Silkie chickens - Bantams in general

[littlechickenmama17]

I had gotten my first batch of 4 Silkie chickens about 10 weeks now, and I gotta say, I thought some people said that bantams are smaller than regular chickens but man, they are small! They still look like they are 5 weeks old in regular chicken size! They have even been through one batch of chicks that moved out to the coop! They are still pretty small, and since our chickens free range, I'm worried they would get eaten up fast, since they are pretty small. I also didn't know if the date for standard sized chickens to be let out (6 weeks min.) applies to Silkies. I would really like to use these guys for breeding stock, so I don't want them eaten or killed in the first week (I also really love em') When can I let them free? Should I wait a bit longer? They are at least a hand high in height. Thank you!

 

[JaeG]

We have tiny bantam chicks free ranging with their mothers in our flock, but then they have the protection and watchfulness of the hens and roosters and there are very few predators to worry about in my country.

What predators are you worried about because that will affect when, or even if, you can let them free range. It might be safest to keep them in a secure run where you can ensure their safety if you want to use them for breeding.

At 6 weeks they should be well feathered enough to keep themselves warm so they are fine to go out at that age.