Silkie thread!

[Lady Ressler]

Would you sell any hatching eggs? I am not ready for them yet but I would love to try raising them Are they any different from the Barred Rock or Orpingtons as far as care and hardiness?

 

[peepblessed]

Wow, those guys are all business! I've never seen them be that aggressive, not even our full grown birds. Last year we had more roosters in the pen than hens and they all got along just great.
You got two big egos there, I think. lol





I don't remember if I posted this picture already?? lol

Sooooo precious!!

 

[dwegg]

Here are my 3 week old Silkie chicks making it obvious that they are boys! Apparently some are easier to sex early than others!!!

Is this a common thing with Silkies??? I've never seen this sort of fighting with any of my large fowl. Not even the early crowers were this determined.

wow! they really don't like each other do they...lol..and neither one will give up...silly birds...

 

[Grumpypantsmomma]

This is a Craigslist ad I found today... pretty sure brown is not a Silkie color... Or are they hatching out some rare color and calling it brown?

"i have chicks available today...Sicilian Buttercups,Silkie(black,brown & splash) $3 each,...Silver laced polish & Blue Laced Red Wyandottes $4 each or 4 for $15...Rhode Island Reds $1.50 each (11 total)... call/text Jamie...704-746-1291. can possibly do better the more you buy... "

I have never seen brown silkies, I think what she is calling brown is actually dark buff or Partridge.

 

[TheRookie]

I have never seen brown silkies, I think what she is calling brown is actually dark buff or Partridge.

Well that would make sense.

 

[mama2my4]

Here's a little cutie is hatched a couple of days ago. It was the only one to survive a shipment of 9 eggs. I was soooo thankful to get at least one as I didn't get any from the shippment before that! I have a 2 1/2 week old chick babysitting it. It looks like a monster in comparison!

Beautiful!!

 

[mama2my4]

Wow, those guys are all business! I've never seen them be that aggressive, not even our full grown birds. Last year we had more roosters in the pen than hens and they all got along just great.
You got two big egos there, I think. lol





I don't remember if I posted this picture already?? lol

this is precious Sanna!

 

[marlo1968]

Hawkeye95, I'm so sorry to hear about your little black silkie, best wishes with the rest of the hatch.

I had an interesting afternoon with my silkies. I decided to let them out to free range at the same time that the rest of my hens were out as kind of an introduction to each other. First when I went in I couldn't find my black hen, who is now named "Lovely"....looked high and low for her, I even got down on my hands and knees and looked under the now lowered hen house (and by the way they began using the now less steep ramp).....it's really only about 4-6 inches off the ground, I promise. I couldn't see her, I thought something had come in and gotten her, but there were no feathers anywhere.....seemed as though she had done a disappearing act. My husband and a friend were helping me look for her, when lo and behold she poked her head out from under the hen house.....She were hidin'!!! Wheew...

that was scary!! So anyway, I opened the gate, and had to shoo them out of the run because they refused to go out. Then since all the other hens had left the area to go scratching in the horse pens, I called them back to intoduce them to the Silkies.....Lovely decided that she is top dog....every hen that came near her and the other two silkies would get the stink eye, and if they came too close she ran at them, jumping up at them, flapping her wings, pecked at them, pulled feathers and all.....She was not putting up with anybody invading her space, then she saw other hens going into her run, oh my, huge grievence there, she went in and flogged every hen that wouldn't leave on their own. Pushy little thing.....and she's smaller than all the other hens, including the other Silkie hen and the Silkie rooster, Prune.....

So here's a question based on this information, if I join the two flocks (silkies and other hens), will Lovely likely establish dominance over the other flock of hens, who have no rooster? I have been planning on joining the two groups but was concerned that the silkies, since they are smaller and outnumbered, would get picked on unmercifully. What do all of y'all think?

 

[sager:)silkies]

Hawkeye95, I'm so sorry to hear about your little black silkie, best wishes with the rest of the hatch.

I had an interesting afternoon with my silkies. I decided to let them out to free range at the same time that the rest of my hens were out as kind of an introduction to each other. First when I went in I couldn't find my black hen, who is now named "Lovely"....looked high and low for her, I even got down on my hands and knees and looked under the now lowered hen house (and by the way they began using the now less steep ramp).....it's really only about 4-6 inches off the ground, I promise. I couldn't see her, I thought something had come in and gotten her, but there were no feathers anywhere.....seemed as though she had done a disappearing act. My husband and a friend were helping me look for her, when lo and behold she poked her head out from under the hen house.....She were hidin'!!! Wheew...

that was scary!! So anyway, I opened the gate, and had to shoo them out of the run because they refused to go out. Then since all the other hens had left the area to go scratching in the horse pens, I called them back to intoduce them to the Silkies.....Lovely decided that she is top dog....every hen that came near her and the other two silkies would get the stink eye, and if they came too close she ran at them, jumping up at them, flapping her wings, pecked at them, pulled feathers and all.....She was not putting up with anybody invading her space, then she saw other hens going into her run, oh my, huge grievence there, she went in and flogged every hen that wouldn't leave on their own. Pushy little thing.....and she's smaller than all the other hens, including the other Silkie hen and the Silkie rooster, Prune.....

So here's a question based on this information, if I join the two flocks (silkies and other hens), will Lovely likely establish dominance over the other flock of hens, who have no rooster? I have been planning on joining the two groups but was concerned that the silkies, since they are smaller and outnumbered, would get picked on unmercifully. What do all of y'all think?

my silkies get along with my large fowl which consist of cochins,barred rocks and wyandottes and other big breeds to tell u the truth i think the silkies are more dominant then most breeeds

 

[peepblessed]

Hawkeye95, I'm so sorry to hear about your little black silkie, best wishes with the rest of the hatch.

I had an interesting afternoon with my silkies. I decided to let them out to free range at the same time that the rest of my hens were out as kind of an introduction to each other. First when I went in I couldn't find my black hen, who is now named "Lovely"....looked high and low for her, I even got down on my hands and knees and looked under the now lowered hen house (and by the way they began using the now less steep ramp).....it's really only about 4-6 inches off the ground, I promise. I couldn't see her, I thought something had come in and gotten her, but there were no feathers anywhere.....seemed as though she had done a disappearing act. My husband and a friend were helping me look for her, when lo and behold she poked her head out from under the hen house.....She were hidin'!!! Wheew...

that was scary!! So anyway, I opened the gate, and had to shoo them out of the run because they refused to go out. Then since all the other hens had left the area to go scratching in the horse pens, I called them back to intoduce them to the Silkies.....Lovely decided that she is top dog....every hen that came near her and the other two silkies would get the stink eye, and if they came too close she ran at them, jumping up at them, flapping her wings, pecked at them, pulled feathers and all.....She was not putting up with anybody invading her space, then she saw other hens going into her run, oh my, huge grievence there, she went in and flogged every hen that wouldn't leave on their own. Pushy little thing.....and she's smaller than all the other hens, including the other Silkie hen and the Silkie rooster, Prune.....

So here's a question based on this information, if I join the two flocks (silkies and other hens), will Lovely likely establish dominance over the other flock of hens, who have no rooster? I have been planning on joining the two groups but was concerned that the silkies, since they are smaller and outnumbered, would get picked on unmercifully. What do all of y'all think?

I wish you had a video of this! Great story. She sounds like my girls when they are protecting babies. Maybe she's close to going broody. Many people successfully integrate, but you do occasionally hear horror stories. It's a big plus if you have lots of room in the run. The vaulted skull silkies are especially susceptible to a bad peck on the head.