NY chicken lover!!!!

[Lynzi777]

Well my little chickies are growing like weeds, even though I've only had them since Saturday. you can definitely tell a difference in weight when handling them, and even the feathers that have come in. My youngest little guy is still so little though. I'm kinda worried about him. I just hope he doesn't end up getting pushed around by the other two. Here is a pic of the youngest and the BO mix chick. I'm going to be putting them into a new "Cage" today, something a little bigger.

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

Aww Lynzi--how cute! I think they will be fine. Other people have silkies in with large fowl and they do just fine. You are raising them together so they are used to each other.

Side note--I have 6 hatched, one hatching and 5 more to go. Hatch started yesterday so how long should I let them continue before moving the babies to the brooder box and calling it quits?

 

[Sachasmom]

My pullet chicks are growing like weeds, but I am really excited about my quail eggs. Another week and I should have LOTS of babies!

Let me know if you end up with any extra Quail hens to sell, I have two males and one female, I just stuck a bunch of eggs in the bator, but they'll be awfully inbred to what I already have.

 

[Lynzi777]

Aww Lynzi--how cute! I think they will be fine. Other people have silkies in with large fowl and they do just fine. You are raising them together so they are used to each other.

I probably should have taken his pic next to the other silkie instead of the BO mix - but if it helps, the other silkie is just as big as the BO in that picture. Thats why I'm wondering about his size. He just doesn't seem to be getting any bigger. The other two are "flying" around like crazy and he kind of just sits there or tries to keep up with them.

 

[java girl 2]

Morning all! I woke up to 5 babies in the bator this morning. I am hoping the other 7 hatch. They all look good and are active and chirping. Love having babies.

Question--are red sexlinks larger than rhode island reds? My sexlink chicks seem to be growing faster and are larger than the rir chicks and br chicks. They were all hatched at the same time (I presume because we ordered them as a package) and while they were all the same size for a few days, these seem to be growing bigger faster. Just curious. They certainly are more docile and more easily handled. Dh and I have a wager going about how many of the rir chicks are boys since we ordered straightrun. If you cross a sexlink with a rir roo, do you get more sexlinks?

Diva hens were late off the roost again. They do like to sleep in. However, when they saw I had a bag of grapes in my hand, they dropped like stones off a cliff in a hurry!!! Anything for a grape!

Guess I will have to set up another brooder box now that the silkies are hatching. Have to work on the runs today as well and freshen them up as well as throw a little de in the terrorists brooder box because 26 little pooping butts makes for a little more maintanance to keep the smell at bay. They are certainly eating well and a lot!

Oh--one more question. What is a good age to send the boys we end up with to freezer camp? Dont want to annoy the neighbors too much with excessive crowing. Just trying to get an idea as to when we will be processing..Thanks all!

you can do the roos at 16-20 weeks, whenever you want to do them. it is up to you! I am not sure but I would think that the sexlink hens will grow faster becuese they lay sooner than the RIR.

 

[Lynzi777]

Here's a pic of the two silkies, one was born 3/28 and the little one was born 4/3. I realize they are almost a week apart but he just seems so small and tiny to me. Guess there is nothing really to worry about yet. He is eating and drinking, just not as active as the other two. My BO just flew out of the cage while I had those two out. He gets extremely loud when he's left alone! LOL He's got a quite a set of pipes on him! LOL

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

Lynzi--are you sure about the hatch dates and breeds? The little one is def a silkie but the older one I am not sure about. The size difference tells me something is off because even at a week apart, there is not that much of a difference. The larger one looks much older and has no leg feathering or crest like a silkie does. Maybe someone else can chime in??? I think they are cute though and you should just love em anyways!

 

[Lynzi777]

The woman I got them from showed me her two pairs of silkies and they didn't have much leg feathering at all. They're weren't as poofy/feathery as the other nicer silkies I've seen on the actual Silkie Thread. The littlest one only has 4 toes instead of 5 like the older one. So I'm worried about breeding that one and having that trait passed on. I do love them, my main concern was just the size of the littlest one. So you think it's not so much his size but the older one? Like maybe that one was mixed with something? The feathers on the wings are definitely coming in like a silkies. Here's a pic of it's wings. I was going to post this on another thread the other day when I read someone discussing "Wing Feather Sexing" Wanted to see if thats what they went by, if they thought this was a hen instead of a roo. LOL

 

[Lynzi777]

Here's another pic from above to show you the difference in size. Just look at the difference in wing size. Thats what is most funny to me I think.

 

[happycountryhens]

Lynzi: The big one looks like a giant silkie!

Pharmchick: Congratulations on the hatch.

Wonder how the little blind chick is doing?

Picture of the hens out in their temporary fencing. Hey, they can help with a little yard work too, ya know.