Should my Silkies be kept in a seperate coop?

[MotherMal13]

Hi i am new to having chickens. I have 8 chicks that are 8 weeks old in one coop they are BR's Golden Comets A RIR and three x's. I am not worried about space or getting mixed chicks, just the fact that sikies will be smaller and i am worried that they will get picked on. Also i read somewhere that some of their broody silkies got picked on and pushed out of nesting boxes.
Thanks

 

[briteday]

After the roos make themselves known we will end up with 3-4 silkies. Right now they are in a coop/run within a very large fenced area that the egglayers free range in all day long.

I'm wondering the same about the silkies. We've already lost one chick from the initial shipment from being head pecked (started the swollen brain thing of walking backwards, able to cure the swelling with prednisone but lost the little girl from pneumonia which she likely caught as a result of being immunosuppressed from the prednisone treatment) and I can't stand the idea of my teenager asking me to euthanize another. However, I do worry that 3-4 birds might not be able to keep themselves warm in a coop over the winter. I was even thinking that we could put them in the chicken shed on cold nights but put them in a large dog crate between the hay bales to keep even warmer.

But with the reduced vision due to the head puff...I worry about letting them free range due to hawks, not to mention the egg layers pecking at their plumage.

 

[goldnchocolate]

I have 2 silkie roos in with my flock and haven't had any problems now that my EE roo has taken over. Before that, one of the silkies was picking on the other silkie. My EE roo is a benevolent leader as long as the silkies know their place.

 

[Love my Critters!]

I have large EE's with my silkies and don't have any problems, most of the time, it's the silkies bossing the EE's around

I wanted to get some Red sex links and was told they would do fine with my silkies. I don't think you would have a problem especially if they are raised together.

Note: I have never had RIR's, but I've read on here that they can be somewhat aggressive. Someone else with experience with them will hopefully write in.

 

[animal nut]

My Comets are aggressive to all the other birds. I believe that they would be considered the same as Red Star, redsex link.

 

[BBK]

I'm with you...we're right in the middle of making a chicken tractor for our silkies. I'm so afraid of the bigger ladies picking on my little ones. I'm not even chancing it.
Melinda

 

[NashChic]

I have (8) 12 and 16 week old pullets in the big coop. I added a tractor to quarantine the 3 silkies I got (roughly the same ages). The silkies have been quarantined longer than the prescribed 4 weeks, but I've delayed putting them in with the "big girls". One of my silkies is a confirmed roo. I let them all out to free range together the other day - heavily supervised! One of my barred rocks pecked on him. He was terrified and so was I. I haven't had the nerve to try it again yet, but I know I will need to. I love that little roo and it broke my heart when he got picked on

Right now I have the tractor right beside the big coop so hopefully they will get to know each other

The silkies will have to vacate the tractor at some point cuz I got eggs coming next week and when the chickies get old enough, they'll be taking over the tractor! If I tell DH he's gotta build another one, I'll be in the tractor too

 

[MotherMal13]

Thats what is happening to me. I let them all out to free range during the day and my 6 week old barred rocks chase them around and peck them! The silkies are a month old and much smaller then my other chicks. I had them outside in a old rabbit cage so that they saw eachother but couldnt hurt eachother. They seemed to be getting along but when i let them out they got chased and pecked. This made me feel bad so i put them back in the cage. What should i do?

 

[australorpchick]

If it helps, here's what I did.

With my first silkies (cockerel & pullet), I just tossed them together with my two Australorps. The Aussies were very sweet and took care of the pullet. The pullet's now #2 in my flock. Her nickname "The Little Tyrant" says it all.

My next two silkies were quarantined for 1 month and then tossed in with the flock. They were terrorized by the others, especially by one of the australorps. I took the two silkies and one BR and kept them together. The BR looked after the silkies and the silkies followed her like chicks, though they're about the same age. After a month, I tossed them back in with the rest of the flock with no problems. My best guess is that being with one large bird wasn't quite as overwhelming for them and she taught them to stand up for themselves.

 

[MotherMal13]

Okay maybe i will try that with one of my Golden Comets they are usually nice to the new chicks. It is just the Barred Rocks that are picking on them.