Silkie thread!

[emvickrey]

Sparrow is a great name. It suits her too. Thanks

 

[Sylvester017]

Hi! I am getting my first chicks in September; 2 buff orpingtons, 2 welsummers and 2 easter eggers. I also really want to get 2 or 3 silkies but since it's so late in the season and I live in Canada there's nowhere to get them until spring. I'm thinking of getting them in spring and Intruducing them to the flock then but I've heard it can be hard to do that with birds that are smaller and funny looking (like silkies). Do you think I could make it work? Thanks for any advice!

I periodically add a new bird to my little backyard flock - about one bird every 2 years. Ours are more pets than utility so a new juvenile bird(s) is kept in quarantine and socialized in-house. When the bird is 5 to 6 months old we introduce it slowly to outdoor foraging with a rabbit fence between it and the regular flock so all the birds get accustomed to seeing each other during the day. After a couple weeks of this we put the new pullet in a nestbox at roost with a mesh wire at the nest entrance. This is to get the old girls accustomed to seeing the newest bird inside the coop. We take the pullet out first thing in the morning to range on her side of the fence and put one of the calmer hens with her to range together. After a couple days we remove the nestbox mesh and put the new bird in the nestbox at roost when everyone is asleep. In the morning there will be some rucous as the new bird gets accustomed to the pecking order but our flock is a docile-breeds flock so there's no injuries. Anything new makes chickens suspicious and it takes a little time for all to be comfortable again. When introducing new birds it's always nice to introduce at least two new birds that grew up together so they can hang out together amidst the old flock members. Silkies and LF are not the best to keep together IMO. Out of your current egg-layers your EEs might be the nicest to your new Silkies but 6-lb large dual purpose egg-layer fowl around the 2-lb Silkies is not an even match in flock politics and Silkies can get the short end of the stick. My Silkies are not afraid to defend themselves but against 6-lb bullies they got throttled. We re-homed all our heavier egg-layers and only kept the docile smaller breeds. You decide what you want but that's just my experience so far and I no longer mix 2-lb Silkies with assertive dual purpose birds weighing over 5-lbs. If you decide to add Silkies to a dual purpose flock like yours then have 3 Silkies to add so they can toodle together. My two Silkies are not the best buddies but they do hang out together.

 

[Sylvester017]

A little update on the black pullet that I had so many to help keep her alive and get her well.

She is doing very good right now. She hasn't had to have any additional vitamins in a while. Her egg shells are perfect. She hasn't grown much and I'm sure she is done growing. Good thing I have mostly small roos. I had moved the splash hens into a bigger pen and moved the splash roo and the black pullet all into the same pen but the splash hens did not want the black pullet around so I had to move her to my special needs pen where I housed my house hen and roo this summer. They are all getting along just fine.

She needs a name. I normally name my chickens as a name suits them but none have came my way on her. As of now she will be staying here since she is so small. I'm afraid somebody may not be as careful not to put her with a roo to large or with other chickens that will peck at her. Otherwise, I'm attached to her no Anywaw.

She is so sweet. Anyway here she is when I put the splash's together with her.

As you can see, she stands alone. I caught all 3 of the hens abusing her and removed her immediately.

Anybody have a name for a sweet and cuddly little girl that survived a brain injury?

Our little Black Silkie is our most fragile and smallest hen - but she's a survivor and quite bossy today. Currently we have a quarantined single Breda pullet in-house. She's almost ready to be integrated outside. She didn't like being alone and she discovered a door mirror to sit by. We moved the mirror to a bigger room and layed it long-side on the floor. She jumps out of her kennel in the mornings to go kiss and fly at her reflection in the other room. She sleeps by her reflection. I used stuffed animals and mirrors for single chicks raised alone and never thought a larger juvenile would feel lonely until we saw her preening and kissing in front of a mirror. A mirror works wonders for a loner chicken.

 

[RubyNala97]

I have both vaulted and non vaulted. I don't breed specifically for either but not all large round crested birds have vaulted skulls. Silkies as a breed can be very disadvantaged and are , in my opinion not at all genetically designed for free ranging. It is by popular demand that many breeders are breeding them with much bigger crests. I trimmed all of my youngsters crests away from their eyes , this week and it's amazing to watch the personality changes in them. They are now, (with their newfound vision) , much braver and far more adventurous. I've come to the conclusion that whilst many people prefer the appearance of large puffy crests, they fail to link the clumsy , shy charismatic behavior with their limited vision.
Vaulted skull varies in severity, in its mildest form the thin layer of bone will harden and once the feathers grow in , it is difficult to pick them out in the flock. In its severest form the birds will suffer a cerebral hernia,(usually when they are still chicks ) and sadly , die. It's also worth noting that some of these birds will survive until they experience their first extremely hot summer, then they are at risk of cerebral hemorrhage which the first symptoms are ataxia and wryneck .

This is great information! I was wondering about trimming the fluff around their eyes. It doesn't seem to bother my pullet at all but I can tell a big difference in my cockerel since his crest came in. He used to love worms that I would feed him. But now I think he's having a hard time seeing them when I hold them between my fingers. I have to lay them on my hand flat and put them right up to his beak. He seems more reserved and skittish. I'm going to trim him up today!! Thank you for all the info!

 

[cgmaster]

3 silkies 1silkie mix (3/4 silkie, 5 toes on one foot and four on the other) and an easter egger the pure silkies all share the same mom the dark partridge one has a different dad than the two younger ones but shares a dad with the silkie mix

 

[silkiecuddles]

boys or girls? The dark one has iridescent tail feathers and a full comb. The white one has a swept back crest and maybe some streamers. They are both very timid.

 

[seminolewind]

A little update on the black pullet that I had so many to help keep her alive and get her well.

She is doing very good right now. She hasn't had to have any additional vitamins in a while. Her egg shells are perfect. She hasn't grown much and I'm sure she is done growing. Good thing I have mostly small roos. I had moved the splash hens into a bigger pen and moved the splash roo and the black pullet all into the same pen but the splash hens did not want the black pullet around so I had to move her to my special needs pen where I housed my house hen and roo this summer. They are all getting along just fine.

She needs a name. I normally name my chickens as a name suits them but none have came my way on her. As of now she will be staying here since she is so small. I'm afraid somebody may not be as careful not to put her with a roo to large or with other chickens that will peck at her. Otherwise, I'm attached to her no Anywaw.

She is so sweet. Anyway here she is when I put the splash's together with her.

As you can see, she stands alone. I caught all 3 of the hens abusing her and removed her immediately.

Anybody have a name for a sweet and cuddly little girl that survived a brain injury?

Looks like Roberta to me.

 

[Adorkable]

boys or girls? The dark one has iridescent tail feathers and a full comb. The white one has a swept back crest and maybe some streamers. They are both very timid.

The one in the back definitely looks like a cockerel to me, the one in the front I'm not too sure about. The crest of the one in the front looks kind of boyish to me. Are they the same age?

 

[silkiecuddles]

They are within a week apart. Not exactly sure. The dark one has a big mulberry/purple comb. So you're saying the white one is male?

 

[silkiecuddles]

The white one sounds girly compared to the dark one.