What does it mean when

[Crystalchic]

I just had a pair of silkies shipped to me from Utah to Ca. I put them in the pen with my hens. The silkie rootser is always standing in the corner. Does that mean that he is home sick, or did the hens make him stand in the corner, or what?

 

[SoJoChickens]

Probably a pecking order thing. It will likely change some with time. He should be fine as long as he is getting food and water.

 

[Crystalchic]

Probably a pecking order thing. It will likely change some with time. He should be fine as long as he is getting food and water.
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I thought that the roosters were in charge of the hens. I didn't know that hens can over rule a rooster

 

[Crystalchic]

My hens sent the rooster to the corner, and he is obeying them. It just goes to show who wears the pants after all

 

[briteday]

Be sure the bird can walk forward, vs. backwards only. If you put him on the floor in an open area and he only walks backwards he could have gotten a head bump in transport and may have a brain injury. Look up Alan Stanford on the internet and you will find lots of info about silkies, including what to do for head bumps.

 

[Crystalchic]

Thank you, he can walk forward. I promise you it looks like the hens punished him. He is eating and drinking and then he tries to interact, then he ends up back in the corner.

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

here is Alans site

Alan Stanfords excellent article base at his site BROWN EGG BLUE EGG:
http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article.html

also go to the web site he has


[email protected]

very good silkie board

silkie rooster are not as agressive as other breeds of roosers
some of your older hens has said they are here first and the silkies are last

I would have isolated them for 10 days t see if they have any diseases from where they came from
before intigrating themintothe flock

 

[cyanne]

I am going to second the quarantine advice. There are plenty of people on this board with horror stories about what happens when you introduce new chickens into your flock without quarantine. Some people have lost their entire flock this way.

It doesn't matter where they come from, even if you think it is a trustworthy breeder. Anyone's birds can have a disease and the stress of transport can often trigger an outbreak that could then be passed along to your own birds.

I personally bought a pair of young birds at a BYC get-to-gether from a reputable breeder and ended up nursing them through a horrible case of CRD which killed one of them. Other birds from this batch ended up with other BYC members who lost not only the birds in question but some of their own flocks as well. Thankfully in my case I had kept these newcomers separate from my flock and was able to minimize the effects but it could have been much, much worse.

Okay, down off the quarantine soapbox now....

Sounds like maybe the newcomer is being bullied a bit and is hiding out in the corner for safety.

If you are introducing new birds, it is a great idea to find a way to put them in the coop with your other birds in a way that allows them to see each other without touching. I like to use a wire dog crate for big dogs for this purpose. I put the new chicken in there with food and water for at least a couple of weeks before letting it go. This seems to give them all a chance to get used to the stranger without letting anybody get murdered.

If that doesn't work, I have read a few other ways to help smooth the introduction on here like hanging a treat from the ceiling of the coop for distraction, though I've never had to try it since I've never had any issues with the dog crate method.

 

[Crystalchic]

I got the silkies from eggbid, and they are from a great breeder. The rooster is doing a little better, I usually do quarantine, but this pair looks so healthy