Processing Day Support Group ~ HELP us through the Emotions PLEASE!
- Thread starter Sally Sunshine
- Start date
Muscovies are my easiest bird by far!! THey go to the stream for water, stand in it all day. dipple in the leaves at the bottom, go to the turkey and chicken feeders for grain, fly up to the high roosts, and fly around the farm, and are the last to put themselves to bed in a coop.I've never had a breed that I considered a "good" broody...my WR was a great mother, but not a great broody. Cochins are very pretty and they say they are great at it, but not great at foraging and free range survival, so that doesn't fit into my flock needs. Game hens are supposed to be good at it, but how many eggs can they cover? Can't stand BOs, so they aren't on my good list either. To date, the best broody I've had was a BA, but they aren't known for the trait.
Muscovy ducks...that's my conclusion.
Other than an extra trip outside to close the coop doors well after dark- muscovy are easy.
Quote: I am so glad I am not the only ones skipping over the silkies and showgirls!!
Bee, p lenty of folks might want that cutie for thier flock if they have kids to think of . . . . if you are willing to give him a pass for dinner.
- Apr 19, 2013
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Ah, don't be so hard on feather-footed breeds. When the feathers are growing in on their feet, the blood feathers are quite sensitive and painful. Their feathers make it harder for them to scratch when they forage--not impossible, but they can't be as strong a digger, which translates to not doing as much damage to your lawn and garden. My little pet-quality Silkies are great little foragers in my yard, as are the Cochins. What you view as a flaw, most other backyard chicken keepers view as a positive.
Lots of breeds have not had survival instincts selected for because they have been raised in pens and protected from predators. That means stupid chickens are not picked off by predators and are allowed to contribute to the genetic pool creating more stupid birds. I have a little Polish who will stand on alert in the middle of my back yard, craning her head looking for the hawk when an alarm call is sounded. (Yes, her top knot is tied up so she can see.) She is hawk dinner waiting to happen. My Ameraucanas on the other hand race to a fence line when an alarm goes up. Unfortunately, she is with my backyard flock and not with the Ameraucana flock. I did move two Polish to the Ameraucana flock, and the rooster taught them very quickly to move when there is an alarm call. (I could move her but she is my son's bird and he wants her in the back yard.)
Quote:
I am on the Silkie fence.... I have a poor quality hatchery silkie (maybe even a mix?) who is the most awesome little mama hen you ever met.... she can set on and hatch 8 eggs (amazing pancaking ability in that one!) and she wants to have them outside digging and scratching almost immediately! She is outside with her little crew every day it isn't pouring down rain and she scratches and digs for them till her foot feathers are all broken off and their crops are stuffed full. She constantly scans for problems and teaches the little ones to scramble for cover. If you could have 3 or 4 Gracies in your flock you would never need an incubator or brooder...
On the other hand, I have seen much better quality silkies who seem lost once they leave the chicken run gate?? Yep, they are cute and great for kids, but not very practical if you are trying to establish a meaty and eggy flock for the farm. I had Gracie hatch out 3 of her eggs over the winter so we could (hopefully) get another girl as dependable as she is. Yep, they are mutts, but if they are like her then they have a home here (till they crow).
You all have been discussing broodies... it will take another year or two to know for sure... but I got a strain of Silver Pencil Rock from a breeder in SW Pennsylvania and before the age of 9 months three of the 5 hens were broody (in the winter no less!) and two are raising their broods together. If the trait continues I will be a very happy lady, since I don't even own an incubatorand my hopes are for a self sustaining flock of nicely proportioned birds.
That silkie mama is a keeper even if she is hatchery!!
Bob BLosl had a pet silkie, and he was kept to father half breds to then raise up chicks. DOn't know if he fulfilled his goals, but he sure loved that silke.
Bob BLosl had a pet silkie, and he was kept to father half breds to then raise up chicks. DOn't know if he fulfilled his goals, but he sure loved that silke.
- Apr 19, 2013
- 1,955
- 257
- 231
I am on the Silkie fence.... I have a poor quality hatchery silkie (maybe even a mix?) who is the most awesome little mama hen you ever met.... she can set on and hatch 8 eggs (amazing pancaking ability in that one!) and she wants to have them outside digging and scratching almost immediately! She is outside with her little crew every day it isn't pouring down rain and she scratches and digs for them till her foot feathers are all broken off and their crops are stuffed full. She constantly scans for problems and teaches the little ones to scramble for cover. If you could have 3 or 4 Gracies in your flock you would never need an incubator or brooder...
On the other hand, I have seen much better quality silkies who seem lost once they leave the chicken run gate?? Yep, they are cute and great for kids, but not very practical if you are trying to establish a meaty and eggy flock for the farm. I had Gracie hatch out 3 of her eggs over the winter so we could (hopefully) get another girl as dependable as she is. Yep, they are mutts, but if they are like her then they have a home here (till they crow).
You all have been discussing broodies... it will take another year or two to know for sure... but I got a strain of Silver Pencil Rock from a breeder in SW Pennsylvania and before the age of 9 months three of the 5 hens were broody (in the winter no less!) and two are raising their broods together. If the trait continues I will be a very happy lady, since I don't even own an incubatorand my hopes are for a self sustaining flock of nicely proportioned birds.
My hatchery Silkies are out in the cold rain. They do just fine. I'm going to give them some eggs as soon as I can get fertile eggs from a Cochin breeding I want to do. I'll have to learn AI first. Too much fluff on their butts and I want to keep exhibiting them... Bee, don't say it!
I know!
Silkies are Shiny! One of the reasons I had to re home mine is because every time I went to work with the chickens, the black one would wind up on by arm! I was spending way too much time petting the thing.
They went to live with a family with children. They became their favored pets. The show girl rooster was a Casanova too--he managed to be the Daddy to many crossed chicks.
Silkies are Shiny! One of the reasons I had to re home mine is because every time I went to work with the chickens, the black one would wind up on by arm! I was spending way too much time petting the thing.
They went to live with a family with children. They became their favored pets. The show girl rooster was a Casanova too--he managed to be the Daddy to many crossed chicks.
My best broodies are my Heritage Barred Rock and Icelandics. I couldn't believe it when my 3 1/2 year old hatchery Production Red went broody. She is now 5 and surprisingly, a very good mother.I've always wanted some.. they seem like such good broody birds.Now you got me wondering. Ofcourse, I always get a only 2-4 of whatever I want to try. Just sell or eat if I don't like it by the time it's a year old. I'm very anti-feathered feet and not much of a fan of little yappy dogs, I mean, little flooffy birds.. so silkies.. cochins.. not gonna happen. What is your broody of choice?
I learned I really do not like 'production reds' or whatever these sorry things are supposed to be. They're... sassy... seems like they nag at you if things don't go their way. Still on the fence on my partridge rocks, I don't love 'em, don't hate 'em.. but don't love 'em. Just gotta try things to see if you like 'em. Love my white rocks, so I got some more this year, along with some barred rocks.
I'm so glad to see others feel the same way about silkies that I do.Oh...yeah...silkies.....YAY.
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