I bought 2 silkie chicks and I've been warned not to try to house them with my 3 standard size hens in the "big girl house". I'm not opposed to having a bantam coop for 2-3 silkies. But my question is square footage- Can we reasonably do 2-3 sq ft per silkie in the coop with 4-5 sq ft per silkie in the run? We do allow supervised free ranging outside of the run but realistically it won't be more than 2-3 hours a week until we can fence in our yard which won't be until next year. My original plan was to incorporate them into our other coop but I don't want my big gals to hurt them. We are planning to add 2-3 hens to the main coop next year and I still wonder about trying to incorporate them when we introduce the others in order to minimize the potential level of attention they would receive if introduced alone. Either way, they'll need their own coop for at least the next 6-8 months.... Thoughts?
In my opinion, the smaller silkies would do fine in smaller area. When they grow to be full size, you still will have some issues when introducing them to your standard hens. Remember that outsiders come in at the bottom of the pecking order. Once the large girls know there is no problem loosing their high status, they may not really bother the silkies and coexist well. Try to have a run diverse with hiding areas available so the lower ones have a place to hide. I only keep chickens as pets and of different size and breed. Eventually ALL get along. WISHING YOU BEST
