California - Northern

[SilkiesForEver]

I have the large ecoglow and I like it well enough. The legs sometimes are a bit of a pain, they are constantly changing settings on their own. I just need to mess with them, but haven't taken the time.

I've seen a few people talk about these heaters and say they like them even better.
http://sweeterheater.com/
I believe they are less expensive too.

Deb

Thanks for the link! I'll check it out.

 

[ElitePoultry]

Heres à few pictures of My Bielefelders AKA " Thé Biebs" out of thé coop for thé first time exploring... Just wanted to share with you guys.

 

[ronott1]

Heres à few pictures of My Bielefelders AKA " Thé Biebs" out of thé coop for thé first time exploring...








Just wanted to share with you guys.

They look very happy!

 

[ChickNmamma]

Quote:
Hmmmm... here's my understanding.

A frizzle is any chicken whose feathers curl the wrong direction. Be it a Cochin, a Wyandote or whatever. These are usually purebred chickens - and not crosses of anything. There is a "frizzle" gene that causes this and, like the "silkied" gene - it can be found in any breed.

A Sizzle is a cross between a frizzled Cochin and a Silkie. If your rooster was that cross.. then even if he doesn't have the frizzled feathers he would be a Sizzle, although he is called a "Smooth Feathered Sizzle". I have two silkie crosses - but only one is a Sizzle because she was the result of a cross between a frizzled Cochin and a Silkie (she is also frizzled) The other is.. a mix. She has unsplit feathers that lay down flat, and is very soft - but her parents were not the correct cross to make her a Sizzle

However, about Silkies not being chickens - I was told: If it walks like a chicken, and it talks like a chicken, and it lays eggs like a chicken (or crows like a rooster) - then it is a chicken. (Originally was duck - but we didn't have ducks). Since the Silkies do fit all that, AND they can be successfully crossed with other chickens and remain fertile.. then it has to be - A CHICKEN -.

I have also heard they taste like chicken (not planning on trying it).. but then again I have heard so do frogs and snakes - so that isn't a criteria.

 

[ElitePoultry]

They look very happy!

Lol I hope They are! Your breeds list is popping! Lol

 

[ronott1]

Quote: I was going to add La Bresse, but I read that we are not supposed to call them that if they are not hatched in France. It's probably a French law but I do not want to be tried in Absentia...

 

[debs_flock]

However, about Silkies not being chickens - I was told: If it walks like a chicken, and it talks like a chicken, and it lays eggs like a chicken (or crows like a rooster) - then it is a chicken. (Originally was duck - but we didn't have ducks). Since the Silkies do fit all that, AND they can be successfully crossed with other chickens and remain fertile.. then it has to be - A CHICKEN -.

I have also heard they taste like chicken (not planning on trying it).. but then again I have heard so do frogs and snakes - so that isn't a criteria.

They were teasing about them not being chickens.............. And in the orient, they are highly prized for their meat. Black skin, dark colored meat/bones (not black like cemani). They are supposed to have medicinal qualities (like rhino horn and a million other things), but they taste like chicken, LOL

I have a few that if they don't rehome soon..............I'll let you know how they taste.

Deb

 

[ronott1]

Quote: Silky chickens were in the mystery basket on the Halloween episode last year.

 

[chiqita]

like a frizzle is a frizzle and has nothing to do with a silkie right?

but a sizzle is the frizzle on a silkie? and the feathers may or may not be curled up?

i have a silkie mix rooster. smokey gray, soft feathers that lay flat, 5 toes. he has the black skin and covered in feathers from head to toe. i called him a sizzle. and she said i was incorrect. i really don't know what to call him! lol

Ok, you have 2 different sets of genes here! this confuses EVERYONE.
Frizzle can occur in any type of chicken. It is shown as AOV and judged on the standards of the chicken it is ( Cochin, silkie, etc..etc..etc..) They will never be a separate breed because it is not repeatable. You breed frizzle to non frizzle and get 50/50 IIRC. A frizzle is a gene that causes the feathers to curve up. 2 of these genes cause the feathers to curve REALLY up ( waititout, do you have a picture of your little polish?) Like breeding showgirl to showgirl, this can cause unpredictable results and some chickens that cant survive, so we don't do that. ( some people now do breed showgirl to showgirl now, but we can talk about that more later)

A SIZZLE is a silkie that has SMOOTH ( non silked) FRIZZLED FEATHERS You can get a SMOOTH NON FRIZZLED SILKIE from these crosses ( guessing that's what you have zoo) and they are considered, according to the last breeder I talked to "perfectly acceptable" You breed smooth to frizzled the next generation and get the same mix of offspring. All other characteristics ( toes, earlobes, skin color, etc,, etc, etc ) is silkie. Because of that........ they will usually carry at least 1 of the hookless gene.

What does that mean??

The HOOKLESS gene is the gene that causes silkies feathers to be silkie. You need one from each parent for it to express itself as silkie feathers. So if you had a silkie parent, you will have offspring that have at least 1 hookless gene. If you get 2 hookless genes, you have what is called ( on occasion, and sometimes not, JUST to confuse us) a frilkie, a frizzled silkie, and silkie sizzle, or other names I have not yet heard of.

