Silkie thread!

[Sanna]

Tempting.... Lets order!!! We can split it, Ill pay, you incubate?! Haha

It was tempting, wasn't it?

I'll incubate!

 

[farmer boy]

this month was a bad one ... first all my chicks were killed by a raccoon family but one and then my silkie chicks caught coccidi and they all died but one .. but what I don't get is one of the ones who died was vaccinated and I thought when they get the vaccine they can't catch coccidi (there were 2 that were vaccinated partridge color and then there were 3 who were not vaccinated 2 blue light and dark then a black but they all died but one) and another thing I don't get is one caught it but its fine now and there was a young cockerel with them about the same age as the 2 partridge silkies and he didn't not catch it .. why is everything going bad for me

 

[siobhan118]

So we are very new to the whole world of chickens so excuse me if I'm sounding dumb here. I have 7 chicks that we have had since there were a day old. 4 are Brahmas and 3 are silkies. They are now 14 weeks old.
About 2 weeks ago we notice that our black silkie (Potato) was getting combs. More on her bottom than upper, but a little on the top of her beak. I thought then, uh oh I wonder if she is a he?
This morning when I let them out of their coop, I most definitely here a crowing coming from the run! I didn't see who did it but all bets are pointing to Potato.
We aren't supposed to have roosters but these chickens are pets and family friends to us so I would like to try and keep her/him. So here in lie my questions:
1. How loud do silkies crow? We aren't super close to my neighbors but we are close enough that it makes me nervous.
2. Besides the crowing what else should I expect from Roo behavior?
3. If I did have to rehome him would it upset the other chicks? They seem to be a really close bunch, sleeping and going every where together.
4. Is there anyway to prevent them from having little chicks (yup I know that's a dumb question!)

Thanks, I'll try and get a picture of our Potato tonight.

 

[aoxa]

this month was a bad one ... first all my chicks were killed by a raccoon family but one and then my silkie chicks caught coccidi and they all died but one .. but what I don't get is one of the ones who died was vaccinated and I thought when they get the vaccine they can't catch coccidi (there were 2 that were vaccinated partridge color and then there were 3 who were not vaccinated 2 blue light and dark then a black but they all died but one) and another thing I don't get is one caught it but its fine now and there was a young cockerel with them about the same age as the 2 partridge silkies and he didn't not catch it .. why is everything going bad for me

They weren't vaccinated for cocci Jason, ILT was what they were vaccinated for.

 

[farmer boy]

They weren't vaccinated for cocci Jason, ILT was what they were vaccinated for.

oh i thought thye were for cocci .. but i still don't under stand how they caught it

 

[aoxa]

oh i thought thye were for cocci .. but i still don't under stand how they caught it

It's present in any environment.

It's the overload that kills them.

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/12/coccidiosis-what-backyard-chicken.html

I do not promote medicated feed myself, but if I had such an overload here I would consider it.

I had an outbreak in one brooder that had chicks from the feed store. None of my other chicks ever showed signs. It is a very brutal thing to go through. They die very quickly.

 

[peepblessed]

Sorry if I've already posted this here before but I get confused as to which thread I post on - this one or the other silkie thread, but does anyone know what color these chicks are or will I have to wait until they feather out more? One hatched a light grey color so I assumed it was a lighter blue and the other hatched with the grey and some yellow feathering so I was sure if it was a true blue or not. Mom was a splash, dad was a lavender split blue. Sorry the pics arent the greatest, I tried taking pics in the most natural light possible.





Here they are hanging out with the bunny...

They look like lavender chicks. Is it possible the splash was split to lav also?

Funny video of Snowmiser sizing his own reflection up, and then deciding he looks too tough and backs away

Haha!

this month was a bad one ... first all my chicks were killed by a raccoon family but one and then my silkie chicks caught coccidi and they all died but one .. but what I don't get is one of the ones who died was vaccinated and I thought when they get the vaccine they can't catch coccidi (there were 2 that were vaccinated partridge color and then there were 3 who were not vaccinated 2 blue light and dark then a black but they all died but one) and another thing I don't get is one caught it but its fine now and there was a young cockerel with them about the same age as the 2 partridge silkies and he didn't not catch it .. why is everything going bad for me

Awwww..... So sorry!

Quote:

 

[Lynzi777]

They look like lavender chicks. Is it possible the splash was split to lav also?

I was thinking the same thing, that they looked lavender in color. I'd have to ask the person I got the splash from.

 

[Sanna]

So we are very new to the whole world of chickens so excuse me if I'm sounding dumb here. I have 7 chicks that we have had since there were a day old. 4 are Brahmas and 3 are silkies. They are now 14 weeks old.
About 2 weeks ago we notice that our black silkie (Potato) was getting combs. More on her bottom than upper, but a little on the top of her beak. I thought then, uh oh I wonder if she is a he?
This morning when I let them out of their coop, I most definitely here a crowing coming from the run! I didn't see who did it but all bets are pointing to Potato.
We aren't supposed to have roosters but these chickens are pets and family friends to us so I would like to try and keep her/him. So here in lie my questions:
1. How loud do silkies crow? We aren't super close to my neighbors but we are close enough that it makes me nervous.
2. Besides the crowing what else should I expect from Roo behavior?
3. If I did have to rehome him would it upset the other chicks? They seem to be a really close bunch, sleeping and going every where together.
4. Is there anyway to prevent them from having little chicks (yup I know that's a dumb question!)

Thanks, I'll try and get a picture of our Potato tonight.

In my experience, 14 weeks is too young for a silkie cockerel (a young rooster) to crow. I bet one of your Brahmas is the one crowing. But! I don't think it would be impossible, probably just very unlikely for a silkie to crow at that age.
All silkies will get little wattles (under the chin) and a comb on their head. Roosters of course bigger than hens. Can you take some close up pictures of Potato's face? And a side profile picture? I bet someone here could help you tell gender, if possible at 14 weeks.

1. My silkie roosters aren't loud at all. I don't think. They usually do their crowing in the morning when they are let out of their coops. Sometimes I'll hear a crow or two during the day, but for the most part, they're very quiet. Our biggest noise maker is our Polish rooster. lol We have 6 full grown roosters at the moment and I have 3 cockerels growing. You'll hear the boys talking to each other every here and there, but I think the silkies are the quietest out of all the breeds we have.

2. I'm not a chicken expert, but silkie roosters are pretty docile. Mine are bigger wimps than the hens are.

They're great with kids, especially if you handle them a lot. The more you handle them, the better they are, of course. I haven't seen a nasty silkie rooster yet.

3. If you had to rehome your little boy, I think they'd all be ok. The chicks you have left would still have each other and as long as your rooster had a place to live with some friends, I think they'd be just fine.

4. That's easy! Don't hatch eggs!

That's a dangerous thing to do, you know! lol You'll get addicted and want to hatch more and more and more and more.... And next thing you know, you're up to your neck in chicks. lol The only way you'll get chicks is if you let the hens sit on the eggs for 21 days. Just collect eggs daily and you're good.

 

[Fancychooklady]

If you really want to keep your little roo you could put him in a box at night and keep him in the garage. I have 7 silkie Roos , they can be a little screechy ,but no where near as loud as my big boys. Collect eggs daily to ensure no chicks.