Aloha From Kauai!

[Jessgitalong]

An adult silkie will kill them at that age if you just put them in there. She'll never let them by the food/water either. They can be as hostile as any other breed of chicken. The only way is if you set it up like mentioned above, where they have an escape and their own food/water. If it's a large enough area, you could put clutter in there like leaning pallets, wooden boxes on their side, etc.

I had no idea of the typical temperament of a silkie. I’ve only known ours who must be gentler than the typical hens of her breed.

We have a sliding door to seal off a nursery area in the coop we used when we were dealing with a predatory rat and needed a quick fix. We can use that to separate until we can verify there isn’t any threat, either way.

Looks like we won’t end up with as many chicks as we hoped, either. The eggs sat a little too long in tropical temps before incubating , I think. My guess is 4-5.

 

[Debbie292d]

I had no idea of the typical temperament of a silkie. I’ve only known ours who must be gentler than the typical hens of her breed.

We have a door to seal off a nursery area in the coop we used when we were dealing with a predatory rat and needed a quick fix. We can use that to separate until we can verify there isn’t any threat, either way.

Looks like we won’t end up with as many chicks as we hoped, either. The eggs sat a little too long in tropical temps before incubating , I think. My guess is 4-5.

Awe, so sorry! Hoping the rest hatch for you though.

Oh, don't get me wrong though. Silkies are a gentle sweet breed. It's just that I've seen how mean they can be, like any other chicken, when a littler one is around. Some will ignore them but some, for whatever reason, have to ensure that the little ones know they're the boss. I've had a couple of hens tenacious about the young ones when we've tried to integrate too soon. There are five about 8 months old that still sleep on the floor as they're afraid to go up the ramp to where the "mean old hens" are. I'm going to go out there some night and put them all up there, in the dark, and hope they stick up for themselves come morning.

 

[Jessgitalong]

Awe, so sorry! Hoping the rest hatch for you though.

Oh, don't get me wrong though. Silkies are a gentle sweet breed. It's just that I've seen how mean they can be, like any other chicken, when a littler one is around. Some will ignore them but some, for whatever reason, have to ensure that the little ones know they're the boss. I've had a couple of hens tenacious about the young ones when we've tried to integrate too soon. There are five about 8 months old that still sleep on the floor as they're afraid to go up the ramp to where the "mean old hens" are. I'm going to go out there some night and put them all up there, in the dark, and hope they stick up for themselves come morning.

Always good to prepare for the possibility you mention. Just didn’t occur to me, since I’m used to worrying about her safety!

Good luck with your attempt. Hope you can make some headway with getting the flock to integrate more.

 

[chrissynemetz]

Welcome to BYC! It's nice to meet you! Please make yourself at home here!

 

[Jener8or]

Hi! I hope the hatchlings are doing well!

I went to intermediate and high school on Kauai and did a couple years at KCC. My dad and step-mom are still there.

Fun to hear about your chickens! I hope this site is a great resource for you and them!

Thanks for joining and welcome to BackYard Chickens!