Hi from south africa

saddlebredgirl

In the Brooder
May 10, 2016
28
2
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Hi everyone. Im new here still trying to post photos via the mobile site but struggeling alot. We recently got 2 silkies not sure of their gender or age or if they are purebreed. Will post photos as soon as i figure out how. Im from south africa. We have had normal chickens before but never silkies. Do silkies prefer different food?
 
Hello
frow.gif
and Welcome to BYC!

Please make yourself at home! Nope I believe Silkies eat the same kind of food as other breeds.
 
Thanks for the welcome. Oh and im 32years old. I have loads of questions will be posting them in the other threads soon.
 
Thanks for the welcome. Oh and im 32years old. I have loads of questions will be posting them in the other threads.
 
Thanks for the welcome. Oh and im 32years old. I have loads of questions will be posting them in the other threads.
 
Welcome to Backyard chickens. In US we have bantam sized Silkies. I think in other countries they are larger birds. Care for silkies is pretty much the same as other breeds BUT,
with their big crests and beards their vision is obscured. This makes them easy targets for predators. Also silkies don't fly but, they can jump pretty high. Still can't escape from preds. Other breeds tend to peck & bully them because they don't look like regular chickens - same thing applies to Polish breed.

If they grow up with other breeds I think that is not as much a problem. I don't think they can handle extremes in temps. like heat. Silkies are not the best layers BUT, they are considered one of the best broodies. Hatchery birds generally have that bred out of them because going broody means they will stop laying for a few weeks. Breeder stock carries the broody traits.

White silkies stand out to predators (except in snow) so I would imagine the partridge and darker colors have some camouflage benefits. You may want to explore the several dedicated silkie threads, mainly divided by color: Buff silkies, Nothing but Partridge silkies, ,Paint silkies and my favorite simply "Silkie thread. You can find any by putting the name in the search box and it will pop up.

There is also another variety of silkie called "Showgirls," they come in silkies colors, same type feathers, also tend to be very broody and docile. They are more exotic looking- people either love or hate them. They have totally naked necks or the bow tie type has a puff of feather midway down the throat - which I think is cuter.

PS if you don't show them you can cut back the beards and crests so they can see much better - though they still don't have the defenses to escape predators.
 
Hi everyone. Thanks for the warm welcome. And thanks for the info on silkies i will go take a look. As you can see mine are white but i have to learn how to identify the gender. Also i think mine are crossed as one has a white skin and their eyes arnt completely covered in feather. People have comented that mine look like 2 pullets. Would it be a good idea to get a cockrel if they are pullets?
 

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