I have 12 babies that are 8 weeks old, and 5 of them are starting to develope beards. 7 of them do not appear to have beards. I only have 1 hen out of 6 that is not bearded, and my Roo is beared. Should I give these babies more time, or is it safe to say that these will not be bearded? I need to...
I have a 6 month old silkie Roo, he just started to crow, and is starting to mate. Yesterday, when one of my sitting silkie hens left her eggs to have a snack, my Roo sat on her eggs while she took a break. When she returned, without any exchange of conversation, he stepped out, she went back to...
The flies are really bad here. It has been very hot(107, for a week now) I have a mister on in front of the coop from 11am-7pm, it is the only way I can keep the flock cool. Unfortunatly, the DE I use, which works very well normally, does not work right now with the mister going.
Will the...
I have silkies eggs, from my own healthy flock.
I incubate clean(free of poop)eggs at 101-102 in a clean(cleaned with bleach and water) still air, dry incubator(no water) with an automatic egg turner. I wash my hands before and after handling eggs with anti-bacterial soap.
I candle at 7 days...
Do chickens all molt at the same time every year?
How many times per year do they molt?
Does it vary by breed, age, weather?
How long does a molt last?
How do you tell the difference between a molt, a over bred hen or a hen being picked on?
I found an egg today, outside the nest box, very small, (even for a silkie) odd shaped and a chaulky type shell. I have two silkie pullets, 6 months old. They are not breeding yet, could this be an egg from one of them? When do they start to breed?
This is my second hatch with a LG still air manuel turn incubator. First hatch had no problems, chicks are doing well. I am using eggs from my own silkie flock, 5 blood lines, all three roosters not related to hens. My hens have hatched and raised many healthy chicks(8 this season). I chose to...
With BYC forum members help, and some research, I have determined my flock has a Respiratory Infection. Which one, I am not sure of, but treatment of the infected recommended is the same for any, Culling. It started when I purchased 5 mature silkie hens, and now all but one has had to be...
I had 13 baby chicks, ranging from 1 to 3 weeks old, in a plastic swimming pool, located inside my laundry room. The room stays about 70, and I have a brooder lamp with a 100 watt bulb pointed down on one side of pool. It got down to about 40 here last night, which is not normal here in Texas...
I just purchased 5 mature hens. One hen I noticied after about 2 weeks, had one eye closed. She is eating and drinking, and active. She has no drainage from the eye or beak. I thought she may have injured her eye somehow. Now, another of the hens has the same thing, in one eye. Also, one of my...
I have 7 silkie hens, and they all went broody at once! This has not only upset the boys, but I have been collecting eggs to incubate, and I am lucky to get 1-2 eggs per day, sometimes none at all. When a hen is broody, and you continue to take her eggs away, will she stop laying eggs all...
I just received my hatching eggs via USPS. I have read the hatch rates can be lower due to handling in the mail. Can anyone give me advise to make my hatch rates better? I am using a still air little giant incubator, and turning the eggs myself. I have had a very good rate of hatch, no hatching...
I just ordered my first set of hatching eggs, 5 plus some extra's if available(these are rare silkie colors I do not have). Now, I know the odds are lower with shipped eggs, due to handling, and since I do not have many of these eggs to begin with, I am wondering if I take my chances with the...
I feel like this should go under"Chicken Care" but I could not find an index for this-only for baby chicks. Thank you all in advance for your advice!
I have raised silkies as pets, for 5 years now. I recently saw an ad, someone selling silkie's, 1-2 years old. I was in want of some mature...
I have raised Silkies for 5 years now. Started off as pets and fresh eggs. Then I let my hens hatch a few eggs on their own. Now, I bought my first starter incubator, a LG still air, manuel egg turning. I did my research, most from this forum.
I placed a modest batch of 17 eggs into the...