crankycookie Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 is here and all set up ready to go, with 2 coming mid next week- I'm quite excited. I did have a question, I've been really wanted a white silkie as well, and I'm wondering if it would be alright if I got a solitary one this weekend and had her in the Eglu alone for a couple days before I got my GNRs. Would she get terribly picked on if she were the established hen (by a whole 3 days) and the 2 new hens were the intros? There's a darling silkie I saw at the feed store last week, but I'm tempted to rescue one from the live poultry market in Chinatown instead. I'm worried that birds raised as meat may not be treated very well or especially healthy. I'm also concerned that as a newbie chicken owner I may not be able to tell the difference between a silkie roo and a hen. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 As a beginner, I'd stick to your original plan tbh. You may well find that they bring disease to the flock if they come from uncertain sources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeckyBoo Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Well, on the one hand I think a couple of days on her own should still be fine as they will all still be fairly new to each other. BUT I don't know how easy it is to tell a cock from a hen in silkies, if it's not going cock-a-doodle-doo it might be a bit tricky. AND you'd have to make sure all the hens were roughly the same age, as a very old silkie and two youngsters or a young silkie and two more mature and bigger hens might fight quite badly. Plus there's the disease thing as Egluntine mentioned. To be honest, if you've got your heart set on a silkie, much as it's a really nice thing to do to rescue one that's bred for meat, you might be better off getting one from a breeder so you know how old it is, what sex it is (and have some come-back if it turns out to be a "he) and you know what conditions it's been raised in ie; vaccines etc. They are very silly looking birds - I inherited one and the children loved her! Good luck whatever you decide to do but whatever that is, don't get too carried away. I started with five and NOW look - it's addictive!! Check out everyones signatures, nearly everyone has ended up with FAR more than they started off with BeckyBoo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
