California-Southern

[Sylvester017]

Amen! As a p.s. I believe you do have to be careful with Silkies and LFs as silkies arevery gentle and can't see well. Seramas and OEGB do well with thei
r BIG cousins

Silkies are not gentle just because they can't see well. Mine see just fine and are still skittish and alert free-rangers and easy to handle. Even when they get another full bushy crest after moult they still see fine - they tilt their heads if they want to see what's behind or overhead. Their nature is just to be always quick and wary - but they are gentle overall as a breed. They are my barometer for testing out LF around them.

So far we have found the APA Blue Wheaten Ameraucana an excellent breed to mix with our Silkies. Next Spring we are trying out two docile Breda in the mix.

Last year we had to rehome our LF layers - a bully Marans, and this year we had to re-home a White and a Buff Leghorn who became too assertive chasing, pecking, and pulling out the beards and crests of the gentler Amer and Silkies. The White Leg was a gentle alpha for nearly 3 years then started pushing hens off the roost, out of the nestboxes, away from the feeders/waterers, clawing dust-bathers, etc. and isolation didn't solve the behavior. The Buff Leg began chasing down the Amer and pulled her beard/muff out to the skin and then she started chasing and pulling out the Silkies' crests. She was next to re-home as she would not back down. Mediterranean breeds are not shrinking violets and can defend themselves well within a LF flock but are bullies to smaller/gentler breeds.

The LF breeds we choose now must be reportedly docile types and under 5-lbs. Anything heavier will be tempted to bully just because it's a chicken thing.

 

[aboverubiesmom]

In defense of Amber Waves on size issues. These two pictures were taken by me this morning. I have had these chicks from hatch from a friend. One picture is my two full breed silkies, both the exact same age, 3 months, one week old. The other is the tiny 3 month old next to a silkie mix & a very small blue wyandotte that is also 3 months old. This tiny silkie might have something *wrong* with it but it eats, poops, trucks around the yard & needs no help. It is super small next to the other two same age silkies. Maybe this is just an odd thing but wanted to add to this.

 

[tacopaco]

One more thing to add though which led me to believe about the mix up is they didn't remember what color they had marked mine with, and the guy was going to get some from a few that looked bigger and the lady told him not to that it's from the smaller ones which still had a heat lamp. Mine had no feathering in at all as well.

 

[tacopaco]

And mine were not supposed to be show quality and that was their price for all of them right there. And they do DNA testing to make sure you have pullets and that will run you into the hundreds depending on how many you get of course.

 

[tacopaco]

Right now they are both looking like the smallest one pictured above but it's been a while since I went to get them and they had no feathering.

 

[tacopaco]

But yes I understand not everything goes as planned all the time and even if it is a mistake it really could be an honest mistake and they could have just had a mix up with all the work they do, and I love these birds just as much as the rest of my flock and doesn't mean they don't have nice birds and aren't nice people because they are, and I wouldn't mind buying from them again, I'd just be a little more careful.

 

[ozexpat]

But yes I understand not everything goes as planned all the time and even if it is a mistake it really could be an honest mistake and they could have just had a mix up with all the work they do, and I love these birds just as much as the rest of my flock and doesn't mean they don't have nice birds and aren't nice people because they are, and I wouldn't mind buying from them again, I'd just be a little more careful.

What did they say when you brought the error to their attention?

 

[Sylvester017]

And mine were not supposed to be show quality and that was their price for all of them right there. And they do DNA testing to make sure you have pullets and that will run you into the hundreds depending on how many you get of course.

Show quality prices usually don't kick in until the chicks are grown out, have placed at a show, or are specially bred from show-winning parentage if you ask for it. I always ask for pet quality and once in a while I'm surprised at the quality of a PQ bird. Last year I asked for 2 PQ birds because I neither breed nor show birds and I was surprised when one pullet grew to beautiful type. It was almost a shame to waste her in a backyard flock so I gifted her to a friend.

 

[Sylvester017]

One more thing to add though which led me to believe about the mix up is they didn't remember what color they had marked mine with, and the guy was going to get some from a few that looked bigger and the lady told him not to that it's from the smaller ones which still had a heat lamp. Mine had no feathering in at all as well.

Just as a side note - sometimes too much heat on chicks can cause feathering problems and sometimes even health issues so in this nice weather you may not need a brooder lamp if the chicks are old enough to cuddle for warmth.

 

[estamets]

Just as a side note - sometimes too much heat on chicks can cause feathering problems and sometimes even health issues so in this nice weather you may not need a brooder lamp if the chicks are old enough to cuddle for warmth.

X2 I moved my chicks outside at 3.5 weeks, and they were fine with no heat lamp from then on.