North Carolina

[The Howards]

I'm hoping to take the plunge and wash them tomorrow - they are a bit stinky. Especially, the smaller one - I think she was bullied a good bit. I have NEVER washed a chicken before and I know my family will think I am totally nuts. I've read online about "how to wash a chicken" so I will give it a try. For now, I have them in a huge rubbermaid tub with shavings. I will have to see if the shavings will work or if they will get caught in their feathers and make a mess.

Thanks so much for the tip! I use sand in my chicken coup so I can pick out the poop every day and keep it clean. I rake out the runs every day as well. My chickens free range during the day and are only penned up at night so they stay safe. I have heat in the coup for them but not sure the little silkies could get up on the roosts. Someone told me they can't fly - is that correct??

Angela

Of course I have to be the exception to every rule

. Our girl is best buds with a bantam easter egger and Brittany keeps constant watch out for other chickens and ducks plus the ducks are excellent sky watchers. I know its not fool proof but it works for us. They do have their own coop though. It has a super low perch in it, when I built it I knew that she couldn't fly or jump well so it is low enough I figured she could just hop on. Afterwards I asked the guys on the silkie thread about it and silkies do what I believe they called a 'silkie pile'. They sleep in a little bundle on the floor. Again with the exceptions...Sonnie perches sometimes too. Oddly enough two Muscovy ducks share their coop at night and they all get along great. Sonnie, the crazy fluff ball, is a kung fu chicken...she goes after the ducks when they pass by, chasing them off, and she picks fights with the biggest bird in the yard, a buff brahma.

 

[jdeoliveira74]

Another day in the chicken world.. went out side this morning and three of my girls decided they needed to use the chairs in the pen to fly the coop, and eat some grass . So chairs are gone and I built them a roost for out side!

 

[Chasity]

Quote:

Quote: I agree to some degree with all that I am reading, and it sounds like you have a nice set up. I will share ours as well because the more info you have from everyone the better you can make your own choices.
I have only had them since last year when someone (5PinkBunnies) brought me a nice little partridge roo named Chuck. Her kids were quite attached to him, and he was crowing so we said we would take him to re-home. My son became attached and we do not keep but so many roos after they hit a certain age so we went to the WCA and got him a female, so my son could keep him. They do free range in a tractor run. It has a plastic hardware cloth on top so that flying predators can not pick them up and take off with them. Right now while it is cold out they are all in the un-heated side of the green house. They are free of draft in there, but not heated.
The young ones that I got from Beth were from 11-23-12 & 11-30-12, so they are still in-doors in a large tub with pine shavings, but when we have a nice day out the range inside of a tractor so that they can get more sunshine. These are about the same age as the ones in the green hose right now, except for Chuck. They have also been kept with other birds. As new birds come in they get put in a different area of the property than the ones existing. Chuck, the Polish, Sebrights, new Silkies, and 10 other chicks were all in a quarantine together, and they slept together in the hutch until each out grew or left. There are pics of this motley group on here too! I think it depends on the birds that are put with them as well as the size space and age of the different breeds. I know others that let the different breeds mingle in their yard as well, so I guess that all of that is up to you. There are a few people on here who have been raising them for a long time, and are very nice about helpping with questions. I have only good things to say for example of the chicks that I got from Beth; they were very healthy, and had a high survival rate. The ones that I got from a big hatchery a few weeks before that... all Silkies died! None made it, and they were not near as full-bodied when they arrived. The four that I got from WCA were the same age as your group, and I think she was from Wilmington? They were the best ones beside the little Polish that I brought home from there. I was pleased with her birds as well.

Good luck, and use your best judgment, I have a Sebright that came with the big hatchery order, but she is the only small breed that survived, and does get picked on when I put her in with the group. I watch for a bit, and then she runs back to me to take her back out. Some of the others squabble a bit and get over it. You can also put hardware cloth between two groups to get them used to each other if there is a big enough difference in size to let them work out getting to know each other first.

If you are going to hatch in a classroom, I would use a more hardy breed for that.. Here is a link that you can use in the class, my son learned a lot from it....
(just another resource) http://urbanext.illinois.edu/eggs/res32-qa.html#4

Good luck again with all!

 

[atmaclean]

Angela,

welcome to the world of silkies. I have had them for over 2 yewars now and here are a few hints for you. Do not let them free range, their upward vision is very limited and they do make easy prey for predators.. Also they are prone to bullying by larger fowl if you mix them..... Silkies roost on the floor, so really you need a seperate coop for them. If you wash them, please blow dry with a warm setting on your hair drier, and then keep inside for at least 24 hours to make sure they are not damp when put outside. My silkies are in an unheated building, they do not need heat but just somewhere dry and draft free.

Which show will you be going to in Mach?

Gavin.

