think_fast_chicklenuts
Chirping
- Mar 30, 2024
- 21
- 55
- 59
About a week ago, I hatched 3 silkie-frizzle hybrids! They are super adorable, and I can't wait till they can leave the brooder. Somehow I was dumb enough to never consider that these guys might be picked on for their size when they join the flock. I've introduced newbies before, put them in a tiny run separate from the others, wait a few weeks, then start letting them together occasionally (with supervision) If everything seems fine after a few more weeks, let them join each other and check frequently for bullying. But these guys are half silkie, and the smaller birds tend to get bullied by the bigger ones, sometimes to death, unless they grew up together. Though, these guys are only HALF silkie; they're also half frizzle, which I'm assuming means frizzled cochin, which is a bigger breed, so maybe they'll grow to be standard? Either way, there are lots of bushes, tall grass, and some plants idk the name of for them to hide in, and I could probably get a tiny coop for them exclusively so they can cuddle without worrying about 46 bigger chickens pecking them.
So, I'm pretty sure it'll be fine if I add them to the flock, but I was wondering if there's anything different I should do to make sure they aren't bullied. Maybe I could get a big rooster chick to raise with them so it sees the hens as his own and protects them, but this might just make it so he's the only one who can cause these problems. He'd have to be bigger than the sizzles, or this idea wouldn't work, meaning he'd mount the sizzle hens and possibly injure them, and he'd fight with the sizzle roosters and DEFINITELY injure them, and possibly kill them.
So, I'm pretty sure it'll be fine if I add them to the flock, but I was wondering if there's anything different I should do to make sure they aren't bullied. Maybe I could get a big rooster chick to raise with them so it sees the hens as his own and protects them, but this might just make it so he's the only one who can cause these problems. He'd have to be bigger than the sizzles, or this idea wouldn't work, meaning he'd mount the sizzle hens and possibly injure them, and he'd fight with the sizzle roosters and DEFINITELY injure them, and possibly kill them.
