So, I bought 3 baby silkies last weekend and got 3 adults this week.
Finished up a big 6x12 chicken coop this weekend (having a rooster in the bathroom over night is a nightmare!). We used a dog kennel and covered it with a tarp and then ran a green chicken coop fencing around it so the holes would be too small for the baby chicks to come through.
The owners of the adult silkies said they were in a moveable cage and so they didn't really get to have nests and she never saw them sit on a group of eggs.
So now that they have a permanent home I made them nest boxes out of Rubbermaid containers. I put hay in them and they are loving them. This morning they even had an egg in it.
1---But..... they aren't sitting on the egg. I went and got golfballs this morning and put it in with the egg, and both hens went and saw the nest with the golfballs and eggs but noone sat on it.
So tonight I took the golf balls out. (They were only in there today, don't know if I took them out prematurely, or not.)
When they crawled into their house to go to bed tonight, the 2 females put the male in the middle of the house. So he appears to be sitting on the egg, whether he likes it or not, lol. Or at least he was earlier.
Can they tell when things aren't real eggs? Will it take them some time to realize that they have a permanent home now?
2---I put the 3 babies in the chicken coop and kept an eye on them. The adults will peck at them if they get to close but other than that they leave each other be and the babies try to keep their distance. The babies have their own special house out there I made for them. Should this be ok? Will they grow to get along?
3-How often do your silkies lay? I have 2 females and am getting 1 egg a day, total.
4-Thinking of getting some more adult females. How many females should there be for every one male?
5---None of the chickens seem to really like me. Don't they they were really hand fed or anything. The babies have become more distrusting of me after seeing the adults go balistic (wings flapping, squaking) when I pick them up.
I gave the 3 adults a bath this morning and that went well. (They did a dust bath in red mulch turning themselves pink.) One of them has calmed down towards me, but still runs a bit.
Will they eventually get used to me and not mind being pet?
6--I'm in North Florida, we have a fairly open 4 acres next to some woods. I haven't seen any hawks or anything over our area in a couple of weeks. But that doesn't mean there aren't any. Should I be concerned about hawks taking off with the adult chickens? My neighbors have full size chickens that run the street (Private road, no real traffic or anything) and they seem fine.
Any help or advice would be helpful! Sorry so long!
Finished up a big 6x12 chicken coop this weekend (having a rooster in the bathroom over night is a nightmare!). We used a dog kennel and covered it with a tarp and then ran a green chicken coop fencing around it so the holes would be too small for the baby chicks to come through.
The owners of the adult silkies said they were in a moveable cage and so they didn't really get to have nests and she never saw them sit on a group of eggs.
So now that they have a permanent home I made them nest boxes out of Rubbermaid containers. I put hay in them and they are loving them. This morning they even had an egg in it.
1---But..... they aren't sitting on the egg. I went and got golfballs this morning and put it in with the egg, and both hens went and saw the nest with the golfballs and eggs but noone sat on it.
So tonight I took the golf balls out. (They were only in there today, don't know if I took them out prematurely, or not.)
When they crawled into their house to go to bed tonight, the 2 females put the male in the middle of the house. So he appears to be sitting on the egg, whether he likes it or not, lol. Or at least he was earlier.
Can they tell when things aren't real eggs? Will it take them some time to realize that they have a permanent home now?
2---I put the 3 babies in the chicken coop and kept an eye on them. The adults will peck at them if they get to close but other than that they leave each other be and the babies try to keep their distance. The babies have their own special house out there I made for them. Should this be ok? Will they grow to get along?
3-How often do your silkies lay? I have 2 females and am getting 1 egg a day, total.
4-Thinking of getting some more adult females. How many females should there be for every one male?
5---None of the chickens seem to really like me. Don't they they were really hand fed or anything. The babies have become more distrusting of me after seeing the adults go balistic (wings flapping, squaking) when I pick them up.
I gave the 3 adults a bath this morning and that went well. (They did a dust bath in red mulch turning themselves pink.) One of them has calmed down towards me, but still runs a bit.
Will they eventually get used to me and not mind being pet?
6--I'm in North Florida, we have a fairly open 4 acres next to some woods. I haven't seen any hawks or anything over our area in a couple of weeks. But that doesn't mean there aren't any. Should I be concerned about hawks taking off with the adult chickens? My neighbors have full size chickens that run the street (Private road, no real traffic or anything) and they seem fine.
Any help or advice would be helpful! Sorry so long!
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