Silkie thread!

[littlecritters]

I really want the silkies and we're only hesitating because we don't want to have to keep them separate from our laying hens. Although, I know one could easily keep them separate. They're so tiny they don't need much. We're new to chickens and I'm a nervous nelly.
I've been doing a lot of research and reading about integrating new birds/birds of different ages. I've been told to get the silkies now and add younger than the silkies laying hens. I want to pick up my birds and want NPIP (or similarly reared) layers and this is posing a problem as I'm not finding people in my area.

Based on my recent experience of purchasing layer chicks first (group 1)... then getting 4 super sweet silkies along with 2 frisky polish about 3 weeks later (group 2) ...then adding 3 adorable silkie chicks two weeks later (group 3) ....l would do the whole thing differently if I could.

I have been keeping them in 3 seperate groups until this week. When I merged group 2 with the youngest silkies (group 3) things went well even with the bossy polish. But surprisingly, I now have one of the older silkies bullying the younger sikies whenever they try to eat or drink. I'm not sure if the onset of the heat wave affected their behavior, but now I am separating them again to protect the smallest silkies.

My thought would be to obtain chicks all at the same time if possible...and if not, silkies first then the more active layer breeds. And in regards to the layer breeds, our buff Orps are frendly and inquisitive... the SL and GL Wyandottes are non aggressive but aloof...and the Easter eggers are a bit flighty. Our layers are all hatchery stock.

I'm not sure if this helps or confuses the matter for you, but no matter what you end up doing....in the long run you will love having silkies. Tina

 

[peepblessed]

Wait but if they do get split wing what are you suppose to do? is this bad?

Most show breeders will not use them in a breeding program.

 

[littlecritters]

 

Okay, all of these boys are mine, so I don't mind tearing them apart!  The top two white boys are from Ideal Hatchery.  This is before I got into the nicer lines of birds.   But to point out why they are a Pet Quality--- Their comb is red and not mulberry.  They have little to no crest, they have very little feathering down their legs and toes.  They also have a lot of hard feathers in their tails.  Especially on males, there should be a VERY limited amount of hard feathers in the tail.  These guys-- you can see how their tails aren't fluffy and soft and the hard feathers stick straight out. Also, it's hard to see here, but the texture of their combs is not correct either.  They should have a smoother comb without all the pointy horns that are on these two whites.  They are also a non bearded, which is not a fault at all, but even for a non-bearded, their wattles are red and they are overly large.  They are lacking type-- which is that nice S shape you see in really nice birds..  The "type" is where their chests bump out, heads back a bit, and hackle feathers and cushion/tail touch each other.  These white roosters are obviously lacking in all areas.  

Then you have a breeder/show quality rooster (mine) below them.  He is a splash, but ignore his color for now.  The comb is the right color and texture.  It is a tiny bit on the large side, but a lot of people do like that, and it's not a DQ.  You can see his crest is much larger in comparison to his white rooster counter parts.  Also, he has the "type" I was talking about earlier-- where he has that nice S shape and his hackles and cushion/tail touch.  More so now that he has filled in better.  He has a nice wide chest-- it's not rangy and thin like the roosters above him.  You want the chest to look like that.  He has better leg and toe feathering.  The list goes on and on.  Basically all the opposite of the two white birds above.  The same can be said for a hen-- they should be nice and round and full looking, with good type, nice crest, nice tight wings-- no loose or dropping wings.  There should be no splits in the wings when you fan them out.  

I hope this give you a good start in identifying the difference in quality.  I also have pictures of good toes and bad toes, etc... if there is anything you want to see specifically, please ask and I'm sure we can all come up with something!  

Did your rooster attack the last birds, or were they attacked by a predator.  I ask because if a rooster is already prone to attacking and killing off other birds, I would put him in soup.  That is not something they can really come out of.  There is someone on the board here who's rooster killed 3 birds in one day all of a sudden.  Thinking it was a fluke, they left him be.  He ended up killing more birds over the next few days.  They have had to pen him by himself or he will kill birds.  And these are not other males--- but female birds that he should be protecting!  If he was not the killer, and you are simply finding him a buddy, then I agree with Peep below.  


