Silkie thread!

[EZFarms]

Ive heard about the wryneck before and ive also seen a few articles talking about the vaulted skull? Does that mean they cant be housed with others because of their skulls? We are getting 5 black silkies,5 white,5dominiques,5 colobian wyandottes and 5 buff brahmas all bantams they will have their own coop away from the standards we already have.

 

[K Epp]

Vaulted Skulls are like the soft spots in babies. I haven't had a issue. I think you will be fine since you are keeping them separated from other chickens. I think the problems happen when adding them into flocks when they get pecked. I raised my Silkies with large fowl and turkey poults in the brooder. I separated them in the grow out pen when the others out grew them. Now the live with d'Uccle and other bantam. Now I did have to cut what looked like a matted fur ball out of one of there feathers on its back today. I believe that's because they insist on sleeping under the roost bars of the others and got pooped on and its feathers were all stuck in it. I have learned to keep them something to get up of the ground on. I have a upside down with hay on it so if its raining they can get off the wet ground.

 

[Teila]

G'Day Nikki1496
I agree with K Epp that you are probably going to get all kinds of answers. My two Silkies are my first chicks so I raised them without chick-experience. They are 13 weeks old going along nicely with their Bantam Black Cochin Mum and Aunty Bantam Langshan.
A couple of things I have been told and kept in mind are that Silkies feathers are not as waterproof as others so it is definitely not a good idea to let them go to bed wet or they could catch a chill. My two are nicknamed Gremlins for that reason .. do not get wet!
Also, because they do not see as well or fly so good, their roosts need to be lower than your average chicken roost.
Other than that, I do not treat mine any differently to the rest of the family.
Mine are too young as yet for me to quote this from experience but I have been told that they go broody more often than other breeds.

I love my Silkies to bits; they are so adorable! From now on I will always have at least 2!

 

[EZFarms]

The shed thing we are going to turn into a coop is like 5-8 inches off the ground and ill be using woodchips in their coop instead of hay like with my standards. im hoping to get show quality birds so i dont want the hay sticking in their feet.

 

[Aaisha]

I got tw white pet quality silkies. I am selling those and getting new chicks !

 

[EZFarms]

Yea i heard about the lower roostsi plan on putting lower roosts and higher ones for the other bantams

 

[EZFarms]

We actually have 3 eggs from our chickens that we are incubating xD so they will hopefully hatch about the the time we get the rest of our bantams. we call the three eggs "surprises" because we have no idea who laid them or which rooster they are fertilized by xD so they may live with tye bantam flock to

 

[Teila]

Hhhm, I didn't know about the hay sticking to their feet; you learn something every day!

My two are not show quality, just by babies but they bed down on straw and don't seem to have any problems. I actually tried wood chips but as per usual with chickens, nobody liked the change and I had to go back to straw

 

[EZFarms]

Ive heard the hay can get between their feathers/toes and id imaginr that couldhurt their feet. im the one who cleans out all the animal pens so it doesnt bother me xD

 

[PaintedFeathers]

Stupid question but is there anything i should know about silkies? ive been on google and found some info but not alot. im getting some silkie chicks in feb so any info to help me raise them right would help. personal experiences work to ^^
(May have already posted this idk )

Feed them gamebird or multi-flock starter crumbles, this helps prevent wryneck. Silkies require more protein than other chickens. Also you can keep htem on this same food their whole lives, just supplement them with some oystershell in a dish on the side so they can get calcium once they start laying. I feed this to my other breeds as well. Pine Shavings or crystalline silica-free sand work best for bedding. They can go with other breeds, if they have the vaulted skull they are just more prone to brain injury. I have one nasty roo who likes to bop them on their heads( he's going to be leaving), but other than that all my silkies are in with my mixed large fowl and bantam flock without a problem.