new to silkies have ???????????????

[abhaya]

I am getting silkies (my 3 year old son saw some silkies at a breeder and fell in love so I got 3 chicks. (He feeds and waters them 2x a day they are his chickens) 2 passed in the first 2 days not sure why but the 3rd is doing great has most of its feathers and is in with the other chicks i got at the same time. They all snuggle together no one picks on the little guy.
Thinking about getting 10 more silkie chicks from Ideal. should I keep the 3 week old silkie with the new chicks or with the ones its age? I have not ordered yet instead on chicks should I go to the local breeder and get some young teen or adult birds?
When they get older and start laying I know they go broody. I want to allow them to hatch some chicks. Do I have to move momma and chicks when they hatch or leave them in the coop?
If I need to move them what kind of fasilities do I need for them?

 

[awesomefowl]

For a broody coop you just need a small coop, some have used dog kennels.

 

[JLS]

I would keep the silkie chick in with the chicks it lives with now. My 2 silkies were raised with standard sized chicks and they all get along just fine. In fact, the silkie pullet is now the top bird among her peers! They are lovely birds!!

 

[NewToFarming]

I would also keep the silkie in with who she is in with now also.
For your broody question. I let my silkie hen be broody in the same coop as all the others and also hatched and raised her chicks along side everyone. She was my first experience and I was very nervous too but it worked out fine. If you decide to try to keep everyone together, I would keep a close eye on everyone to make sure any others do not try to hurt the new chicks. I thought if I tried it this way, introduction of the chicks to the rest of the flock goes much easier and it sure did. I have other non-silkie hens as well as the silkie roo's all keeping an eye out for the chicks. They are now 6-8 weeks old now.

 

[Jferlisi]

Ya i would keep them together, and i was wondering do you have a heat lamp? Because if you dont that might be a reason why you lost two of them. I am sorry you lost two of them.

Also when they are little i give them duramycin-10 for the first few weeks to keep them healthy and it seems to help them. We had one that looked like she was fading but we gave her some of that (mix it in with there water) and she perked right up and so we have used it on all our chicks and they have all been fine.

 

[shuizar209]

I have introduced new chicks to current chicks up to 3 weeks old and they have done fine. Just keep an eye out just in case the new comers get picked on.