Hi lovely knowledgable chooky people 
I got my first 3 chickens at Christmas time - 5/7 week olds - a light sussex, brown lohmann and a Harco. I have been handeling them every day as they have been living in a little coop in the laundry and being taken down to their run in the day and then back again. They are just gorgeous and come running when they see me, are positively placid around my very bouncy, loud 3 year old, eat from my hand etc.
On the weekend I launched part 2 of my chicken adventures and bought 2 silkies - a cuckoo and what I think is an Isabel (I'll post pics when I manage a decent one of them). I mainly want them to be mummies. The ad said 10 months to 1 year but when I asked about the ones he picked he couldn't say exactly but definitely under 2 years. I decided this didnt' really matter as I want them as broody hens (decided this route better than incubating - too many power cuts here!) and he said both had already been mums. I stupidly went with the 3 year old so was struggling to think of all I needed to ask (and doing it in French
), choose the ones I like the look of and try to stop said preschooler dive bombing into the very muddy yard!
I was a bit worried about them when I got them home, I left them in a large box with lots of clean wood shavings, food and water with a hardcloth wire frame on the top of the box but they just kid of sat there doing nothing and weren't happy at all if I picked them up, I even got a light peck from the Isobel. I maybe should have asked more questions before or walked away because he did say they didn't really pick them up etc. I have now moved my big girls temporarily out of the coop, moved it into the run (big girls in a temporary sleeping enclosure (which they aren't happy about which is making me a bit sad and stressed) just for a few nights as there has been a delay on the finishing of the coop due to poor hubby doing his back in
) and I have the silkies in there. The first day I'd let them have some time in the run (I fenced off one end) but they seemed pretty freaked out, then the Isabel panicked when I came in and managed to squeeze herself through the fence I'd put up to separate them from the others and my Lohmann ran over and pecked her 
it took me ages to catch her and they were just so scared. I realise now I have probably mismanaged the whole thing 
lessons learnt that is for sure! Any way they have now been in the little coop (it is the sort with wire one side and a covered nesting area the other - I think it is for a rabbit hutch really) and I cover up part of the front at night with some clear plastic sheeting to stop the worst of the wind while allowing lots of air still. I have not let them out again and they don't seem bothered at all. I am just so new to chooks in general and now Silkies so I'm not sure if thier chilled out'ness is normal or if there is something wrong with them. I have started them on vitamin stuff in thier water and they seem more active now to be honest and both are eating. Plan is to build a semi permanent day run for them as I'm now terrified of letting them in with the others (although the others are visiting and looking through the fence with no aggression so not sure if just having them near is doing it's job).
So my questions are:
I got my first 3 chickens at Christmas time - 5/7 week olds - a light sussex, brown lohmann and a Harco. I have been handeling them every day as they have been living in a little coop in the laundry and being taken down to their run in the day and then back again. They are just gorgeous and come running when they see me, are positively placid around my very bouncy, loud 3 year old, eat from my hand etc. On the weekend I launched part 2 of my chicken adventures and bought 2 silkies - a cuckoo and what I think is an Isabel (I'll post pics when I manage a decent one of them). I mainly want them to be mummies. The ad said 10 months to 1 year but when I asked about the ones he picked he couldn't say exactly but definitely under 2 years. I decided this didnt' really matter as I want them as broody hens (decided this route better than incubating - too many power cuts here!) and he said both had already been mums. I stupidly went with the 3 year old so was struggling to think of all I needed to ask (and doing it in French
), choose the ones I like the look of and try to stop said preschooler dive bombing into the very muddy yard! I was a bit worried about them when I got them home, I left them in a large box with lots of clean wood shavings, food and water with a hardcloth wire frame on the top of the box but they just kid of sat there doing nothing and weren't happy at all if I picked them up, I even got a light peck from the Isobel. I maybe should have asked more questions before or walked away because he did say they didn't really pick them up etc. I have now moved my big girls temporarily out of the coop, moved it into the run (big girls in a temporary sleeping enclosure (which they aren't happy about which is making me a bit sad and stressed) just for a few nights as there has been a delay on the finishing of the coop due to poor hubby doing his back in
) and I have the silkies in there. The first day I'd let them have some time in the run (I fenced off one end) but they seemed pretty freaked out, then the Isabel panicked when I came in and managed to squeeze herself through the fence I'd put up to separate them from the others and my Lohmann ran over and pecked her it took me ages to catch her and they were just so scared. I realise now I have probably mismanaged the whole thing lessons learnt that is for sure! Any way they have now been in the little coop (it is the sort with wire one side and a covered nesting area the other - I think it is for a rabbit hutch really) and I cover up part of the front at night with some clear plastic sheeting to stop the worst of the wind while allowing lots of air still. I have not let them out again and they don't seem bothered at all. I am just so new to chooks in general and now Silkies so I'm not sure if thier chilled out'ness is normal or if there is something wrong with them. I have started them on vitamin stuff in thier water and they seem more active now to be honest and both are eating. Plan is to build a semi permanent day run for them as I'm now terrified of letting them in with the others (although the others are visiting and looking through the fence with no aggression so not sure if just having them near is doing it's job).So my questions are:
- Is it normal for them (silkies I mean - my big girls are always moving about like crazy dudes!) to happily sit confined to a coop without seeming bothered or stressed about it?
- If the above is normal is this a Silkie thing or an age thing (big girls 15 and 17 weeks now - so old teenagers!)?
- How long will it take for them to get used to the move?
- How long until they would be likely to start laying again?
- Again for stress reasons how long should I expect before they go broody - weeks / months?
- Is it a hopeless case in terms of having friendly animals? I'm really sad about this - I just thought they would be and I'm sad they are so scared of me .
- What should I do to help them like me?
- At what point would it be safe to integrate them? Or should I go to plan B and not bother and just keep them in a seperate coop and run? My neighbours have silkies (and other bantams) and about 6 other varieties of chooks plus ducks, turkeys and geese all together running around the garden and I love it so I know it is possible. Theirs sleep in thier own bantam coop I think
