Silkie thread!

[wornoutmomto3]

I purchased four silkie bantams today and I am overflowing with questions. The birds I got are still youngsters at approximately 2 months old. I am not planning to breed show birds(yet). So, if these birds do not meet show standards then that is okay. However, I have been doing some reading (usually a bad sign, lol). I have read that a silkie's comb is supposed to be black not red. I have also read the opposite. Which is true? The little cockerel I got has a dark maroon comb and wattles. Also silkies are to have five toes and one of the four I purchased had four toes. Another thing is the feathers. Only one of the four has the same cotton ball fluff feathers you see in all the pictures. The other three are still puff balls just a bit smoother. I know each bird is an individual, but the one who seems to meet breed standard(at the moment) is a real pain in the rear. Every time I pick her up she looks me straight in the eyes and poops on me.
Talk about a love hate relationship. It might have something to do with the fact that I gave her a bath when I brought her home. I had to give all of them a bath. They were scratching in the mud and dirt, then(in the crate) they pooped everywhere and were just filthy.

 

[Annalog]

Hi There Annalog, I'm excited to hear about your hatch! My silkie is doing just great with her two babies, who are already quite big (2 weeks old).
My experience is that the little chicks will be up and about after about day 2 - leaving mom's side more and more. I wonder, how hard would it be for you to add ramps to her nest? Possibly cardboard or wood, with slats so they can get their footing down to the ground. (And/or soften a possible tumble out of the nest?) My momma is still in her maternity ward (small coop), which we moved out of the shed and into the yard. It is about 8' off the ground. I added extra ramps for the mom and chicks to get down to the ground, and they have navigated this quite well. They forage in the yard with the rest of our flock, and at night she gets the babies into bed in the maternity ward. At first, she tried to go into her old coop with the crew, but the babies could not navigate the ledge, and we didn't build a ramp for them into the old coop. 
If you do want to move her, I would think that a few days after the hatch, that should be okay? I just would be scared to do anything until she is done sitting. Once mine was up and about (after about 2 days, I took the unhatched eggs away and she was puttering around) she was fine with me adjusting her old nest in all kinds of ways (it needed a cleaning and I relocated it within her tiny coop so the waterer could go in the back nesting box corner so sawdust wouldn't keep getting kicked in it).
Being in VA, it has been very cold at times (20 degrees F) and they seem to do fine. When it's cold, momma hunkers down and babies run under her, wherever she is (in the coop or out in the yard). Keep us posted.

But all in all, I would think that moving her down to the ground as soon as you can after the hatch is the way to go. The babies wont be able to get back to the nest if they fall out (possibly getting chilled), and the momma will be quite distressed. Could you slide something like thick paper (grocery bag stuff) under her nest and then gather up all the corners and move the whole thing all together to a new nest on the ground?

Thanks, Lilpeepers. I had to be away today but I phoned DH before heading home to see if there was anything we needed from Tucson (about an hour away). He said that an empty eggshell was on the floor of the coop but that there wasn't anything inside. I asked if there were any chicks under Arrowroot but he hadn't looked. When I got home, I heard cheeping from across the yard. Inside I found half an eggshell and a fluffy chick on the floor. The other three Silkies were in the opposite corner. I scooped up the chick, apparently a New Hampshire, and put it under Arrowroot who accepted the chick and pecked at me. I checked under her and saw a second fluffy chick, apparently mostly Barred Rock, and the third egg. DH and I added a short barricade across the front of the nest for tonight to keep the chicks in. (It was 26°F in the coop last night.) The set of three nest boxes are supported on concrete blocks. Tomorrow, when the other three Silkies are out in the pen, we will either move her, the chicks, and the nest to the floor or take out the two support blocks and lower all the nests to floor level.

I will check again before bedtime to make sure that all chicks are under Arrowroot.

ETA: All seems quiet in the coop. Two of the Silkies are already on the roost. I checked the eggshells and my markings indicate that one egg from each flock has hatched so far. The remaining egg is either NH or NH/BR mix from BC's flock.

 

[EZFarms]

what is the e mature size and weight og silkie roos and hens

 

[lilpeepers]

Thanks, Lilpeepers. I had to be away today but I phoned DH before heading home to see if there was anything we needed from Tucson (about an hour away). He said that an empty eggshell was on the floor of the coop but that there wasn't anything inside. I asked if there were any chicks under Arrowroot but he hadn't looked. When I got home, I heard cheeping from across the yard. Inside I found half an eggshell and a fluffy chick on the floor. The other three Silkies were in the opposite corner. I scooped up the chick, apparently a New Hampshire, and put it under Arrowroot who accepted the chick and pecked at me. I checked under her and saw a second fluffy chick, apparently mostly Barred Rock, and the third egg. DH and I added a short barricade across the front of the nest for tonight to keep the chicks in. (It was 26°F in the coop last night.) The set of three nest boxes are supported on concrete blocks. Tomorrow, when the other three Silkies are out in the pen, we will either move her, the chicks, and the nest to the floor or take out the two support blocks and lower all the nests to floor level.

