Raising a silkie chick with two standard chicks

[BantamoftheOpera]

Hello,
Today I got a three week silkie chick. I introduced him(just a guess) to my two light Brahmas outside freeranging. They've been in the brooder together for a few hours now and they're really trying to establish the pecking order. the silkie is very submissive, but one of the light Brahmas, who may be a roo, is really going at him. I know that you're supposed to be really carefull about silkie's heads. How much is too much pecking? Should I seprerate them when I'm not around to watch them, or will that make it worse? Right now he is hiding behind the feeder/waterer. Is there something I can do to ease the tension?

 

[ginger c.]

go get another silkie tomorrow, and seperate them from the bigger ones, that's what we did!

 

[BantamoftheOpera]

I don't think I would have acess to another 3 week old silkie. I got him from a friend who couldn't have roosters. I realize that you can't sex silkies at three weeks acurately, but they swear by their method and needed to move him. I would think that he wouldn't do well with a day old chick, am I correct?

 

[Taylorhens]

Do some searching on here for integrating chicks. There is a whole process that eases the fighting. I don't recommend just throwing them together.

I am new, so my word is DEFINITELY not gospel, but I've successfully integrated several single chicks and groups of chicks. Start by putting them where they can see each other but not get to each other. Hopefully you can divide your pen or coop some way, but if you can't, consider a good sized dog kennel and put it in the pen with the other chicks with the new chick inside (with his own food and water, or course). After a few days of this, try letting them free range together, but still separate them at night. Then after a few more days, try letting them together at night too. Also might help to have more than one feeder and waterer so he has a better chance of getting some if the others are guarding.

 

[BantamoftheOpera]

Thank you so much for your imput. I've been looking up all the possible integration senarios

. I have seperated the silkie from my other two in cages right next to each other. I'm still looking for an answer on how much pecking is acceptable and what's dangerous to a silkie's brain. All I've been able to find is don't let the other chickens bully him. I guess I just want a stronger deffinition of "bully"

 

[chkinut]

i had a lone silkie chick last year and she integrated just fine with girls that were 3 weeks older than she was. everyone got along just fine until the standard girls got a little older...then they all (all 4 of them) started picking on my silkie. she would hide behind things ALL day long just to avoid the "mean girls"....so i ended up giving her to a friend of mine who has a farm. now she's happily living out her days in the barn with a boyfriend named Toad (lol) and she's even hatched out some chicks! my friend has loads of other chickens, but they all stay in a huge run, but my silkie got to live in the barn and have free range with a rooster. so i know she's happy now.

 

[BantamoftheOpera]

Sounds like she has a nice life. We will rehome if things don't end up working out. In the meantime I'm thinking of doing some chicken landscaping that will give them a place to hide, because once I get the three babies together, then I have to start worrying about flock integration.

 

[BantamoftheOpera]

Just a quick update, the babies are now getting along great in the same brooder. I've been watching them all day and it seems to have been a sucess. It's amazing how a house shaking thunderstorm will make the babies bond!

 

[chkinut]

thanks for the update!!

i have 6 girls now that i had to integrate in stages. i have 2 that are over a yr old, 1 that is 5 1/2 months old, 1 that is almost 5 months old, and 2 that are almost 4 months old. they all free range now and they all tolerate each other, and i've even seen all 6 together in the same area. but there's certainly a pecking order. they all get along for the most part though. now i've got 6 chicks coming in about 10 days! they will be in the separate grow out pen for quite awhile! probably till i put them on Layena. by that time, the others should be WELL use to seeing them! lol!