Silkie thread!

[Lacey1988]

Four weeks old tomorrow and they're steadily growing. Hope the white one is a pullet, I already know the black one is a boy.

 

[Urchin]

Ugh, my hens look awful. They all went broody this winter, were difficult to break of it and lost some feathers afterwards. The thing is, they're not really growing them back. Their crests are not as full as they were this summer/fall and things are a little thin on their breasts. Ella, the house chicken, grew back her feathers nicely, except her foot and flight feathers which are still all broken and cruddy. The roosters aren't to rough with the hens, either. There's only been one incidence of a hen getting some feathers yanked from the back of her head, I know feather growing takes a lot of energy to do and we've had a lot of below zero weather thanks to that polar vortex. Could this bad cold we've been having keep them from getting new feathers? Could their energy be going towards keeping warm rather than regenerating feathers?

 

[Fancychooklady]

Ugh, my hens look awful.  They all went broody this winter, were difficult to break of it and lost some feathers afterwards.  The thing is, they're not really growing them back.  Their crests are not as full as they were this summer/fall and things are a little thin on their breasts.  Ella, the house chicken, grew back her feathers nicely, except her foot and flight feathers which are still all broken and cruddy.  The roosters aren't to rough with the hens, either.  There's only been one incidence of a hen getting some feathers yanked from the back of her head,  I know feather growing takes a lot of energy to do and we've had a lot of below zero weather thanks to that polar vortex.  Could this bad cold we've been having keep them from getting new feathers?  Could their energy be going towards keeping warm rather than regenerating feathers? 

In the absence of lice and or mites I would up their protein. The only other thing I can think of that retards feathers coming in is worming them when in a moult. I give mine boiled pasta with egg and sardines once a week. Seems to help .

 

[greenbeetle]

Quick question, if you pick out a trio to breed, and they have been in a flock, how long do you have to wait to make sure the eggs are fertilized by the rooster you picked to breed with them to make sure he is the father and not another rooster.

Thanks

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: ??? Not sure where you get that ??? Porcelain (blue cream) is a work in progress, and it should have lavender dilution, not blue, and therefore not splash.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Thanx to all who contribute to the Silkie thread. Someday if I have 5-6 hours I'll get through all the pics and comments LOL!

Just wanted to say that of all the pet bantams I pondered, I am so-o-o glad I went w/ Silkies. I was gifted a hatchery Partridge and a year later got a Black from a private breeder. The hatchery Partridge girl was never 100% beautiful but decently fluffy and later I learned there are different degrees of Partridge shading. The private breeder Black is SQ nice.

Both are backyard free-range birds. For all their "pretty girl" looks, they are one hardy backyard breed. They weather our very hot So Calif heatwaves and cold rain doesn't stop their foraging in the least. The Partridge hides til it stops raining but the Black is out in the puddles w/ the bigger breeds and will look like a drowned rat after a romp in the water. The next day both Silkies are pretty and fluffy again ready for another go at foraging. They are hardy but we monitor and inspect for the usual routine care of free-range Silkies.

Since the Silkies love to forage and dust-bathe I never considered a White and settled for 2 darker colors. I read somewhere that Black and White are the most hardy of the varieties and wondered if anyone had an opinion about that? I only have Partridge and Black to compare and so far my Black is the smartest, the loudest, the quickest, most sociable, most independent, most alert of the two colors. Both are sweet (but not docile), comical, and lay well (1.25 to 1.5 oz eggs) but the Black seems to have a bit more smarts. Oddly, the Partridge is the alpha in a flock of 2 Silkies and 2 medium LF but the Black Silkie does not submit to the Partridge. The Black doesn't overlord the 2 LF like the Partridge does. And the Black will not allow anyone to overlord her either.

If you have knowledge re the hardiness of any particular color please let me know.

All silkies, regardless of variety, should be equally hardy. Getting lavenders to hatch can be a problem, but once hatched they should have no more issues than any other variety. As for personality, different lines of different varieties ma display different characteristics, but it is largely an individual or learned trait. A lessened ability to see due to oversized muffs or crest can cause a bird to be more timid.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Hello,
Let my broody silkie hatch some eggs over summer. Since it was my first time I gave about 10 away. I kept one that appeared to be a runt. She had a vaulted skull, tiny size, and a blackish color all over. When she started feathering out she looked like she had a blond fur coat on a blackish color body. Now, she looks like my porcelain hen only darker. So, we thought that the porcelain was her mama. Her daddy is solid white. She is 5 months old and looks like she has a bonnet thing going on but none of the 3 potential mamas nor dad have bonnet crests. Also, she has a gold penciling on her wing feathers or gold lacing. Is this normal? At the time we had a porcelain, paint, and blue hen. She is still extra small size. None of the other chicks that i gave away had this coloring as i have been sent update pics of them and they are large sized compared to her. I will post pics soon if weather permits. But would like to know if there are such colors as gold laced silkies.

Lacing hasn't been bred into silkies; IMO, it would not show well. Penciling does not show the actual pattern, but there is enough pattern present throughout the feather in penciling that you can tell that it is present. With the concentration of penciling at the edges of a feather, I think it would get lost in the fluffiness and not show well unless against a vary strong contrasted colour, and even then I rather doubt. The beauty of lacing is the crisp, clean edging; that would be lost.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

What animal killed my chicken?

it was around 7. I heard him scream and then heard him being dragged far away.

a few feathers I found. The next morning I went and saw a part of my Isaac . It was his wing and gizzard part. Crop was partially there. Head was ripped off.

I feel I could of done something. I feel so bad. My chickens won't even go outside. I don't blame them.

Figure out how the predator got into your garage, and then close off that (and any other) access point. If the other chickens are also housed in the garage, the predator will almost certainly be back for more. Sprinkle flour around the building to show footprints (won't work if you have snow--white on white), but if there is snow you should see the footprints without help. Unless it melt before you can get a look. So sorry for your loss.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I agree. I'll have to take care of them. Prollybtrap and release. At a far away place

No! Do not release--you are just moving your problem to some one else. And in many states trap and release is illegal. Trap, then kill the predator. You may be able to find a trapper that will take it, or possibly your county game and fish.

 

[bantambury]

No!  Do not release--you are just moving your problem to some one else.  And in many states trap and release is illegal.  Trap, then kill the predator.  You may be able to find a trapper that will take it, or possibly your county game and fish.

Agreed.