie crosses in the flock (proof the roosters are breeding with them) but one House Silkie because she was bullied and pecked in two separate flocks before she came to live with me.

Silkies normally do not roost because they don't actually fly well. Mine jump to lower benches to sleep at night, or sleep on the coop floor.

My bantams are all the way fromThe coop is a transmogrified, 3-sided garage; a fourth wall was built to turn the 17 X 22 structure into a huge coop. I keep three feeders and two waterers in the coop as well as several waterers in the yard so everybody has access. The yard is the entire property: two-thirds of an acre. There is no "run," per se. The property is fenced with five foot "no climb" fencing.

The bantams include a tiny, Silver Sebright hen, a bantam Barnevelder, a couple of bantam EEs, a few silkies, and some bantam Cochin mixes.

The LF run the gamut of size from white Leghorns to huge Orpingtons, with various mixes and a few not large dual-purpose breeds.

Space and multiple feeders/waterers are key to having a large flock of variously sized poultry.

 

[Janet Pesaturo]

Getting a few new bantams would probably help, imo, because large birds are likely shift focus off silkie and silkie will be dominant over new bantams...at least for awhile. The new bantams may or may not become her friends, but either way, she will no longer be at the bottom of the peck order.

The issue is that then space becomes tighter, and it sounds like you don't have a lot of space to begin with. If they go outside for most of the day, year round, then getting a couple of new bantams might work. But if they have to spend a substantial amount of time confined, then, to be honest, I'd rehome the silkie or find a way to change your set up and/or management so that silkie can stay out of the way of the big ones and still have free access to food and water.

 

[zindel610]

Thank you all for the input! I have arranged to get another silkie tomorrow. Hopefully that will help for now. Also, if needed I will rearrange the layout and add more food and watering stations. The coop/run are not too small I don't think (picture below before it was finished?) but maybe giving her room to stay away and still eat and drink will be better.... Thanks again!

 

[Janet Pesaturo]

Well, I would feel very reluctant to get just ONE new one. Everyone will be against her; she will have no friends. And being smaller than most of the others...I think that would be terrifying.