These look like they are about 4-5 weeks old.  My 10wk old chicks look almost fully grown.    But I am going to side with you on your guesses.  These are beautiful birds, BTW!!  

X2!  

Thank you! and thanks to everyone else who has posted photos. Pictures are worth a thousands words!

 

[peepblessed]

I don't plan to breed silkies so maybe a split wing might be a good starter for us?

If you aren't going to breed them there are lots of gorgeous silkies available with DQ's. Look at this girl of mine. She is 5 months in this photo. If not for split wing I'm sure she could do well showing but she is just a broody for me.

 

[Hawkeye95]

I am under the impression that split wing is a natural occurrence but is not considered good if you plan to show?

Sonoran has said that split wing was not a very common thing a few years ago, and it is a mutation. She had mentioned that it was so rare, it was not much of a concern in silkies. Unfortunately, a lot of people have been misinformed or are uneducated about looking for this mutation and have gone on ahead and bred birds that have split wing and this has resulted in an unfortunate explosion of new birds today with this condition. There are breeders that sell eggs online (eBay and here on BYC) either knowingly or unknowingly with parent stock that have this wing deformity. This means that most of their offspring will have this too. It's good to be in the know so you can cull ALL birds with this condition and not use them in your breeding. They are not a good starter bird. They would make perfect pets, though, as most of them are still flashy and fluffy and beautiful. When you buy eggs from someone, do ask them about what their parents look like and ask for pictures and be specific in your questions. You can find other "culls" that might have a minor toe mutation that may not pass on down which would be better than buying a bird or eggs with those genetics for split wing. And if Sonoran pops up here, she would probably be saying something similar, but in a much wiser way! She is really in the know of these issues.

 

[Hawkeye95]

I have not noticed the hook to be indicative at least not the overlapping point part.

Have you had any "eagle" beaks turn out to be male? You did say that you had a female with that type of beak. I think ultimately, the best way to tell gender is simply to WAIT. LOL!

 

[peepblessed]

What exactly is it though? is it bad or good?And do we do it or does it happen naturally?

A good wing looks like a fan. Here's another link:http://www.hattricksilkies.net/articles_split_wing.html Split wing is a good sized gap in the feathers. It is hereditary and good winged chicken can carry it. It causes no problem for the bird. It's just not a show quality trait and if you breed them they keep passing it on. It's almost impossible to breed out.

 

[peepblessed]

Have you had any "eagle" beaks turn out to be male? You did say that you had a female with that type of beak. I think ultimately, the best way to tell gender is simply to WAIT. LOL!

I have two females with a long hook. I agree, no matter what you still have to wait!

 

[Whittni]

My rabbits match my chickens

 

[chitown chicks]

Based on my recent experience of purchasing layer chicks first (group 1)... then getting 4 super sweet silkies along with 2 frisky polish about 3 weeks later (group 2) ...then adding 3 adorable silkie chicks two weeks later (group 3) ....l would do the whole thing differently if I could.
I have been keeping them in 3 seperate groups until this week. When I merged group 2 with the youngest silkies (group 3) things went well even with the bossy polish. But surprisingly, I now have one of the older silkies bullying the younger sikies whenever they try to eat or drink. I'm not sure if the onset of the heat wave affected their behavior, but now I am separating them again to protect the smallest silkies.
My thought would be to obtain chicks all at the same time if possible...and if not, silkies first then the more active layer breeds. And in regards to the layer breeds, our buff Orps are frendly and inquisitive... the SL and GL Wyandottes are non aggressive but aloof...and the Easter eggers are a bit flighty. Our layers are all hatchery stock.
I'm not sure if this helps or confuses the matter for you, but no matter what you end up doing....in the long run you will love having silkies. Tina

Thanks Tina,
It does not confuse things for me, just more info to make a good decision. Honestly, I want the layers because I'm tired of paying $5+ for a dozen eggs reared the way I'd like and the silkies are for fun. I do NOT want to breed any of these birds and roosters are not permitted in our area.
I'd be thrilled to take a bird with fault off someone's hands.