Getting Started With Silkies! Some questions.....

[Fur-N-Fowl]

I haven't had the color yet either, but I can probably produce a gold based blue using my blue partridge & a dominate white hen, or pullets.

Always worth a try! You have more space than me so you can do that

I’m limited to one coop, a growout pen, show crates and a little brooder

 

[MysteryChicken]

Always worth a try! You have more space than me so you can do that

I’m limited to one coop, a growout pen, show crates and a little brooder

I need more coops, but my grandpa won't let put up anymore til he passes. I have three large coops, & 10 acres.

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

I need more coops, but my grandpa won't let put up anymore til he passes. I have three large coops, & 10 acres.

Just sneak an extra coop in somewhere, no one will notice!

 

[MysteryChicken]

Just sneak an extra coop in somewhere, no one will notice!

My parents would have to help. I'm no longer receiving my monthly disability payments.
It's hard to be sneaky over there, he'll know about the new coop once he mows the lawn in the summer.

 

[Lizzy733]

Hey all,
I was given a free Silkie a while back. Was going to re-sell him but the little guy has grown on me. He is so friendly and he loves me. Has been courting me its so funny. Today he was taking food out of his bowl, placing it on the ground and clucking for me to eat it. I need to get him a few girls. As well as my 8 year old daughter wants to raise some chicks of her own and siklies seem like a great breed for kids. He is a blue and I am liking the color strain. Here are my questions...

So should I be looking for more blues?
I found someone who has grays. Would breeding gray and blues result in blue chicks?
Would blacks work? I know when I was breeding fancy rats blue+black= a mix of both.

Thanks for reading!

Silkies Are a great breed for kids; mine is a true lap chicken. They are 'very' difficult to sex early on, so be prepared for a long wait in confirming which ones are your pullets.
They are also 'super broodys' and will hatch anything if you let them - even thin air. Mine particularly loves bath time, so they are a breed you can pamper and get to fall asleep in your lap for sure.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Silkies Are a great breed for kids; mine is a true lap chicken. They are 'very' difficult to sex early on, so be prepared for a long wait in confirming which ones are your pullets.
They are also 'super broodys' and will hatch anything if you let them - even thin air. Mine particularly loves bath time, so they are a breed you can pamper and get to fall asleep in your lap for sure.

My sister's silkie is the only one who likes to snuggle alot of the time.

I know how to wing feather sex them, I'll be making a thread about it when I start hatching. It'll include growth updates for accuracy.

 

[PioneerChicks]

My sister's silkie is the only one who likes to snuggle alot of the time.

I know how to wing feather sex them, I'll be making a thread about it when I start hatching. It'll include growth updates for accuracy.

Ooh, that's something I'd be interested in.

 

[PioneerChicks]

Silkies Are a great breed for kids; mine is a true lap chicken. They are 'very' difficult to sex early on, so be prepared for a long wait in confirming which ones are your pullets.
They are also 'super broodys' and will hatch anything if you let them - even thin air. Mine particularly loves bath time, so they are a breed you can pamper and get to fall asleep in your lap for sure.

It does take a while for silkies to grow big enough to sex, but there is plenty of good stuff on the internet that can help when it comes down to that. Here's a good link: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/sexing-silkies.75451/

 

[MysteryChicken]

Ooh, that's something I'd be interested in.

That's great.

 

[seraphine]

My silkie eggs are 1/2 the size of "normal" eggs and when my chick as old enough to begin her first egg looks like a parakeet sized egg. I blow out unique eggs and save them... Like my green easter egger sometimes lays double yokes...