Silkie thread!

[Sanna]

i just shipped for the first time last yr and it wasnt as bad as i thought it would be

Oh, good. Someday I'll ship birds!

Are silkies good with children and how are they as layers trying to start my first backyard coop in Georgia

Silkies are great! The more you handle them, the better they are. And I'll say what the other said about the egg laying. Not the greatest layers around but they make excellent broodies!

 

[blipit007]

there good with childen the don't lay that well but they brood and hatch chicks well and they don't make good free range birds

What about them makes them bad free range birds? I just got my chicks a week ago so Im learning so much. I have 5 non silkie chicks and on silkie. I was planning on Free Ranging them when I am home. Is this a bad idea?

 

[allsummedup]

Oh man I and wait to hatch my partridge silkie eggs that get here on the 20th!
My first time hatching and my first silkies! Couldn't be more excited.

 

[Suzierd]

What about them makes them bad free range birds?  I just got my chicks a week ago so Im learning so much.  I have 5 non silkie chicks and on silkie.  I was planning on Free Ranging them when I am home.  Is this a bad idea? 

They are not good at escaping predators, easy pickings for hawks or anything else. If you let them free range stay right with them. I was sitting with mine and a hawk came right at us I had to jump up and get between them and wave my hands and thankfully he veered off. I read a lady had her little Cochin hen taken just ten feet from her. So watch them close. They just don't see very good with all that fluff, a lot of the time they see a hawk they just freeze instead of hide. Best of luck with them, I just love mine.

 

[blipit007]

Awe poor thing! Glad you were able to stop your attack though. I will definitely keep a close eye on her. She is adorable!

 

[lichick28]

SILKIES ARE SO CALM THAT I DONT THINK THEY HAVE THAT INSTINCT TO BE ON THE WATCH FOR PREDITORS. I HAD A RED TAIL HAWK SWOOP DOWN 7 FT FROM WHERE I WAS STANDING. GOT MY ONLY PAINT. I WAVED MY RAKE AT IT BUT WAS TOO LATE. I WAS SURPRISED HOW IT JUST CAME DOWN SO FAST. I WAS IN SHOCK THAT IT CAME SO CLOSE WITH ME STANDING THERE. WE LIVE IN THE SUBURBS.

 

[Member 151789]

same thing happened here with one of my whites

 

[silkiemomma42]

Well this settles the 'should I let the whites and paints out there with the rest of the kids' sounds like.this week's project has turned to larger chicken tractor for my peeps.

 

[Blair75214]

I just put my first dozen silkie eggs and dozen cochin eggs in the incubator at 99.5 degrees. About 45 minutes (maybe an hour?) later, I checked on them, and the thermometer read 107!! Did I just kill all the chicks, or was that not long enough or hot enough to do damage?

 

[cubbysan]

Hi everybody,

I just got my first batch of 8 silkies a few weeks ago. They were shipped to me at about 3 weeks old, and are now about 6 weeks old. My question is, do they tend to need the heat lamp longer than other breeds? I keep them in the garage and up until the past week, the nights were still cold. They still tend to cuddle under the lamp a lot of the time. I have raised it a little, but not much. If I take them out of the brooder for socialization, they don't seem chilled. Temperatures are now hitting 70's and 80's during the day, so I am tempted to take the lamp away during the day.

I have another brooder with 5 bantam breeds, about three weeks old and they are now sleeping away from the lamp.