What do yall think?

[domromer]

Go for it. The worst thing that can happen is you need to rehome the bantie. Or make another tractor and keep them. Either way it's worth the risk. I bet she would like someone warm to cuddle with.

 

[mdbucks]

Quote:
Does Danny know this he thinks your makng soap and instead your watching chickens all day, you better get busy Christmas is coming.

 

[Southern28Chick]

Quote:
Does Danny know this he thinks your makng soap and instead your watching chickens all day, you better get busy Christmas is coming.

Luckily there's many steps to making soap and a lot of breaks in between the steps. Speaking of Christmas, I have 2 8lb soap molds so I can make 50 bars at a time. I'm going to have to buy 2 more molds to keep up with orders.

 

[nccountrygirl]

Whoopeeeee

 

[chickflick]

My two silkies roost with the others, at the highest roost that's 5 ft off the ground. I have one roost at 3ft, one at 4ft and the other is 5 ft. I have a ladder that gets them up to the first one and they hop on up to snuggle with the big girls. That is when they're not broody! And that's pretty often. Next spring I think I'll let each of them hatch a couple.
But, I would just get one so it will buddy up with Tiny. Good Luck.

 

[AtRendeAcres]

I didn't read all the post but, I think 2 baby polish would be good!

with other chickens they usually get bullied (they are shy because they can't see because of there crested feathers)

I am getting an order next week from ideal, so they have both silkies & polish and they do small orders (just spend $20)

 

[robin416]

Silkies and pecking.

Yes, Silkies can be as territorial as any other bird. Plopping a brand new bird in to an established coop will make the life hell for the new bird. If the bird has no other unknown health issues the bird will not peck because Tiny is blind. I've had a blind bird, it was never pecked for any reason other than normal chicken stuff.

Get the one young bird, place it in the cage or pen (whatever your setup is) with a divider so that they can see each other. After a day remove the barrier and just keep an eye on them.

For Silkie sexing, it can be very difficult even up to a year old to be certain about the sex. Look for streamers coming off the back of the head and feathers that are more defined in the tail. That still is not a guarantee because I have a 4 month old with the streamers and no defined feathers in the tail.

Silkies may or may not roost. It appears to be what the majority of the flock does. If most roost then those that didn't have that strong of a drive to roost will or they'll just hunker down near by.

Right now I have about 60 of them with one bantam Cochin pullet. They all interact, including the Guinea keets that are in with them until they're older. They do form clicks. You will find the same group together but are still part of the whole.

 

[Southern28Chick]

Yes, Silkies can be as territorial as any other bird. Plopping a brand new bird in to an established coop will make the life hell for the new bird. If the bird has no other unknown health issues the bird will not peck because Tiny is blind. I've had a blind bird, it was never pecked for any reason other than normal chicken stuff.

Get the one young bird, place it in the cage or pen (whatever your setup is) with a divider so that they can see each other. After a day remove the barrier and just keep an eye on them.

When I get the new silkie she will be quarinted (I know that's not spelled right) then after I'm sure she is healthy I will put her in Tiny's house and run. I'm not going to just throw her into the yard with the other chickens. I keep Tiny separated because she was being pecked so much and so hard that they were drawing blood from her. It might have been over normal chicken stuff but she's blind and it's my responsiblity to protect her. Tiny was being pecked so much she was contantly being run out of the hosue into the blazing sun and couldn't find food and water. Tiny is very happy in her new house and she always has food and water whenever she needs it with no bullies there to run her off. I'm getting the new silkie because she will need a nice friend for cold nights to cuddle with.

I don't see a need in keeping the new bird in a cage because Tiny can't see her anyway and the other birds don't have access to Tiny's house and run. If the new silkie becomes agressive towards Tiny then I will put her in a cage in the big chicken yard until the others get used to her and then she can live with the other chickens and Tiny will just go on living by herself.​

 

[chickbea]

When my Dorothy's last remaining flock mate died and she was left all alone, I didn't want to try to integrate her into another flock either, so I had her go broody, put 5 fertilized eggs under her, and she hatched out a little family! The babies are about 8 months old and they still get along great. I was very lucky, however, in that she only had one little boy.

 

[robin416]

That comment about putting a new bird in the flock getting pecked was directed toward someone saying they had gotten a new bird and just put it in with the flock. Not a good move most of the time.

I think Tiny will do fine with a buddy and you might get lucky and have them bond instantly. If the other bird pecks her I wouldn't remove it permanently, I would use the divider until they get to know each other without being able to touch. They can be just like dogs, they have to establish a hierarchy but once that's done they can co-exist just fine.

I have a friend who had a blind bird for quite a while. The bird was bonded with one other completely normal bird. The sighted bird talked almost constantly and the blind bird would follow her voice. My friend never had to be concerned about her blind bird finding food and water because of the bond between those two.

It is certainly awful to watch one being tormented by the flock. I had one chick that most of the flock frammed on even though the chick had always been present. I moved it in to a pen with chicks that were nearly a month older, they accepted it without any trouble.

All we can do is try different things and find the combo that works best. You could end up surprised to find that one of the birds you had tried once before will suddenly find Tiny the most fascinating thing in the world and stay glued to her side.