From Cochins to Silkies

[pattiiz]

Recently, neighbor issues have meant finding homes for our chicks, now beautiful layers in the country where they can be as loud as they want to be. The girls were almost 7 months. All are doing well and where we can visit. For Valentines Day I got two silkie chicks, Valentina and Chewbacca, a porcelain and splash. Both pretty sweet and quiet. Since we had build the Taj Mahal for the girls, I've talked my loving husband into two more silkies for my birthday that I get to pick out tomorrow. They are such characters and don't seem as hard on the garden either.
It was so hard to decide to place the big girls and I did keep one, who other than letting me know its daylight and time to get up, has been so quiet and is content to clean the yard of bugs and not to tear up the rest of the place. I may try a new sleeping crate in the garage for Ida. She is a partridge Cochin who after a slow start as a baby has caught up. And still will come climb in my lap tuck her head under my arm and take a nap.

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, pattiiz, and

! Happy you joined our flock! Best of luck with your birds (and your neighbors)!!

 

[pattiiz]

Thanks for the welcome! Husband was working from home a few days and with the recent cranky neighbor stuff......well, I will miss my girls but not the noise. Love the silkies, I've raised and shown afghan hounds for more than 40 years so a silkie is as close to an afghan chicken as you get. And my afghans guard them!

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Welcome to BYC!!!

Glad to have you aboard!!

 

[drumstick diva]

You are right their silkie feathers ( I keep calling it coat) puts me in mind of an afghan - however, the silkies sure can't move like one. I used to show Cockers in late 60's & 70's and

knew Fred Alderman who showed Am & Can.Ch.Akaba's Unsinkable Molly Blue who was among the top Afghans. Boy those were the days, I sure was young then.

 

[pattiiz]

Me too, I don't think I ever met Fred, but I saw him in all the magazines. I had the same lines of afghans. I love my two silkies and posted a photo of the "bluer/silvery" one yesterday. I got two cute sizzle chicks last weekend. They are the sweetest things. Now we are 5 an apparently gender confused partridge Cochin, two silkies and now two sizzles.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you joined us!

 

[pattiiz]

It has been a month and a half since we had our flock reduction and everyone is quiet. Ida called for about a week in the morning. Lays fewer eggs it seems now, 2-3 a week but she is a good gardener and for that I'm happy. As well as a companion always comes to see what's up. My silkies are almost 5 months and I got a second pair of sizzles last weekend. They are smooths and so pretty. Everyone is settling in. We lost the first pair of smoothest to my younger afghan mistaking them for squeak toys. I was heartbroken, she had been so good with the chickens up til then. Guarding them and always watching. She sure taught me a hard lesson. The coop has been renovated to make it so she can't get to the babies. I spoke to a trainer and she said that she really thought they were toys since the was no harm as in eating or tearing them apart. In general her toys are about the same size and fluffy.

Now she is scolded for even looking at them and is never allowed a moment alone. I love the birds I have and look forward to learning as much as possible here to give them the best life I can. They are so funny and make me laugh every day!
Pattii in Napa