Silkies and Leghorns.............

[Padre]

Hey Guys, I tried to do a search on the subject of having Silkies and Leghorns together, but I did not get the info I was looking for. Please excuse the noobie questions.

I got my first order from MMcM this past Mon. and the little ones are doing well. I got 25 PWL pullets and 3 roos. I had planned on this being the extent of my flock except for ordering some Cornish X Rock this spring for meat birds.

Now that I have had the chicks for a few days I am starting to catch the "Flock Fever" and I am thinking of ordering a variety of Silkies, Blue, Buff and white ones. I am looking at the Silkies because they are great Mothers for hatching chicks of their own, but also from others. I know that if I get them from MMcM I have to buy 25 as a minimum so I was thinking of Seven Pullets and one Roo of each. I know thats only 24, so I will get one more PWL to round out the order.

What I want to know is.......

1. Can I keep them all together, or do I need a seperate run for the Silkies? I am new to all of thgis so I wonder about mateing and such.

2. If I want to raise some Silkies could I just separate say the Blues for a couple of weeks, so as to ensure Blue chicks?

3. Can the breeds co-exist together without the bigger Leghorns "picking" on the little Silkies.

Any help and advice will be welcomed. I was afraid this would happen.................

Chris

 

[chickenbottom]

that seems like alot of roos if your gonna keep them together it seems like a whole lot of em thats all i can give ya good luck

 

[Mahonri]

5 roos, 50 hens... decent fertility.... CHAOS? 4 roos for 50? Seperate breeding pens?? Seems like a LOT of silkies.

BTW... we had a light brahma when I was a kid that was a great hatcher/mother... from what I've read on here, as good as any silkie and the meat of the young roos were great.

 

[danischi24]

Your rooster hen ratio is just fine. I havn't had a problem keeping hatchery type silkies & leghorns together but silkies with big crests from breeders often have a problem because they can't see to get away from pecks. You can just separate a color for a bit if you want to breed pures but beware that semen can last in the hens for a month so keep them separate for that long & then take eggs for incubation.

 

[Mahonri]

danis,

Good luck w/ the elections. We are praying for you.

 

[chickenbottom]

counted wrong lol i thought it was 24 roos lol my bad

 

[dixie chicken]

My first chickens were buff bantam silkies. I wanted birds, wanted them now and, believe it or not, the only chickens I could find at that time were silkies. I love them and they make me giggle unlike any of my other chickens. They look like muppets to me.

Anyway, I have had silkies mixed in with other large breeds but they were running free range. It always scared me when the larger roosters were mating with my little fluff ball silkies. My meanest rooster is a silkie roo. So, I have my silkies separated.

Careful, chickens are addictive. In the beginning I only wanted one coop with a few hens and roo. I now have five coop tractors and a bunch of free ranging game chickens. I am devising a way to talk hubbie into building another tractor for buff orps. Tee hee hee.