INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Faraday40]

Here are some pictures; please tell me what you think they are! (When I say I got a couple, I mean I got six. My chicken counting always seems to get me in trouble with the hubby!

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The chipmunk stripes, pea comb, & greenish-brown legs reminds me of Easter Egger chicks. If you have some with round, chubby faces, they may grow "muffs" All my EE hens have given blue or green-blue eggs.

 

[HoosierSilkie]

The chipmunk stripes, pea comb, & greenish-brown legs reminds me of Easter Egger chicks. If you have some with round, chubby faces, they may grow "muffs" All my EE hens have given blue or green-blue eggs.

I hope they are EEs! What a cute fluffy face!

 

[JanetMarie]

The chipmunk stripes, pea comb, & greenish-brown legs reminds me of Easter Egger chicks. If you have some with round, chubby faces, they may grow "muffs" All my EE hens have given blue or green-blue eggs.

I love her!

 

[Faraday40]

Quail Update:The quail gave me 3 eggs this morning. (I only have 3 females, so

)

Because the white female quail had pecking injuries, she was a house quail for about a week. She's been in the garage next to the brown quail's cage for the past week in hope that I may be able to put them back together. Every few days I try putting them together & she usually gets attacked. Today only the male was going after her, so perhaps we're getting close to my dream of only 1 cage of quail. The male was too amorous for her, so as I was changing the water, she escaped through the cage door in a panic. With the garage door wide open I began to imagine all the different ways I'd be spending my morning chasing a frightened quail around the garage & possibly the yard & neighborhood. What if I never caught her? How do I explain to DD that I let her pet escape? I finished the changing the water & easily found the quail next to a bucket. I slowly bent down & picked her up. No running or even squirming. All that worry for nothing. She seemed happy to go back into her private cage.

BTW- The quail actually have names: The white one is Sunny, the male is Albert, and the other two browns are Sadie & Penelope - but only the kids can tell those 2 apart. I'm just happy the kids tamed them well. Albert still gets his daily house visits. DD made him a room in her doll house. He hangs out with Barbie while DD does her math but he then gets some snuggle time when she does her reading. LOL DD can still allow them to run around & when she calls, they come running to her.

We don't do much with the eggs, but I do hard boil them for the kids' lunches. I know it's the talk of the lunch table, & after visiting, the kids' friends always ask to take one of those tiny eggs (or a blue egg) home. I also use quail eggs when I need to scale up or down a recipe. (IE- 3 eggs are needed, but I'm making a 1/2 batch. I can use 1 jumbo orp egg + 1 quail egg = 1.5 eggs) I've been joking that we're saving up for a sandwich, but I doubt we'll ever get that many quail eggs saved up. Plus, our quail do not free range, so their eggs taste more bland than our chicken eggs. IMO

 

[Leahs Mom]

I want a silkie in a basket.

Well...maybe not. But that's dang cute!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Hey Silkie people....

Are there any Silkies that don't have crests? I'd love a predictable broody but don't like crests!!!!!

 

[Indyshent]

Hey Silkie people....

Are there any Silkies that don't have crests?  I'd love a predictable broody but don't like crests!!!!!

While some breeds are known to be good broodies, you're stuck going on individual basis. For instance, I've had two Welsummer hens, and one was a great and frequent broody, the other has never been broody. Neither of my BO hens ever raised a clutch, and one has never tried. My Silkie hen never tried. EE hens are not known for broodiness, but I've had them raise clutches before. My BCM is a great mom. I've had non-light Brahma hens go broody and raise babies well. Turkeys tend to be excellent broodies. The Queen of the Broodies, however, was a Black Swedish duck who was broody for at least 8 months of the year I owned her. Turkeys take second place to her alone, though Sweetie the White Holland was broody from August to late December last year and had been broody before I got her! Hershey the Chocolate turkey has also shown herself to be a capable broody, though she's had no fertile eggs to sit on this whole time.

 

[HoosierSilkie]

Hey Silkie people....

Are there any Silkies that don't have crests?  I'd love a predictable broody but don't like crests!!!!!

I think all true Silkies have crests. It's one of the predominant features of the breed. They really are sweet birds. My 3yr old daughter loved to cuddle ours and they didn't seem to mind at all! Sadly, we lost them to a predator attack a few weeks ago. We have our roo left, but no more ladies.

 

[Faraday40]

Hey Silkie people....

Are there any Silkies that don't have crests? I'd love a predictable broody but don't like crests!!!!!

My bantam orp goes broody about 5xs a year. Basically she lays almost daily for 1-4 weeks, then comes to a broody halt. 6-8 weeks after the hatch, she starts laying & so begins the next cycle. In warm months, her non-broody laying time is only about a week. Thankfully, she decided to take a long winter break. Her last hatch was early Oct. I expect she'll start up again in late Feb.

My barnyard mix (has some EE, Leghorn, & white rock in her mix) likes to go broody every year, but only in June. If I do anything to break her, she won't try again for another year. She's a fantastic layer the rest of the year. She's the top hen, so no one messes with HER chicks. The rest of the flock accepts them immediately & her chicks get to sleep on the top roost right in the middle of it all.

My Sebright is not supposed to be a broody breed, but never have I seen a more dedicated mother. Her giant orp chicks grew larger than her by 3.5 weeks. She stayed with them for a full 7 weeks. (By then they were 2xs her size!) When she decides to go broody, there's no stopping her! She's a frequent broody spring - summer.

3week old chicks

7 week old chicks with their devoted mama hen.




As for the crest question, most silkie & silkie mixes have crests. You could probably find a silkie-like mix that doesn't have a beard, though. That would make it easier to see her face. My DD really wants a silkie. She's been asking, and asking, and asking.....for about 3 years. Cochins are supposed to be another very broody breed, but I don't own any of those either.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Wonderful photos of the tiny mamma!

I wonder how banties would do with the large breeds I have. If I got some for broodiness, I'd have at least 2 so they have their own little group. Where did you get your bantam orp?