I will check again before bedtime to make sure that all chicks are under Arrowroot.

ETA: All seems quiet in the coop. Two of the Silkies are already on the roost. I checked the eggshells and my markings indicate that one egg from each flock has hatched so far. The remaining egg is either NH or NH/BR mix from BC's flock.

Thats great news! Glad all is going well, Arrowroot must be very proud

Should be fine to move her nest to the ground tomorrow. It will be funny to see how she acts with the others. Mine did a lot of fluffing and bluffing to keep the others away, then she settled down and let them get a little closer, once they knew who was boss. I bet the chicks are adorable!

 

[lilpeepers]

Perfect babies Chickee! What amazing colors!

 

[lilpeepers]

I purchased four silkie bantams today and I am overflowing with questions. The birds I got are still youngsters at approximately 2 months old. I am not planning to breed show birds(yet). So, if these birds do not meet show standards then that is okay. However, I have been doing some reading (usually a bad sign, lol). I have read that a silkie's comb is supposed to be black not red. I have also read the opposite. Which is true? The little cockerel I got has a dark maroon comb and wattles. Also silkies are to have five toes and one of the four I purchased had four toes. Another thing is the feathers. Only one of the four has the same cotton ball fluff feathers you see in all the pictures. The other three are still puff balls just a bit smoother. I know each bird is an individual, but the one who seems to meet breed standard(at the moment) is a real pain in the rear. Every time I pick her up she looks me straight in the eyes and poops on me.
Talk about a love hate relationship. It might have something to do with the fact that I gave her a bath when I brought her home. I had to give all of them a bath. They were scratching in the mud and dirt, then(in the crate) they pooped everywhere and were just filthy.

My understanding is that the comb in a pure silkie should be a very dark reddish/black - "Mulberry" colored. And no hooks on the feathers, so none that are smooth in the sense of feathers that are held together all down the spine of the individual feather. But they can look smooth if the strands of fluff are long and shiny? I only know from reading as well, I wish I had show silkies, maybe someday. But either way, they are adorable, and get sweeter (in my experience) the older they get.

 

[chickee]

Perfect babies Chickee! What amazing colors!

Thanks

I am pretty new to Silkies and only have 2 porcelain roosters, 1 porcelain, 1 lavender and 1 white hen, so I need more girls. I have only had them for about a year and a half, hatching them from eggs purchased from Catdance Silkies. I am SO hooked on them! They are such charming characters! I love the Silkie roosters best of all the different breeds of roosters I have. They are so cuddly and their antics are hilarious!!

 

[Annalog]

Thats great news! Glad all is going well, Arrowroot must be very proud   Should be fine to move her nest to the ground tomorrow. It will be funny to see how she acts with the others. Mine did a lot of fluffing and bluffing to keep the others away, then she settled down and let them get a little closer, once they knew who was boss. I bet the chicks are adorable!

Arrowroot is the bravest of the four. The other three Silkies have become much more timid since Arrowroot became broody and was not around to be the leader. Now Tapioca, the smallest, is the first to approach something new.

I have not had a good look at the chicks as I did not want to disturb Arrowroot. So far, I just know color and that they were already fluffy and seemed alert. I just hope that the one I found on the floor did not get too chilled. Both chicks were quiet a few minutes ago when I checked at lights out (8:45 pm).

After checking the shells that had been tossed out of the nest, it appears that DH had found one complete shell and a top while I found a lower section. That means that both chicks hatched by 3:30 pm today and that the chick fell out of the nest after he fed the Silkies their evening meal. So not more than 2 hours out of the nest with a coop temperature around 50°F.

Both chicks cut neatly around the top and left complete lower sections. Sturdy shells.

 

[chickee]

Arrowroot is the bravest of the four. The other three Silkies have become much more timid since Arrowroot became broody and was not around to be the leader. Now Tapioca, the smallest, is the first to approach something new.

I have not had a good look at the chicks as I did not want to disturb Arrowroot. So far, I just know color and that they were already fluffy and seemed alert. I just hope that the one I found on the floor did not get too chilled. Both chicks were quiet a few minutes ago when I checked at lights out (8:45 pm).

After checking the shells that had been tossed out of the nest, it appears that DH had found one complete shell and a top while I found a lower section. That means that both chicks hatched by 3:30 pm today and that the chick fell out of the nest after he fed the Silkies their evening meal. So not more than 2 hours out of the nest with a coop temperature around 50°F.

Both chicks cut neatly around the top and left complete lower sections. Sturdy shells.

Looking forward to seeing them!

 

[bsilkie 2]

I'm a newby & have 2 silkies. 1 hatched 8-29-14 other 9-5-14. They show no sign of comb or wattle. They came from same breeder. They r so cute. What changes should I expect as they get older?