These birds carry 2 hookless genes, and one "curved" frizzle gene. They look like silkies having a bad hair day.

((Now your Showgirl roo, Zoo, is an even more confused and interesting example. his father had 2 silked parents, but had smooth feathers himself. He passes this single hooked gene on to ONLY boys ( at least out of all the chicks we had last year, so sample size was about 75-100??) I do not know if he passes the hookless genes onto boys. I just know it looks like he does not pass it onto girls. So technically they are not showgirls even though they have all silkie and showgirl grandparents and can have showgirl and silkie children))

Does that now make sense? The reason there is a smooth feathered gene in there at all is the frizzled gene was passed on from Cochins and people like the look of that and bread for it.

Sorry silkie fans but I must agree. A silkie is not a chicken. Please read a big grin on my face here.

Silkies are chicken angles. A more advanced civilized chicken as it were!

Thanks!

I have been eying the Eco Glow, and now I am saving up egg money to buy it.

I have a few questions about it though... Is it sturdy? Does it last long?

I got 2 ecoglows used from a guy at the university of Berkeley who used them to raise ducks for his thesis. They both stopped working in 3 mths, I had better luck with a seedling matt with a cover over it ( I used one of those hollowed out logs you get for reptiles because I had one laying around) Or reptile heating pads with same. You have to use a brooder that has a think non flammable bottom however. We use fish or reptile tanks and the whole set up holds heat and keeps air circulating really well. Works until they start to fly, and by that point they don't need as much heat.

Heres à few pictures of My Bielefelders AKA " Thé Biebs" out of thé coop for thé first time exploring...








Just wanted to share with you guys.

< Insert preteen shriek here> BIEBSSSS!

I know I missed something this morning. Welcome back Mike, good to see you again and glad you are sharing pictures with us!

Hmmmm... here's my understanding.

A frizzle is any chicken whose feathers curl the wrong direction. Be it a Cochin, a Wyandote or whatever. These are usually purebred chickens - and not crosses of anything. There is a "frizzle" gene that causes this and, like the "silkied" gene - it can be found in any breed.

A Sizzle is a cross between a frizzled Cochin and a Silkie. If your rooster was that cross.. then even if he doesn't have the frizzled feathers he would be a Sizzle, although he is called a "Smooth Feathered Sizzle". I have two silkie crosses - but only one is a Sizzle because she was the result of a cross between a frizzled Cochin and a Silkie (she is also frizzled) The other is.. a mix. She has unsplit feathers that lay down flat, and is very soft - but her parents were not the correct cross to make her a Sizzle

However, about Silkies not being chickens - I was told: If it walks like a chicken, and it talks like a chicken, and it lays eggs like a chicken (or crows like a rooster) - then it is a chicken. (Originally was duck - but we didn't have ducks). Since the Silkies do fit all that, AND they can be successfully crossed with other chickens and remain fertile.. then it has to be - A CHICKEN -.

I have also heard they taste like chicken (not planning on trying it).. but then again I have heard so do frogs and snakes - so that isn't a criteria.

chickNmamma, how is Owl doing? his original mother emailed me today asking about him, I am going to chat with her tonight, she was very excited to hear he was is a mini slice of chicken heaven ( the non chicken went to heaven in a pot kind)

I was going to add La Bresse, but I read that we are not supposed to call them that if they are not hatched in France. It's probably a French law but I do not want to be tried in Absentia...

Bresse seems to be ok, Or Americian Breese. la bresse or la brese (long french word that starts with g) is protected, from what I understand. The ones that were smuggled out of france to the rest of Europe are called bresse from what I gather. But, who knows!

Speaking of Bresse, does anyone know if caponising is legal in California? I thought it was not, but A friend tells me she cant find the actual law people were referring to and thinks it is just frowned upon. She had someone who could teach it, and I was thinking it might be good to learn, if Mario is up to it and we can not kill the poor wee things.

It is one of the things traditionally done to get Bresse to taste the way they taste. Capa, we are going to try and imitate some of the feeding techniques used in France. We do not have as much land, so I am expecting to provide them with fodder and Black soldier flies and mealworms for a fair bit of the diet. I do not know If I have the stomach to leave them in a box in the dark for weeks. Or months. ( depending on the type of bresse, hen, roo, capon)

A large part of the taste is diet. I know someone else who was intending to finish them with goats milk and hazelnuts, and some people who are not doing anything. I think it will not get the same reputation here with all this variation in styles.

we finished early today so I snuck home. It is nice to get to see everyone at home again rather then be absent for 4 days.

Also: Silkies, not that tasty. And scrawney!

 

[juststruttin]

I had someone take me to task about the whole frizzle sizzle thing. I am still confused by it because not everyone seems to be on the same page about it all.

I was told a sizzle is a silkie mix with soft loose feathers that lay flat. That a frizzle was a silkie mix with feathers that curl upwards. What is correct?

I think we should all joint venture and write a Dr. Seus book called, "The Frizzled Frazzeled Sizzled Zazzled Silkie"

Here I will start......

The Frizzled Frazzeled Zizzled Zazzled silkie went with her friend Fredda Frilkie to the Razzle Dazzle Raffle wearing a Fiddly Faddley Frock while eating a Wiggly Waggly Worm...


Ok... next person.... take it from here.