where to put baby silkies

[wanttobefarmer]

I have 14 adult chickens and i just bought 3 babies, 2 of wich are bantam silkies. The babies are currently in the brooder in my bathroom, but they are 3 weeks old and in Texas the temp never falls below 80 in the summer. I want to get them out of the bathroom, so how old do they need to be to mix them in with the adult chickens? Do i need to biuld a small outdoor coop for them until they are a certain age?

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

If your temps are warm they should be able to be outside now. You want to be careful mixing babies with adults. Personally, i wait until chicks have grown to about the same size as the adults. At that point i put them in a cage inside the pen of the older ones for several days to a week, so they will get used to each other, before fully integrating them. You want to be extra careful with silkies, as they could be easily killed by a peck on the head from an older larger bird.

You may want to build a small secure coop for them so they can be outside during the day. Or maybe put them in a rabbit hutch inside the pen of the older chickens. i have a small group of chicks that i'm keeping in a flight cage. i put their cage inside one of my chicken pens during the day, then move the cage into our shed at night for protection.

 

[Chickenmaven]

I 2nd Colleen's thoughts. Try a dog crate, if you have one. Place it in a corner. You can move it into your run or next to the run (temperature permitting).