Silkie thread!

[PaintedFeathers]

I need a good silkie breeder in Oregon help I just lost NY lil bantam silkue she drowned in the goats water bucket so I'm looking for one a few months old but a regular not bantam

yeah the US doesn't have LF silkies, only bantams. If you don't want a bantam bird, you could try a cochin? They are just as sweet as silkies I have heard and just as fluffy but with normal feathers.

 

[jmanderson777]

I have one silkie the runs with a flock of 15 large fowl (FBCM, Orpingtons, gold comets, rir). She holds her own. She even roosts 3 ft of the ground. The only issue is at one point she became the Roos favorite and the almost killed her. Peeled both of her sides off a 3"x3" area. She recovered and we got rid of all but 1 roo.

 

[NOLA Chicks]

my baby's are hatching

I've got some hatching also!!!

Born yesterday outside in the coop.


Born this morning in the incubator (sorry they are still goopy). This is a staggered hatch in the incubator which I have been worried about, but knock on wood, so far, so good!

My chicks finally arrived! Here is a pic of my favorite

Hi everyone i just wanted to share a picture of my new babies . I love everyone of them.

All the new babies are sooooo cute! Just love them.

Well, my three silkies are 3 months old today. How old are they before the roosters stick out obviously? None of these have any sign of comb or waddles. That is if you can get the fluff out of the way enough to even see their faces. I am beginning to think I ended up with three hens. No crowing yet either.

They're turning out so beautifully.

I wasn't able to identify my cockerels from the pullets until they began crowing. 2 started around 4 months and a 3rd one didn't begin crowing until almost 5 months old. About that same time you could see the comb and wattles developing too.

This can be so sad and frustrating. When you catch it relocate it at least 4 miles away or it will return to it's old stomping/eating grounds. If it gets the food and gets out try peanut butter on a honey bun putting it under the trap where the food goes and smash it down on top of it. They have to really work to get it and trip the trap easily. I have had them eat like pigs and never get caught til I tried that tactic. Good luck! By the way. Raccoon meat really is tasty. In the mountains where my mom is from they have coon dinners like we have bean suppers here.

Thanks for the tip. I'm all ears for suggestions on how to catch this critter.

 

[peepblessed]

Not a silkie, but my poor little "thing 1" has come down with wryneck

Found him this morning. Have him stablized on the dog bed and giving him poly-vi-sol and wet food mash with egg.

So sorry...

What color could this little guy possibly be? It's about three weeks old now and was not yellow as a young chick like whites are, but more colored like a splash chick. But it's not showing any "splashiness" to its coloring. It appears more silvery with white wingtips and tail, but maybe that's just the black skin showing through white feathers? What did I get here?








For comparison here's my white and splash at around five weeks old. The splash has no tail. It got pasty butt after we brought the chicks home, so all those feathers had to go.

I raise self-blue and this chick does look self-blue. I also have a light blue that turned pure white (silver gene white). I have had a few splash that didn't spot until they were 5 weeks. Here's a photo of self-blue chicks and my silver gene white turning from blue to white. My self-blue and splash often look identical in color as chicks.

About how long does it take to get hatching eggs once they start laying, if you consistently have roos in with them? I think the males are already trying to mate them (not 100% Sure though. I think they're even trying to mating each other) they chase them (male or female) and grab their tail feathers with their beak.

Some are fertile immediately and some take months or never. Some roos aren't aggressive enough to take on a skittish pullet.

Ok one last question! About how long after laying her first egg does it take for a Silkie to realize she's supposed to sit on it? Do you just wait for her to go broody? It must take a couple tries to get it right?

Some go broody in two weeks, some never. Most within 3 months.

I'm not sure.

I have seen a large opossum (sp?) in the yard and we have armadillos & raccoons. What bothers me is that nothing was eaten or missing. They were just killed. I'm still a mess about this. I called a person on Craigslist and they brought over a rooster. I don't know if it will help but I am hoping he can alert us of danger.

Was there blood on the neck? Weasels bit on the neck and drink the blood.

 

[flocknfoal]

We have nine silkies. Two of them are almost 4 months old now, but they are not related. We've been thinking they are both boys. One of them has been crowing for a least a month now but the other is not crowing yet. It's comb is bigger than the other pullets but smaller than the cockerel of the same age that is crowing, and it's "fluff" is not as round as the other pullets. I've read that some lines mature most slowly than others. This one is hatched from eggs that came from Catdance.

What do you think - slow maturing cockerel or pullet?

 

[PaintedFeathers]

We have nine silkies. Two of them are almost 4 months old now, but they are not related. We've been thinking they are both boys. One of them has been crowing for a least a month now but the other is not crowing yet. It's comb is bigger than the other pullets but smaller than the cockerel of the same age that is crowing, and it's "fluff" is not as round as the other pullets. I've read that some lines mature most slowly than others. This one is hatched from eggs that came from Catdance.

What do you think - slow maturing cockerel or pullet?

That's a cockerel.

 

[Feathersprings]

That's a cockerel.

Looks like a cockerel to me also...

 

[stephaniemiko]

My silkie mix is very petite compared to her "sisters." Ironically, though the smallest, Margaret has the beginnings of a single comb. Do you think she's more a Mike than a Margaret?? She is between 6 and 8 weeks.

 

[flocknfoal]

That's a cockerel.

Looks like a cockerel to me also...

That's what I thought. Must just be maturing more slowly than the other one. Now I just hope that at least one of the newly hatched blue or splash chicks turn out to be hens.

 

[NOLA Chicks]

Got some pics of one of my porcelain girls here - Meet "Her Majesty". I just love this girl, she is not even a year old yet and just to die for. Also got some new pics of our paint girl Duchess and our blue partridge chick being super cute and sun bathing in the yard. Her Majesty got her name from her Holier than Thou demeanor. She is super sweet and friendly but it should be viewed as a privilege to even be in her presence. Duchess of course was named due to the fact she is very social and sweet but very high and mighty the way she carries herself. Our blue partridge chick I am still not quite sure what gender is on them, but either way I am sure we will find a suitable name for them as well. The baby is such a sweet heart, curled up on my lap and took a mini cat nap in the yard yesterday. We are due for a small hatch from the BBS pen. Looking forward to playing and loving on some new babies...

Oh my!!! They are GORGEOUS!!

Her Majesty (hehehe) is absolutely stunning. Great job with your breeding!

Raising 6 kids is rough on a woman

Her crest and beard were trimmed, she plucked her belly feathers, her tail has lost a lot of fluff, her foot feathers are mostly broken, and her face is nearly always dirty now. She's back to laying again, I put 4 of her eggs underneath the perpetually broody duo (seriously. They've raised 2 broods so far this year, and want a third) in the pile house.
before

after



2 of her chicks (she didn't raise these, she raised 6 mixed LF chicks) by blood. 3 1/2 months. They always stick together.

LOL. You can't say she's not dedicated! Beautiful girl.

I'm sick. Something broke into our coop and murdered my 2 black silkies, bantam roo, and 3 baby turkeys. I know it was one of the million cats next door. (Cat hoarder.)
I'm beyond upset. What are my rights here? The cats should be in their own yard!

I'm so sorry. Losing them that way is such a tragedy.

My baby, Jill. She is a talker and loves to scratch near my feet. lol.

Pretty girl!

Here a couple I phone pics of some of my new babies. A paint, porcelain, and I believe a self blue but hard to tell by pick and I don't remember which It is. It might be a cuckoo.

Cute!!!