Black silkies

[kelar]

Wow - I am really sorry for all of you who have lost birds and are suffering through this terrible heat. It looks like even the usually cool northeast is getting hit pretty hard. I know you must all feel so darn helpless to do much to help, but would love to hear how the swamp coolers work. I've never even seen them out here, but knew someone who had an old one and it did a great job in their house. We seldom get that kind of heat, but would like to be prepared if we do. Seems like every time the hot weather (or cold weather for that matter) hits around here, the stores run out of all the supplies that make it more bearable

 

[flgardengirl]

I have lost one hen (not a silkie) to the heat this summer too. It was when we had all the wildfires burning and lots of smoke around and also crazy heat so it could of been a combination of heat and smoke. I have been letting the hose run real slow in the shade and letting my birds freerange on the hottest days and it does seem to help. They go scratch around in the puddles and drink from it. I think they are staying a little cooler.

Sonoran Silkies: What you said about porch sleeping reminded me of what us kids and my grandmother used to do in the summer in Phoenix. We would drag mattresses out on the covered patio to sleep and if there was a rare breeze, my grandma would hang wet sheets up. I remember looking at the stars and listening to Mystery Theater on the radio. We would tell each other stories and try to scare each other enough to go back into the house lol.

 

[Muzzie]

I have my Silkies in the attached garage it has two windows so they get light but it is so much cooler than it is outside. I have a fan but haven't had to use it, they seem comfortable I check them several times a day. I am keeping a close eye on my Buff Orpingtons they are outside in their coop with attached run which is located under some large trees , most of my property is wooded and we are 5 to 10 degrees cooler than it is in town. Yesterday we hit an all time high for the state.

 

[rilly10]

How are everyones blacks doing? I finally got my hands on a GORGEOUS black boy (thanks Amy

) so I can now officially break my black girls out of my BBS pen, sell the blues/splashes and have a BLACK pen!!!! I quarantine for 2 weeks to be safe, then prob another week or two until I get fertile eggs again (I separated the black girls our already to wash our the old roos you know what) then I will be getting BLACK EGGS!

So worth the wait for him! I also got a stunning 3 month old too...not sure on sex yet, either way I love it!

 

[kfchickenlady]

Quote:
congratulations! those are some pretty birds, wishing my pens were finished so I could start on my other fave color! I have 2, one has 4 toes on a foot, and another is young yet, both are gorgeous, Im tempted to breed the pullet w/ 4 toes anyway to see what I get. Is this a bad idea?

 

[Darling Farms]

Here are two of our split black lavender pullets in the grass yesterday... not at their best because of the heat.

I love our black silkies. They have such a great disposition.

~Darling Farms

 

[rilly10]

Quote:
Soooo gorgeous! You always have the prettiest pictures

 

[Darling Farms]

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And YOU with a new black rooster from Amy Jo... You're so cool!

 

[destiny_56085]

Fall is rolling around and went through the pens... I sent out e-mails to those on the waiting list and Laura snatched up the nicest boy and one of the younger 3 month olds.
Here are the pics before they shipped out.
Her boy is on the left here:

And gender unknown yet on this one:

That older boy was straight out of the bachelor pen and pretty rough. I can't wait to see some pics after a good molt.

 

[destiny_56085]

How's everyone's hatches going? I just had my brother help me haul another redwood incubator into my basement and fired that up on monday. I'm tearing my other one apart and having someone come check out to see if everything was re-wired correctly. Starting next week I should hopefully get some chicks hatching via broody hens. My first time actually putting them to work. My black pen still looks like a pillow exploded. Some must be coming out of the molt because I'm finally starting to see 3 eggs a day from them. Not sure if I'll make many fall shows this year. Used up most of my vacation time with maternity leave this spring. Now the lil rugrat is crawling already at 5 months old. Yikes time flies! Amy