New addition to flock seems scared to death

[jamie78]

Well the silkie is about the same size as they are. Hubby thinks she is older, which is likely the case. She has either a deformed toe or one that was broken and healed funny. Thankfully it isn't one of her "main" toes for walking and it doesnt seem to bother her. Anyway, it's not because of her size that they are picking on her, its just because she is new and different. As far as them being out of their coop, I let them out as much as possible to free range in the yard. If the weather is poor I keep them in, but they have an open-air portion of their coop to rest in as well as the actual "house" part. We are in PA so we will be getting our fair share of cold temps and snow soon. This is my first ever time raising chickens so I am still green! (Trying to convince the rest of my city neighbors to raise them too! lol) I've been told by a farmer I know that her chickens can't walk in snow that is more than 2 inches deep. She also moves them into the barn when it gets too cold. I'm still learning and I want to do it right because I've grown pretty attached to these silly birds!