Normal for Silkies?

[GitaBooks]

We have a pot belly. We raised some, and had planned on eating them. Except we butchered one and neither of us ever wanted to do it again. We even gave the meat away. So collecting eggs is more our speed. Lol. We'll just fill the freezer during deer season. The one guy we have left is castrated. The mama pig raised the piglets with our flock of chickens. He hangs out with the chickens all day. Lol. The chickens were babies and we had just put them in the backyard when she gave birth. So they ended up all living together.

I don't own any pigs, but I'm writing a book on all the pig breeds of the world. Pigs are just my thing, and my family always jokes about it.

 

[ameliadanielle]

The mama pig became too much of a pet. We spoiled her rotten. She would knock on the backdoor and we would let her in and she'd lay on the floor and have us rub her belly. She's also a diva. Expecting her treats on a regular basis. Our friend that is breeding her right now was talking about how grumpy she is when they don't come bearing grapes. Lol.

 

[ameliadanielle]

I also know I won't be breeding our silkies. Our rooster has white skin. So who knows what kind of mix he actually is. The white hen has black skin and blue ears like she should. Haven't checked the other hen yet but her ears are a funky blue that isn't turquoise so she may be some sort of mix as well. We didn't buy them for breeding, just for pets, but I thought if we ever wanted to breed them so our daughter could experience that at least we could surely find homes for them. I don't know what the market is for sort of silkies. Lol. Maybe we can just get them to incubate some actual silkie eggs.

 

[ameliadanielle]

I had such a migraine I checked him out and he looked great. It wasn't until I took some medicine and had a nap that I woke up and thought, "His skin isn't black." Lol.

 

[GitaBooks]

Silkies are often cross-bred to create new appearances. There are so many types among them it can be dizzying. There are those with nearly black face and combs, those that are pink, others that have beards, some that don't, those with frizzles as well as silkied feathers, and naked-necks (show girls).

Silkies make awesome pets!

People would buy a cross-breed silky even if they know its a cross-breed, just because so many people want them for pets or broodies alone, not for breeding or showing.


This is are Naked-neck roo. He has pink skin because he is crossed with Naked-necks to create his appearance.

 

[ameliadanielle]

The rooster is a sweetheart. The two females are a little flighty and unsure of us still. Probably didn't help that I took their egg this morning. Lol. We originally got them just to be pets and not to breed. I didn't start thinking about breeding them until after we got them. I had just thought of using them to incubate other eggs so our daughter could see a mama hen taking care of babies. My favorite one as far as looks is the white silky with black skin and her blue ears. They aren't high quality but they are cute. I know if we raised chicks we wouldn't be keeping them. When the silkies join the chickens in the backyard we'll have 14 chickens, three muscovies, and a pig on 1/3 of an acre. That's about as many animals as I want to have in the backyard. Lol. Certainly more than I had planned. I don't know much about silkies and didn't want to sell them as silkies unless they definitely were.

The original plan was 6 chickens to lay eggs. That didn't last a week. My dad has our EE rooster to put with his EE hens. I missed his fluffy beard and his crowing. So this little guy is his replacement. One of our red star hens has been perching on me to be petted. My husband wanted a pet chicken of his own. So the silkie group was really meant to be just yard ornaments. We have two younger mixed game chickens that the big hens won't allow to join their flock, so I didn't want to get one silkie and it end up not in anyone's group.

 

[GitaBooks]

My silkies have their own mini-flock with-in the large flock, as they don't really get along with many of the standard-sized chickens.


Princess, a wonderful momma who just went broody today!


Ginger and Fred snuggled up with our new kittens (they came together from the same farm)


Mavis, my brain-damaged pullet who lived in the basement (silkies are prone to brain damage and predation, because of their crests, extra toes, inability to run, jump or fly well, ect)


Our silkie cross with her own brood of chicks


Our silkie mini-flock, including Toto, Cole, Azul, Flo and Princess and some chicks that Princess raised (they are standard, non-silkies)

 

[ameliadanielle]

As my husband went to pick them out and I didn't see them before the drive home, I was immediately suspicious. Lol. If I had gone I might have passed on them completely. I didn't know the shredded looking feathers were normal, I thought the rooster had a fungus, and an eye booger on the other hen that has not reappeared or shown any other problems scared me. The only problem I see that is a problem are the crooked toes on the white hen. She gets around fine and is as active as the others, but I will have to give her pedicures to keep her claws short. I didn't know anything about silkies and was looking at them like I would look at my standard egg layers. They're so different.

 

[GitaBooks]

Silkies commonly suffer toe disfiguration. Its one of those traits I wish the breed didn't have to suffer from. I'm pretty sure all of mine have toes that twist a little, and over-grown toe-nails.

 

[ameliadanielle]

Cuddling with the cats! Too cute. I think my cats are too uncuddly and old to put up with a cuddly chicken though. At least they're too lazy to bother attempting to catch them. They're food bowl hunters. Lol.