Secrete to keeping silkies alive

[HipMystic]

Ugh, indeed. I got a rooster and a hen almost a year ago. My hen, that I thought was smart walked into my ducks kiddie pool over night and drowned a few months ago. My rooster is a savage little feral chicken. He sleeps outside cause I can't catch him.

I’m sorry
That’s how I lost my first Silkie hen, she flew up into one of the horse water troughs while I wasn’t home

 

[rollinrockell]

Your post made me laugh! thanks, you have a good sense of humour. Keep trying. Quite a few of my silkies have made it to 10, 11 plus years. I too do haircuts and it helps immensly.

Wow ten years, that's impressive. I've only had them make it to a year. But with their own set up and not free yard time they might live longer. I work at a place with an exotics vet. So I'm the crazy chicken lady according to my coworkers. I'm not actually. I've had someone spend $5000 on a chicken. Don't ask. Each their own. But my coworkers like to buy my chickens gifts. Namely clothes. Because they think it's hilarious. Just wait until tomorrow when I have to round up 6 chicken's with 6 hats to appease them.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I just keep mine in a pen. They don't feee range once their crest comes in. I don't trim their crests either.

 

[LateBirdFarms]

Yeah she didn't stay long because she would scream if other chicken's, the same chicken's she was raised with mind you, came near her. This would insue them to all gang up on her. It's like if you just stop screaming they might leave you alone.

RIGHT?!?! Mines such a bad false alarm she's constantly getting pecked in the head by her flock mates. She doesn't even have a full crest! The silkies still panic at every scream! If it ever was a real alarm call they'd be doomed with their freeze/ostrich/I'm a rock routine!

 

[nuthatched]

I recently had a dog pass away so now I have a free 10x10 kennel that I believe will become kampground silkie. Though I foresee one sticking it's head through the chain link. I even bought a silkie proof feeder this time.

Hardware cloth.

 

[rollinrockell]

Hardware cloth.

I love hardware cloth since we have raccoons. I live pretty rural so hardware cloth is very expensive and hard to get right now. But I'm resourceful, I got 2 months to figure it out. This would only be a pen for them during the day while I'm at work. Everyone sleeps in the same coop at night.

 

[Silkiesaz]

I just found this thread. Oh my gosh, other people have the same problems?! Silkies were supposed to be the easy ones.

 

[HipMystic]

See I thought I be smart and buy an automatic door because I get home late some shifts to help combat them going in late. They should put a warning on the box that says doesn't work on bantams.

I swear I ended up carrying the silkies in the first 6 months of their lives.

My current Silkie is the only one I’ve had that’s smart enough to go to bed at night

I just found this thread. Oh my gosh, other people have the same problems?! Silkies were supposed to be the easy ones.

Nope! Silkies are definitely the problem children

 

[HipMystic]

What is the best silkie water and feed set up people use that silkies can't unalive themselves with? Other than Chicken nipples.

My last silkie managed to get her head between the two metal pieces on this one

I use this one, I bought it because I liked the color It seems to work pretty well for the Silkie and Polish, but my standard hens waste too much feed with this type of feeder.

 

[rollinrockell]

The newest batch of marbleless and hopefully nuggetless chicks are here