I'll be going to the one in Winston Salem at the Dixie Classic Fairgrounds Thank you for the info! I will definitely keep them inside after washing them. The smaller one looks like she may have really been bullied. She is pretty dirty and has poop on her! yuk! I guess I will only let them free range one of us is at home to watch them. If you trim their feathers around their eyes can they see better to free range??

Angela

 

[jwinslow]

Pollocksville NC

Hubby and I are originally from NH, but the marine corps has brought us here! Anyone near me?

 

[atmaclean]

I agree to some degree with all that I am reading, and it sounds like you have a nice set up. I will share ours as well because the more info you have from everyone the better you can make your own choices.
I have only had them since last year when someone (5PinkBunnies) brought me a nice little partridge roo named Chuck. Her kids were quite attached to him, and he was crowing so we said we would take him to re-home. My son became attached and we do not keep but so many roos after they hit a certain age so we went to the WCA and got him a female, so my son could keep him. They do free range in a tractor run. It has a plastic hardware cloth on top so that flying predators can not pick them up and take off with them. Right now while it is cold out they are all in the un-heated side of the green house. They are free of draft in there, but not heated.
The young ones that I got from Beth were from 11-23-12 & 11-30-12, so they are still in-doors in a large tub with pine shavings, but when we have a nice day out the range inside of a tractor so that they can get more sunshine. These are about the same age as the ones in the green hose right now, except for Chuck. They have also been kept with other birds. As new birds come in they get put in a different area of the property than the ones existing. Chuck, the Polish, Sebrights, new Silkies, and 10 other chicks were all in a quarantine together, and they slept together in the hutch until each out grew or left. There are pics of this motley group on here too! I think it depends on the birds that are put with them as well as the size space and age of the different breeds. I know others that let the different breeds mingle in their yard as well, so I guess that all of that is up to you. There are a few people on here who have been raising them for a long time, and are very nice about helpping with questions. I have only good things to say for example of the chicks that I got from Beth; they were very healthy, and had a high survival rate. The ones that I got from a big hatchery a few weeks before that... all Silkies died! None made it, and they were not near as full-bodied when they arrived. The four that I got from WCA were the same age as your group, and I think she was from Wilmington? They were the best ones beside the little Polish that I brought home from there. I was pleased with her birds as well.

Good luck, and use your best judgment, I have a Sebright that came with the big hatchery order, but she is the only small breed that survived, and does get picked on when I put her in with the group. I watch for a bit, and then she runs back to me to take her back out. Some of the others squabble a bit and get over it. You can also put hardware cloth between two groups to get them used to each other if there is a big enough difference in size to let them work out getting to know each other first.

If you are going to hatch in a classroom, I would use a more hardy breed for that.. Here is a link that you can use in the class, my son learned a lot from it....
(just another resource) http://urbanext.illinois.edu/eggs/res32-qa.html#4

Good luck again with all!

Wow, thank you ever so much for all the info! I truly appreciate the willingness of everyone to help me out with this new breed. I will try to post some pics of the girls today. Of the three I just got, 2 were outside in a barn and the third was in her heated garage with her show silkies and brooder babies and her gigantic incubator! Last night I put them in a huge rubbermaid tub on the back porch with a heating pad under one end of the tub. I covered the top with hardware cloth (we have a cat who sleeps back there) and then put a big bath towel over the top. This morning when I checked on them they were at the end that didn't have the heating pad! I felt it and it really wasn't that warm - maybe they were just down at the end to eat/drink...? At any rate, they must not have been too cold or I figure they would have been piled on the end where the heating pad is. I will keep them inside tonight since I'm going to bathe them all today.

Thanks again for all the info and the link to the educational resource. I wanted to do the silkies for the kids because they would be so easy for the kids to handle as adults if they wanted to adopt one of them. Of course, I will take them all back here if no one wants to adopt one. I do have a few parents who have expressed an interest in acquiring some chickens and who always buy my eggs.

Can you tell me why you wouldn't use the silkie eggs? I've hatched dozens and dozens of eggs and have a new Brinsea incubator that I am currently trying out. I used it for my Isbar eggs and hatched 4/5. The 5th was fully developed but didn't hatch I also have a Little Giant with an auto turner and fan. It has been used for the past 6 years with great results. I've hatched guinea keets, canadian geese and, of course, chickens. Just curious....

Thanks!
Angela

 

[wildriverswolf90]

Can anyone guess the gender of my Muscovy?? S/he is about 4 months old, the mallard drake in picture three is the same age, and the calls are almost year, for size comparison. Any guess, or tips on how to tell??

 

[WRVgirl]

IDK, but she's definitely pretty

 

[moomoodiddy]

Can anyone guess the gender of my Muscovy?? S/he is about 4 months old, the mallard drake in picture three is the same age, and the calls are almost year, for size comparison. Any guess, or tips on how to tell??

based on google images its a female the drakes have like a red comb and just look plain weird

 

[3ChickensinNC]

Our first hatch for 2013:







This is my porcelain boy Chris. He did his dance to me, so I guess that means he loves me?!