Solitary Silkie

[dremara]

Bought 4 bantam chicks in march but three didn’t make it. We couldn’t find more then bc of pandemic so I ended up spending a lot of time with her because she was alone. Anyway she’s about 5 months now and we have 4 1 month old RI reds we got in june (who are very eager to stand up for themselves to even the biggest chicken lol). I also have two adult hens (wyandotte and black star) well established and quite mean to the small silkie when trying to assert dominance and she (silkie) doesn’t really do anything about it. It’s caused me to feel bad for her so I bring her in the house at night. She spends a lot of time walking freely in the house and seems relatively content staying by herself even when outside. Is this a problem? Any tips for socializing her?Thanks! (This is my first post so sorry if I’m missing something)

 

[JaeG]

Welcome to BYC.

Silkies really do do best in an all Silkie flock, or with other docile bantams. Rhode Island Reds are especially aggressive birds and any large breed is going to boss around a small, docile bird like a Silkie. It would be best to find her some bantam friends when you can and raise them alongside her (she may even adopt them once she's used to them) so she feels part of their flock, and keep the bantam flock separate from your large breeds.

 

[dremara]

Welcome to BYC.

Silkies really do do best in an all Silkie flock, or with other docile bantams. Rhode Island Reds are especially aggressive birds and any large breed is going to boss around a small, docile bird like a Silkie. It would be best to find her some bantam friends when you can and raise them alongside her (she may even adopt them once she's used to them) so she feels part of their flock, and keep the bantam flock separate from your large breeds.

Thank you! I’ll take a look around for a friend.