Olive the Silkie and "her" brood

[OlivesMama]

Oh my, I've entered the realm of Crazy Chicken Lady! We got our first chicks a few weeks ago from a local farm that raises Silkies. Little did we know, they would become Olive's chicks! She's a 4 month old black Silkie that's now raising our entire brood. We picked her up along with 3 Barred Rocks, then picked up 2 more Golden Laced Wyandottes over the weekend. We're free-ranging them (with a coop at night) in our backyard, so we want tame birds. I think we've accomplished that! Since day 1 I've gathered them all up in a towel and brought them into the house to snuggle twice a day. The Barred Rocks are almost 3 weeks old and still love to do this, settling in and falling asleep right away. I never knew chickens could be so sweet!

 

[ChickenBoy2013]

Awesome!

 

[Dowie]

I love love love silkies! She must be so happy and proud right now, even though they aren't her chicks. What a sweet natured gal.

 

[OlivesMama]

Meet the newest members of the brood- Wilma and Winifred Wyandotte! They were hatched on March 28th. They are currently residing in their own brooder (a laundry basket!) until they are big enough to withstand the rowdy Barred Rocks. I tried to integrate them, but they were too small and were trampled and pushed around. Plus, they need to be warmer right now. They'll just have to get along for the first few weeks without the comfort of Olive.

 

[OlivesMama]

The chicks are doing great. This is what we do once a day:




I've done this with them since I brought them home, but probably won't be able to much longer. They used to snuggle right into a blanket. Now they flap, fly, and jump all over the place. It is getting hard to contain them! It takes a few minutes for them to settle down now.

 

[OlivesMama]

We picked up 2 more chicks over the weekend. One of them, Coco the Cuckoo Marans had a great deal of trouble the afternoon we brought them home. She began chirping so loud, then couldn't stand up, walk, eat, drink, or keep her eyes open. I thought for sure she wouldn't make it through the night. My husband and I took turns holding her close, or she would let out flurry of loud peeps. I had to put drips of Poultry Drench and water with vitamin & electrolytes on the end of her beak to keep her hydrated. After spending the night in isolation in a dog kennel lined with a heating pad and towel, she woke up bright and early chirping away. She could walk again and finally ate and drank on her own. She was lonely without other chicks, so I put her back in with the rest mid-day. If she was sick, I'd already exposed the rest from the bit of time she spent in there before I had to bring her in the house. She's doing fine now, but very small compared to the rest. I'll never know what was wrong with her, maybe just the stress of being brought home? I'm so thankful she pulled through. She's sweet and doesn't mind being held. The Ameraucana, Cleo is pretty big for being 2 days old when we got her. She's pretty bold and curious.

The new babies:

Coco, the Cuckoo Marans




Cleo, the Ameraucana

 

[elsfieldchickens]

aww lovely chicks

 

[OlivesMama]

Thank you, elsfieldchickens!

Well, we had our first chick loss this week. Coco, later to be renamed Princess Peepers, passed away yesterday. She was a week old and fought so hard to make it! She spent most of her pampered little life on a heating pad in my lap, or in a brooder we set up in the house. It was a rough ride-sickly one day, and up acting like a normal chick the next. She finally gave in yesterday. I cried when it finally happened. It was peaceful and she went in her sleep. I am thankful I didn't have to make the tough decision to cull her. The rest of the chicks she'd been in the brooder with that first day are all healthy and growing, so I got lucky and they appear to have not been exposed. I believe she had failure to thrive based on my research I've done here. She never really grew, just some new fluff and longer wing feathers. It seems like a lot of people on here have had issues with Marans chicks. I do wish I would have known that before I picked her out. I really wouldn't have changed the situation if I could. I learned so much from her. Poor little baby.

The rest of the flock is growing so fast! We let them all out to play in the yard yesterday. The newest batch of chicks are to little to stay outside the brooder for too long, even in the sun. The bigger chicks are just over a month old and love to play. I am endlessly entertained by their outside antics! The Barred Rocks are more tame than the Sultan and Silkie. Olive (the Silkie) was 4 months old when we got her, so she hadn't been hand-raised like the Barred Rocks. They jump all over me and cuddle under my legs when I sit on the ground with them. The Sultan (Nugget) is pretty skittish and will tolerate holding, but is pretty scared still. He/she still hides under Olive for comfort and is developing different chirps than the rest of the brood.

The Barred Rocks were all sexed as pullets, but it's very apparent one of them is much larger than the rest with lighter barring. He's also got a bigger pink comb and waddles coming in. He's very bold compared to the rest and was chasing the dogs yesterday and seeming to guard the flock. He chases them back into a group if one gets too far away from the rest. It's too bad, he's the sweetest of them bunch. Maybe I can make him a house rooster?

I wish. I will give him a little longer and then will have to rehome him. Sad indeed.

The "babies":








And Olive, the Silkie:





The youngest group of chicks:

 

[OlivesMama]

The older brood is going out to their coop today.

They've developed a routine of perching on the brooders when I open it up for cleaning and feeding. They get excited when I come out to the garage and let them out. They rarely fly off to the garage floor. They just hang out and get pets and treats. I'm going to miss our bonding time! I wonder if the coop is tall enough for me to fit in it?

They have a nice big yard to run around in that's fenced off from the rest of our yard, so they will love it! I cant' wait to see them playing outside every day being happy chickens.

The younger brood will move to the bigger brooder so they have more room to stretch out. It will work out perfectly, the older chicks vacating the big 3 room brooder in time for the babies to use it. They are getting too small for their 1 room box! I'll add pictures later today after the coop is up and everyone's moved.


I don't think I've come to terms with one of my BRs being a rooster. Lucy has not become affectionately know as Lucy-Roo! His comb and waddles are even biger and bright red. Besides the bright white barring, he also has different feathers on his back. I don't know what they are called? I don't want to give up one of my babies! I plan on contacting the lady I got them from to see if she wants to put him back into her breeding program. She's kept chickens for almost 30 years, so I thought when I picked up all pullets, I wouldn't get a roo! I know, sexing isn't 100% even for the most experienced chicken keepers.

 

[ErinEliz]

Aww Silkies make such great moms!