Silkie thread!

[SundownWaterfowl]

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Thanks.

I was glad that the chicks from this mating all are comming out lighter blue, instead of the darker blue where you can't tell if its blue or black. Im going to switch up the male in the next couple days and put in a blue male with the black pullet.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

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Pets, showing, broodies, eggs (when they lay). My silkies handle the cold weather just fine. During the winter I combine the coops so they have their own body heat to stay warm, and I don't have to use heat lamps. This year we had a hard winter with a snowstorm every week or so. Everybody did good with all the snow. I don't free range my birds, they just have covered runs. If I let them out the hawks would pick them off quickly.

 

[Brody's Broodello]

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Pets, showing, broodies, eggs (when they lay). My silkies handle the cold weather just fine. During the winter I combine the coops so they have their own body heat to stay warm, and I don't have to use heat lamps. This year we had a hard winter with a snowstorm every week or so. Everybody did good with all the snow. I don't free range my birds, they just have covered runs. If I let them out the hawks would pick them off quickly.

Don't forget hand warmers during those cold winter days when you are stuck outside feeding & watering! That is when a warm silkie is worth 2 in a bush!lol

 

[pistol123]

They are cheeper than a therapist...Just set and watch them for 30 minutes and your a new person....STRESS RELIEF....I think that is worth a fortune.
That's what else they are good for and they are beautiful to look at.

 

[Vanessabuffsnsilkies]

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Absolutely!

 

[emvickrey]

Stress relief for sure. I always get greeted with love when I go out to the coop. My favorite roo is such a sweetie and now one of his heans is following his lead. There are 2 youngsters in that pen and they are watching so i'm sure they will too. Soon, it'll be like walking into a pen full of kittens.

If he could smile i'm sure he would. I know I do. Yesterday he along with all the chickens where doaking wet and it was hard to tell the dark ones apart. Even my little buddy was looking the same. He didn't feel much like getting petted but I gave him love anyway.

 

[Colie <3]

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Having to order 25 at a time is a major bummer when you are talking about a hatchery isn't it? My advice is look at mypetchicken.com if you're ok with hatchery stock since they will sell small orders of about 5 or so I think. I just recently looked on their site for someone else and I believe they were sold out until July but if you don't mind waiting go ahead and place your order.
Or you could contact someone like Bobbi Porto at IndigoEgg.us and see if she's still shipping for this year. She always hatches tons of extras so she has some to sell and her quality is usually pretty nice

CJ exotics on here also will sells chicks but I think she does it on a preorder basis, she also sells eggs. Hatching eggs are really a gamble. I've had horrible luck with shipped eggs. If you keep an eye out on the auction sites you might be able to pick up a batch for a good price so in turn if you only end up hatching a few from that dozen you're not actually losing any money

GL!!

 

[Colie <3]

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I think saying their egg laying is below average is a falsity honestly. No they don't lay every day (well not usually) but most that I have will lay every other day. Their eggs are a good size as well, not a jumbo but about par with a regular egg from the grocery as long as they aren't pullet eggs. In comparison to other breeds that are notorious for not laying often or laying small eggs, mine actually lay pretty well even though they aren't considered a egg layer. Once they get broody though yeah.... no eggs and depending on the bird is how long you'll have to wait to start getting them to lay again LOL They can handle cold weather as well most other breeds as long as they are #1 acclimated to the climate #2 not wet & #3 in a draft free coop. Mine will scarf down bugs like you mentioned but won't touch a cockroach idk why! Mostly the value of a silkie is their good pet qualities, they are gorgeous to look at and their personalities are just so darn sweet. If you have kiddos around the birds you can know in most cases they aren't going to have an issue with the chickens even the roosters attacking or any of that nonsense. They also are probably one of the easier birds to integrate into a flock as far as the existing birds go, they however are usually at the bottom of the pecking order so that's someone to watch for. Also if you need a ready make incubator they will pretty much hatch anything for you and be an excellent mother. No they aren't a bird you'd want to eat (unless you're into Asian cuisine) but other than that I'm not sure of what else you might think that they are lacking in comparison to other breeds.

p.s. no offense taken

I'm a realist so I understand the need to contemplate the situation.

 

[Colie <3]

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Oh la la! Look at those feet!! The toe spacing and the foot feathering

My word! I see feathering on every toe and that's a brand new chick! Very nice!

 

[Colie <3]

Brody's Broodello :

Quote:
Pets, showing, broodies, eggs (when they lay). My silkies handle the cold weather just fine. During the winter I combine the coops so they have their own body heat to stay warm, and I don't have to use heat lamps. This year we had a hard winter with a snowstorm every week or so. Everybody did good with all the snow. I don't free range my birds, they just have covered runs. If I let them out the hawks would pick them off quickly.

Don't forget hand warmers during those cold winter days when you are stuck outside feeding & watering! That is when a warm silkie is worth 2 in a bush!lol​

HAHA awesome!