Silkie thread!

[Fancychooklady]

And straw poses a good hiding place for mites, and is also prone to mold.  It would be about my last choice.

I don't use straw either! My point being, people use what is available to them in their area. I have dirt and sand floors and hay in the nest boxes. In Aus there is a sugar cane straw / mulch that could be useful.

 

[emvickrey]

I use both wood chips and straw. I put the wood chips in their nesting areas and inside their houses and use straw on the ground outside. It gets very muddy around here in every season except summer I use the straw as a barrier from the mud. My house hen has lived on a wire floor. Her cage is a rabbit cage but it works fine for her inside. She has lost a couple of toes from the wire floor. She has only been broody once in 4 years but regularly lays an egg every other day unless she is molting. She does take breaks from egg laying and I suppose that would be her broody time. Not all my silkies lay eggs when they aren't broody or molting. I can have 3 hens in a pen and only get 2 eggs a day for months. I have 1 hen that would rather be broody than lay eggs. They aren't all the same with their laying and broodiness.

Thats just my experience.

 

[EZFarms]

We have hay availble in summer due to a bunch of farmers growing it but this time of year its trucked in so the price goes up. im just gpnna stick with the woodchips

 

[Suzierd]

This little girl is a non-bearded Silkie. She started laying at about 9 months and lays almost everyday and her eggs are pretty big. The advantage to a pet quality hatchery is their crest typically aren't as big there for they can see better than those with large crest. My girl will have half the treats gobbled up before those with big crest can find it. They may be getting a hair cut since I had a hawk attack today and one of my d'Uccle roos was killed protecting my Sizzle girl FiFi. All the silkie were in the coop so Prince Albert saved everyone, but his self. Non of the chickens will be free ranging with out me until I get that taken care of. Poor things were enjoying these warm days after the crazy Polar Vortex. I would get a couple extra to give them time to brood... She is on the left.

Very sorry to hear about Prince Albert. Did you see the hawk?

 

[kabhyper1]

The silkies enjoyed a little warmer weather today. It's been really cold!

 

[BuckNBark Farm]

Mine cant fly and the roos think they cant climb... The silly boys. The pullets walk up a ramp to sleep in a large nesting box that a adult turkey can fit in. ( came with the coop) The sleep in a pile on the ground.My coop is open so I put a inverted pallet in to get them up off the ground. None of them can fly. As far as your other breeds I don't have any of them, but from my limited experience with the LF of the breed I would say the Brahmas and Wyndottes would be less likely to fly than say d'Uccle. I would guess that the Dom's will be the fliers of your flock. I would suggest poultry netting over their run to keep predators out and chickens in. Hawks love Silkies because they typically have a hard time seeing the air born threats.

The feather structure is different in Silkies than in flying ones. The can do a high jump, or a controlled fall, but don't fly, so to speak.

 

[TiaRC]

Unless mine are broody or molting, they lay daily. I did have one who only rarely laid, but most of mine have been consistently good layers until they went broody or began a molt. Tyeh typically raise the chicks for about 6 weeks to sometimes 8 weeks; I've only ever had one hen raise chicks longer than that, and it was not a silkie--she actually tried to "kick them out of the nest" so to speak, but they wouldn't let her--followed her around and hopped up to join her when she tried to get away from them; finally she relented and raised them for about 5 months total. It was cute seeing them huddle under her when they were nearly twice as large as she was. Swallow was a tiny thing--an araucana/d'uccle mix that might have had as much as 1/4 silkie in her. She laid Easter egg coloured pastel green eggs.

At one time I had 20+ silkies all being the same age, and one roo. every day I got between 10-12 eggs. Unless I get broodys and in that case, it drops to 8-10. Not to mention the broody stealing others eggs as her own. Then if I allowed them to raise the chicks, they would keep them til they were as big as she was then chase them from her. I guess my motherly broody try to hang on a little too long lol.

 

[K Epp]

Very sorry to hear about Prince Albert. Did you see the hawk?

Yes and I almost got it too. I'm sure it will be back and this time I will be prepaired.

On a plus note... I'm going tomorrow to look at a Splash or Blue pullet to go with Mr. Silver Britches. A sweet lady I go to church with heard me talking about wanting and looking for one. Yipeeee .

 

[Suzierd]

Yes and I almost got it too. I'm sure it will be back and this time I will be prepaired.

On a plus note... I'm going tomorrow to look at a Splash or Blue pullet to go with Mr. Silver Britches. A sweet lady I go to church with heard me talking about wanting and looking for one. Yipeeee .

I wish they just ate mice. Best of luck getting you Pullet! I love Splash. Wish I had one.

 

[K Epp]

I wish they just ate mice. Best of luck getting you Pullet! I love Splash. Wish I had one.

Tkanks its the one color my daughter has been asking for.