NEED LOTS OF ADVICE ON MY SILKIES

[tylgar6601]

I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START!!! My son got 26 chickens (all black sexlink) from our local 4-H program. We got our babies when they were only a few days old (on the last day of April) and we raised all 26 chickens. We built them a mansion of a pen and coop and they are doing WONDERFUL. They are very gentle and love to be held. That is a polite way of saying they are VERY SPOILED. The 4-H program usually gives you 25 chicks and one exotic chick as they call it, and it is usually a silkie. This year they just gave us another sexlink chick. I was so disappointed that I didn't get a Silkie.

I had a friend that surprised me with 2 Silkies and I love them so much. NOW TO THE PROBLEM!!!!
Can Silkies be housed with other types of chickens? My husband has some people that he works with that have Silkies with other types of chicks, or that is what they have told him. I have had the Silkies quarintined for over a month and am not ready to integrate them yet. The Silkies are a bit smaller than the 4-H chickens. I have also realized that I have one female Silkie and a Silkie Rooster....only my luck!!! My 4-H chicks are all females. I think the correct term is pullet?? The 4-H chickens are all black and the silkies are white...I can only imagine what the 26 chicks would think when I put these 2 big cotton balls in with them

I have read the info on this site about introducing new chicks to the flock, but am SOOO WORRIED about this.
Any advice or kind words would be greatly appreciated. We love all of our chicks and just don't know what to do.
Thanks in advance for any feedback

 

[TinkyFeathers]

Hi! I also have a male and female silkie! We keep ours with the other hens and they do fine. I actually think it'd better that one of yours is a male, because he'll probably stand up to the hens. And my silkie has been with his girl his whole life and he protects her from the bigger hens. I think they'll do just fine!

 

[tylgar6601]

That makes me feel better. I think these Silkies have been together for a long time too. When you seperate the silkies, If I am holding one and the other one is in the brooder they will cry for each other until they are put back together. They are really sweet. Any advice on how to introduce them to the rest of our girls? We aren't ready yet but I want to have a plan for when it is time to try and put them together.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START!!! My son got 26 chickens (all black sexlink) from our local 4-H program. We got our babies when they were only a few days old (on the last day of April) and we raised all 26 chickens. We built them a mansion of a pen and coop and they are doing WONDERFUL. They are very gentle and love to be held. That is a polite way of saying they are VERY SPOILED. The 4-H program usually gives you 25 chicks and one exotic chick as they call it, and it is usually a silkie. This year they just gave us another sexlink chick. I was so disappointed that I didn't get a Silkie.

I had a friend that surprised me with 2 Silkies and I love them so much. NOW TO THE PROBLEM!!!!
Can Silkies be housed with other types of chickens? My husband has some people that he works with that have Silkies with other types of chicks, or that is what they have told him. I have had the Silkies quarintined for over a month and am not ready to integrate them yet. The Silkies are a bit smaller than the 4-H chickens. I have also realized that I have one female Silkie and a Silkie Rooster....only my luck!!! My 4-H chicks are all females. I think the correct term is pullet?? The 4-H chickens are all black and the silkies are white...I can only imagine what the 26 chicks would think when I put these 2 big cotton balls in with them

I have read the info on this site about introducing new chicks to the flock, but am SOOO WORRIED about this.
Any advice or kind words would be greatly appreciated. We love all of our chicks and just don't know what to do.
Thanks in advance for any feedback

Yes, silkies can be housed with other breeds. I've not had black sex-links, so I cannot specifically speak to that breed, but I've had a number of other breeds, and never had a problem integrating silkies. What I have usually found is that the silkies tend to be at the top of the pecking order. Now integrating two birds that are significantly younger into a larger flock could be an issue, and introducing two white birds into a flock of all black coloured birds can be an issue. My recommendation is to introduce them later in the evening, a half hour or hour before they settle in for the night. Stay out and watch their interactions and be ready to intervene if necessary. When you do put them in the coop, consider putting them in in a cage where all the birds can see and hear each other, but cannot actually get to each other. Let them become gradually acquainted.

Pullets are females under a year of age; hens are a year or older. Likewise for cockerel and rooster; cock is a synonym for rooster, nad is the term used in exhibition.

 

[TinkyFeathers]

I agree with the cage idea, that's what I did with my Silkies. They all got picked on a little bit because they were younger then all the other chickens but they fit in after awhile and I haven't had any problems since!

 

[tylgar6601]

thanks for the advice. I am not ready to put them together yet. The Silkie cockerel is the same size as some of my Black Sexlink hens, but the Silkie pullet is a bit smaller than the Sexlink pullets. I like the idea of them being able to see each other but not touching at 1st. I hope it works out. I wasn't expecting to get Silkies as a present. I just don't want anything to happen to them I am soooo stressing over the thought of putting them in with the other pullets