Possible Silkie trouble..

[McGobs]

Couple months ago, my wife wanted some Silkies to add to our existing flock. Never had any expirience with them before...never seen them before to be honest.(this chicken stuff is still kinda new). She saw some pictures of them on BYC and fell in love I think. Anyway, we found a local lady, and went to her house. There we were introduced to her pen of silkies.

She told us they ere straight run and she had no idea what their sexes were. Think she had 25 or so. So we picked 6 and took em home. The lady we got them from said they were 2-3 weeks old.

As of this morning...1 of them started crowing, and 2 others look just like him. So I'm guessing I got 3 boys, and 3 girls.

In all...I have:
6 N.H. Red pullets
5 Barred Rock pullets
1 GL Wyandott pullet
...and our cock "Willie" is a GL Wyandott,
and the 6 white Silkies(which as said earlier, are 3 boys and 3 girls).

So far, everyone has been living in peace and harmony. All in the same coop, all free-ranging when I get home from work till about 7'ish and then they put themselves to bed. But the number of male silkies is concerning me. Should I get rid of a couple Silkie roos? Should I get rid of ALL the Silkie roos? Will my main rooster (Willie) have issues with the Silkie males if I keep them all?

 

[McGobs]

...on a side note...that Silkie crow..OMG is that cute.

 

[chickenzoo]

Honestly it all depends on the roosters temperament. I have some Silkies that are breeding machines but others that are shy and bashful and if another roo is present..they act more like a hen. If you aren't super attached to the Silkie roos then get rid of two of them. If the one Silkie roo grows up with your other roo...more than likely they will get along..but choose the most docile male Silkie to keep..just to up the odds.

 

[NovaAman]

Re-home the least favored... Build a second silkie coop for bachelors... Silkies are notoriously broody. If you don't mind wyandottes silkie crosses then cool. They'd look awesome... Anyway! I'd keep the best looking boy, put the silkies in their own coop and run with a cover of sorts, and breed them that way. I must say though, that you might not have a problem with one silkie roo and the glw roo. He might do like my Roger, stay with the flock, but always out of the way of the glw. You will have to play it by ear, and be prepared to move the silkies to safety. I housed mine separate at nite, but they free ranged together, kinda stuck to themselves though.

 

[McGobs]

I've noticed the Silkies tend to free-range off on their own, away from all the other birds. And they tend to stay in the same spot...they don't do much venturing. I think the wife might have gotten attched to all of them, So I'm thinking a "Silkie Coop" might be in order.

 

[chickenzoo]

They would dp better in a coop anyway. Hawks love to target Silkies and with all that fluff Silkies can't see well and can fall into things or get trapped easily. They are a foo foo chicken....but I love them.

 

[NovaAman]

That's how I lost my Roger... A hawk took him out the other day. He survived a hawk attack before, but his crest just grew back in even bigger than the first one, and he got taken... They are slower too than bigger chickens too... No flight feathers... Thats why I say a cover of sorts...

 

[Nsampsel]

My Silkie coop currently has 13 hens & 5 roos. Other than the 1st 2 days after I introduced the last new roos & hens there have been no problems at all. Even when they were establishing dominance none of the roos hurt each other. A few chest bumps, some hopping on or over each other, a little fluff pulling...nothing major & everything settled back down within about 2-3 days. Silkie roos are extremely docile compared to many other breeds. When my Cochin Banty boys get together it's an all out war until I grab them & separate them. They will draw blood if given the chance. My LF boys aren't even as bad as those Cochin banty roos.

 

[chickenzoo]

I love watching a docile Silkie roo fight......its like watching a leap frog Kong fu tornement.... lol

 

[Bunnylady]

I watched as two Silkie boys decided to mix it up near a dangling fly tape. One jumped up to spur at the other and - whoops! Fight over!

He looked really foolish dangling from the tape, though the stickiness let him go before I could pull myself together and help him down.