Silkie thread!

[Iluveggers]

Hi everyone! Is it possible to keep 2 Silkie chicks with a small flock of standard sized hens/pullets, if the chicks are raised together? I just love those little fluffs!

 

[Aria]

Hi everyone! Is it possible to keep 2 Silkie chicks with a small flock of standard sized hens/pullets, if the chicks are raised together? I just love those little fluffs!

I WOULD not put any small chicks with Sandard older chickens. Strangers.
Once the small chicks are adults....they should be. fine. We had Silkies for
years. We found the only difference...Ours were not good layers...less eggs.
super beautiful soft loveable. Have fun

 

[Iluveggers]

I WOULD not put any small chicks with Sandard older chickens. Strangers.
Once the small chicks are adults....they should be. fine. We had Silkies for
years. We found the only difference...Ours were not good layers...less eggs.
super beautiful soft loveable. Have fun

I have standard size chicks (5) that I will be getting in June…would love to brood a couple of silkies with them (indoors). They would move out to the coop at around 6 weeks in a look-no-touch setup, and gradually introduced until they were ok with each other. I was more worried that they couldn’t coexist as adults! I have a very docile adult group (Faverolles, Brahma, Orpington, Sussex, Marans, Easter Egger). I would definitely keep 2-3 silkies so they have a buddy or two…sounds like they should be ok! Now on the hunt to add some silkies to my chicks when they get here!

 

[Aria]

I have standard size chicks (5) that I will be getting in June…would love to brood a couple of silkies with them (indoors). They would move out to the coop at around 6 weeks in a look-no-touch setup, and gradually introduced until they were ok with each other. I was more worried that they couldn’t coexist as adults! I have a very docile adult group (Faverolles, Brahma, Orpington, Sussex, Marans, Easter Egger). I would definitely keep 2-3 silkies so they have a buddy or two…sounds like they should be ok! Now on the hunt to add some silkies to my chicks when they get here!

Since your adult group are docile...there should be no problem. Just too young
and adults usually are not best. You. will LOVE YOUR SILKIES.

 

[Iluveggers]

Since your adult group are docile...there should be no problem. Just too young
and adults usually are not best. You. will LOVE YOUR SILKIES.

I think so too! We love all of our chickens, but especially love when they come near for pets and to sit on our laps. Silkies seem like the next logical step!

 

[Aria]

I think so too! We love all of our chickens, but especially love when they come near for pets and to sit on our laps. Silkies seem like the next logical step!

I. am not a computer Guru...I have tons of photos of our Silkies. I do not know
how to bring them out of My photos to BYC? I have a new I Mac. Just learning
to navigate.

 

[Iluveggers]

I. am not a computer Guru...I have tons of photos of our Silkies. I do not know
how to bring them out of My photos to BYC? I have a new I Mac. Just learning
to navigate.

If you use the phone app I can explain, but I’ve never used BYC on a computer! Would love to see pics if you figure it out!

 

[Aria]

If you use the phone app I can explain, but I’ve never used BYC on a computer! Would love to see pics if you figure it out!

Talk about computers....Got up this morning and my HP printer is on. Have
not brinter in a while. What is goin on??? It is wireless. Trying to turn it off.
Always Fun. ha ha

 

[Sylvester017]

Hi everyone! Is it possible to keep 2 Silkie chicks with a small flock of standard sized hens/pullets, if the chicks are raised together? I just love those little fluffs!

Aren't Silkies the MOST adorable breed EVER!!!? As long as you can put up with their broodiness. I've had backyard Silkies for 12 years now. I've intermingled them with standard sized hens over the years. But at the beginning of having Silkies I found some standard sized breeds were not suitable to keep with our Silkies. Prolific egg-layer breeds seemed the most aggressive towards my Silkies -- like Leghorns, Marans, RIRs, etc.

The more docile breeds like Ameraucana (not Easter Eggers), Blue Breda, Dominique, etc were less aggressive toward our Silkies -- however, because of size differences even docile standard hens can be bullies toward Silkies. Silkies tend to stick together and stay out of the way of standard size hens so the more Silkies there are in a mxed flock of bantams/standard hens the better it will be for the Silkies staying in their own group.

I had 3 Silkies last year and one standard size Dominique hen but we lost our oldest Silkie hen last year (she was 11 yrs old!!)

So now I'm down to one old Dominique and 2 younger Silkies.

We're lucky that our Dominique is mellow but an owner can never guarantee how adult hens will behave toward each other. Years ago we had one Silkie hen that dominated 3 Dominique pullets and until the day the old Silkie died, the Dominiques submitted to her and protected her from being bullied by another aggressive hen.

I've cycled through 22 backyard chickens in 12 yrs and our favorite is still Silkies -- sweet, gentle, cute, easy to tame, and the egg yolks in their little eggs are just as big as standard egg yolks. There's just less egg white in Silkie eggs but the yolks are good sized. Our Dominique lays eggs the same size as Silkie eggs so don't think Silkie eggs are inferior!

As for chicken smarts -- it varies with Silkies as it does in any other chicken breed. I've had dumb hens as well as smart ones in all the chicken breeds we've owned. As a result we've many times needed to rehome standard sized hens that did not get along with the flock. We've NEVER had to rehome a Silkie because they're too timid to be troublemakers.

Only experience with your own group of breeds can give you the wisdom to know how to mingle your backyard or farmyard flock. One thing I can attest to is that it seems alike breeds stick together -- Leghorns with Leghorns, Silkies with Silkies, Breda with Breda, Dominiques with Dominiques, etc.

Keep us posted on how your experiences progress

 

[Hinotori]

6 weeks. Can tell sex on most of them now. This little girl will probably have a big crest with how it's feathering in.