Question for Silkie Breeders.

[Litewings]

Hey guys, I've got 6 baby silkie chicks about 4 weeks old. I have them in a home made brooder with Beech shaving, waterer and a feeder. The problem is that they just love to rake all the food out of the feeder and scratch around in the floor for it. Is this normal?

Litewings

 

[debilorrah]

Not a breeder, but I am gonna go ahead and say YES it is very normal for chicks to do that. I go through so much chick start with babies it isn't even funny. I think they must like to watch themselves do it.

 

[CBee]

Lol, those evil silkies. Last spring I had 3 Saipans and 1 silkie, all around 2 weeks old, and the only one who would ever scratch food around was the silkie. Pretty soon he had the others trained, and the brooder was never quite so clean afterwards.

It's perfectly normal.

 

[Litewings]

Thanks Guys.

Litewings

 

[sarahloveschickens]

haha my silkie chicks do that every day!

 

[Sharisr32]

They waste as much as they eat but it is a natural behavior for any breed to scratch eat --If they were free range that is how they's find food in the dirt ...

 

[TXmom]

My Silkies do that some, but my Rhode Island Reds are much worse! They are much more "assertive" (is that a good way to put it???) about everything they do, including scratching out food and throwing stuff all over the brooder...LOL.