Want to add on to my existing flock

[qdog]

Have 14 Buff Orpington pullets and interested in getting Silkies, would they get along? My BOs are very calm and friendly, always come to me when I walk outside. I have a large coop and my chickens free range. Looking for your advice on this. Thanks

 

[MegsEggsx]

I adore Silkies and I recommend them to anyone. They should be ok just get at least 3 so they have friends if they don’t get along with the BOs. In my experience Silkies always seem to be at the bottom of the pecking order but that’s ok.

 

[warmth]

You may want to be a little bit careful free-ranging silkies, I heard they tend to be bad at noticing ground predators. But, with your BOs, they should be fine as long as one alerts the entire flock to a threat.

 

[Aapomp831]

As long as you integrate them properly using the see but can’t touch method for the first few days / weeks (however long it takes), they should be fine. If you just let everyone mingle all at once, they will fight. With chickens, it’s all about resources- they don’t care the breed they just care there’s more chickens eating their food. Silkies are however much smaller than BOs so they will be easily bullied. You’ll want to have multiple feeding / watering stations set up so they can’t starve each other out.

 

[qdog]

I will raise them until almost completely done growing so that they are bigger until integrating and I’ll take it easy with them, I’m not just gonna throw them into the coop with the BOs. I will keep a close eye on them when free ranging. Just let me know if anything I’m thinking is wrong.

 

[adstowe]

As long as you take the integration slow they SHOULD be fine with orpingtons, but free ranging silkies is concerning. I dont know your situation, predator load etc. "Free range" can mean wandering the backyard to some or as in my case spending all day loose on my 40 acres. Keep in mind that silkies are easy prey for pretty much any meat eater. You could realistically lose one to your own cat. They just aren't well suited to free range. I'm not saying it can't work, but know the risks are higher than with other, more suited breeds.

 

[aart]

I have a large coop

How big is that in feet by feet?
Dimensions and pics would help immensely here.

I will raise them until almost completely done growing so that they are bigger until integrating

It's actually easier to integrate chicks when young.
Here's 3 set ups that have worked great:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old.72603/

 

[qdog]

My coop is 7’x12’ and about 6’ tall

 

[qdog]

And all my buffs are full grown, and adding small bantams when young seems like a risky move. Wouldn’t they get picked on by the BOs?

 

[qdog]

As long as you take the integration slow they SHOULD be fine with orpingtons, but free ranging silkies is concerning. I dont know your situation, predator load etc. "Free range" can mean wandering the backyard to some or as in my case spending all day loose on my 40 acres. Keep in mind that silkies are easy prey for pretty much any meat eater. You could realistically lose one to your own cat. They just aren't well suited to free range. I'm not saying it can't work, but know the risks are higher than with other, more suited breeds.

I think I decided on building another coop and having an enclosed run for the silkies and keeping the BOs in their coop. I then don’t need to be concerned about predators, free ranging, integrating, and everything else