Silkie thread!

[Hawkeye95]

I feel so bad for all my farm babies when the weather gets like this . 110 in the shade today

YIKES!!!!!!!!!

 

[Laingcroft]

Anyone ever get a single comb chick from pure silkie parents? Isn't rose comb supposed to be dominant so could this be a recessive trait? Or a sign of non-pure breeding?

The chick is not of my breeding. It is the little "mystery" color from several posts back that is supposed to be partridge, but looks like it might be barred/cuckoo instead ---- with a single comb.

 

[littlecritters]

Hi, I have a feeding question for silkie and polish chicks. Our family is new to raising chickens and this past weekend, we were lucky to acquire week old silkie and polish chicks from a lovely breeder who we found on BYC. Thank you Anne!

My daughter and I just adore these babies already. We also have four week old hatchery chicks (BO, Araucana, SLW and GLW). We can immediately see a difference in their personalities compared to our hatchery chicks. The silkies are the sweetest, most gentle balls of fluff and the polish are little devils.

We have been feeding our hatchery chicks non-medicated starter feed (mash not crumbles). Today, I went to a different feed store to buy more feed. I was given a confusing array of options with various combinations of medicated vs non-medicated, mash vs crumbles, grower vs starter.
So, I didn't buy anything and thought I would seek advice here on BYC.

What should we feed the silkie chicks at the various ages of development? Should we use a specific percentage of protein? Avoid any particular ingredients? Add any special products or treats? We used to breed and show championship rabbits and fed them a specific diet which produced lush and soft fur. I'm wondering what to do for our silkies? Thanks in advance for your input!
Tina

 

[Laingcroft]

I should say, obviously my main thing is white BUT I think I am going to have to build another pen for partridge
as I really like them too. I have two lovely young pullets from Bobbi Porto. Also, I wish I had room for more because
I LOVE this splash pullet but what am I going to do with her??!!



I mean, is there any other way? Do breeders with all the colors have that many pens?
I was wondering if I could keep my white and partridge together somehow? I guess I will just separate
the pen - divide it - and just build another coop.

Ummmm, you could send her to me?

Seriously, she is quite pretty. I keep mine all together until I set up breeding pens for a two month period, collect all the eggs I need/want and then everyone goes back together again. Easier to control the records that way too.

 

[Laingcroft]

Gorgeous day yesterday. Perfect for getting the chicks out on grass.

Here are my two white babies hatched out of eggs from Dylan's Silkies. Really hoping they are a pair. I think the larger one might be male based on attitude, size and comb development, the smaller, a female for same reasons, attitude and lack of comb development. They are six weeks old tomorrow.

Priscilla and Chardonnay

 

[peepblessed]

Gorgeous day yesterday. Perfect for getting the chicks out on grass.

Here are my two white babies hatched out of eggs from Dylan's Silkies. Really hoping they are a pair. I think the larger one might be male based on attitude, size and comb development, the smaller, a female for same reasons, attitude and lack of comb development. They are six weeks old tomorrow.

Priscilla and Chardonnay

Cute names for cute chicks!! Great photos! Hope you have a pair.

 

[peepblessed]

Anyone ever get a single comb chick from pure silkie parents? Isn't rose comb supposed to be dominant so could this be a recessive trait? Or a sign of non-pure breeding?

The chick is not of my breeding. It is the little "mystery" color from several posts back that is supposed to be partridge, but looks like it might be barred/cuckoo instead ---- with a single comb.

Single combs can occasionally crop up in silkies from somewhere way back in the lineage, but silkies have walnut combs not rose combs. ;-)

 

[peepblessed]

Hi, I have a feeding question for silkie and polish chicks. Our family is new to raising chickens and this past weekend, we were lucky to acquire week old silkie and polish chicks from a lovely breeder who we found on BYC. Thank you Anne!
My daughter and I just adore these babies already. We also have four week old hatchery chicks (BO, Araucana, SLW and GLW). We can immediately see a difference in their personalities compared to our hatchery chicks. The silkies are the sweetest, most gentle balls of fluff and the polish are little devils.
We have been feeding our hatchery chicks non-medicated starter feed (mash not crumbles). Today, I went to a different feed store to buy more feed. I was given a confusing array of options with various combinations of medicated vs non-medicated, mash vs crumbles, grower vs starter.
So, I didn't buy anything and thought I would seek advice here on BYC.
What should we feed the silkie chicks at the various ages of development? Should we use a specific percentage of protein? Avoid any particular ingredients? Add any special products or treats? We used to breed and show championship rabbits and fed them a specific diet which produced lush and soft fur. I'm wondering what to do for our silkies? Thanks in advance for your input!
Tina

Another silkie addict in the making!! Welcome to a great bunch of enablers!

I'm sure everyone does things different but I'll give you my routine. My chicks get free choice medicated feed until they are four months. They also get free choice alfalfa hay from birth and on. As soon as they are able they get sunflower seeds as a daily treat and flaxseed. They also get fresh fruit or veges daily. All applies to my adults except the medicated feed. The adults get flock grower and oyster shell. Wow! They eat better than me!

 

[GoldBarRanch]

Anyone ever get a single comb chick from pure silkie parents? Isn't rose comb supposed to be dominant so could this be a recessive trait? Or a sign of non-pure breeding?

The chick is not of my breeding. It is the little "mystery" color from several posts back that is supposed to be partridge, but looks like it might be barred/cuckoo instead ---- with a single comb.

silkies should have a walnut comb

 

[Sanna]

I had ordered BBS eggs shipped to me. This hatched out of my BBS eggs yesterday! (he's not a BBS)

black/blue/splash

So if BBS is black/blue/splash, what does it mean exactly?? You have eggs of all three colors? Or one bird carries these genes? I'm confused. lol