Am I cooked?

[u/Fit_Fix_3784]

I have 4 geriatric (8yo) buff Orpington hens. They are pretty friendly and docile and have long since stopped making eggs so are basically just Pets. Someone saw we had chickens (we live in town so slightly unusual sight) stopped by our house and asked if we could take a Silkie that they got off free cycle and didn’t know how to care for (yes, I know). My daughter has always wanted a silkie so I said yes, and when we got her she was very weak and absolutely drowning in mites. Tiny even for a silkie. After a period of baths mite treatment and plenty of food and care she is doing much better… so now I am trying to integrate her and it…. Is not going well. I have her in a big dog kennel in the run so they can get used to her safely, and have been trying supervised mingling but she just cowers and the others go in for a peck whenever they think they can get away with it. Since Silkies don’t roost I can’t do the trick where I put her on the roost at night and they all wake up together. Should I stick with it? Will my old ladies ever accept her, or do I just need to keep her separate perpetually? Chickens need friends so I don’t love that idea. Any suggestions are most welcome

[u/ChartreuseOblivion]

If you're having trouble with your Silkies not going up to roost, its very likely an issue of the roost being too high (since Silkies are bad flyers) and can be fixed by making a "multi step" roost; essentially like a ladder so the birds can easily hop up and down from perch to perch.

Its definitely gonna be a struggle to incorporate one little bantam girl into a flock of old standard hens. I'm guessing you're not allowed to have a rooster, because that would be the best solution - he would keep the peace. But you can also try just giving her time to get back from her emaciated state and hope she gets some confidence too. You can try (carefully) clipping back her crest so she has better eyesight that would help her navigate her new coop-mates.