Thank you. I'm new, but I'm trying.I absolutely adore responsible breeders! Thank you for NOT breeding the nasty tempered!


The silkie boys and their girls, and the 2 month olds.
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Thank you. I'm new, but I'm trying.I absolutely adore responsible breeders! Thank you for NOT breeding the nasty tempered!
Thanks. Not planning on having any roos at this time. My co-worker has some silver-laced cochins. It sounds like personality wise they would be good matches, but again, aren't the best egg layers.
I wonder how adding some easter eggers into the mix would be. I was told heritage breeds were best, and they aren't one, but the seem to be okay and eggs and good on temperment.
Glad to hear that about the EEs. Although I personally have no recollection of it, my dad speaks about taking my sister and I to a friend's house who had EEs and they would let us gather the eggs.I have an APA Ameraucana and my egg seller friend has one Ameraucana and 3 Easter Eggers. We both agree these birds are the best birds to have.
Here are our reasons for loving Amers and EEs: Great XL egg layers of various colored eggs and prolific, not broody, love to talk with you (sweet), let you handle or pet them, cute fluffy cheeks, gentle and kind to flockmates (OurFlyBabies.com says they keep Ameraucanas because they will kindly accept orphaned chicks or injured birds into their flock where other breeds are not so willing).
Some negatives but not really problematic: Amers and EEs are slow to mature being kooky and skittish in their pullet stage, they are a bit high-strung startling from noises or sudden movements, flighty (but to their credit will stay within the yard), will chase birds and stray cats out of the yard (could be a plus as long as it's not YOUR cat - ha!).
Amers and EEs are too sweet and kind to put into a flock of heavier LF that could intimidate their gentle natures. The Amers/EEs learn to adapt to any flock but I think I prefer keeping them in a gentle tempered flock where they don't have to be chased or stressed by larger bullies. Stress will drop egg production so these prolific layers really should be with other gentle breeds or bantams.
Glad to hear that about the EEs. Although I personally have no recollection of it, my dad speaks about taking my sister and I to a friend's house who had EEs and they would let us gather the eggs.
The run won't be entirely predator proof, but it has good field wire and an electric fence around it now. We'll have to add some chicken wire of course. We also have goats, llamas, donkeys, dogs, and cats. Lots of crow in the area, so maybe that will help with hawks. We have a few outside cats that are fed. Some of them actually tend to stay with the goats, so I am hoping they will remain good for mice, but no interest in a chicken. Two dogs that are allowed to roam the property and have been pretty good at figuring out which animals are okay and which animals to chase off like coyotes, coon, etc.
Good grief, I am sick of skunks. We battled them this winter getting under the house as we were remodeling it. We trapped and terminated 3 of them before deciding we could seal up the hole better (we used stuff on the outside to look for tracks and game cameras - didn't want to seal one in.) I was always so careful dealing with the actual skunks, but then I would get careless, take of the gloves, and carry them around in my bare hands, or I would rub up against the trap getting it back set.Other than their skittish young personalities I haven't read any negatives about EEs - everyone seems to love them and they're always sold out quickly in the feed stores.
If any cats get aggressive which well-fed pet cats usually don't but if they do your roos will put them in their place. Our cats didn't bother with poultry or mice very much when there were bigger gophers in the field to stalk. But that was okay. As for dogs, they are pack animals, so once they figure out what farm animals are their "pack" they'll chase off other predators and sometimes even other dogs that are not part of the "pack." Be prepared to have anti-skunk dog shampoo on hand for when the dogs grapple with them. Cats and a couple tandem flock/guard dogs are absolute musts for a farm. Sounds like you are going to have a nice setup - Smiles![]()
We want to start a small flock of chickens, and, at this time, have no interest in starting from young chicks. I'm not sure how many chickens we can have. We're building the enclosed coop part with the nesting boxes and roosting perches from a 4'x8' shed that will be connected to a 600 sq ft run they will share with some goats. I'm thinking 6-8 chickens for that size coop? (As an FYI, we are in north central Texas.)
My parents live on the same land as my husband and I, so it will be a shared venture. My mother is deathly afraid of all birds (she got attacked by chickens almost daily well into her teens) but she loves fresh eggs. On the other hand, I sometimes have a texture problem with eggs, so I could care less about that part, but am a huge animal lover and want to handle the chickens. So, we need to find a compromise. Eggs for her so she tolerates the chickens here and temperament for me so that I have good reason to take special care of them.
I would really love to have some silkies. I know they can be lower on the egg laying part and prone to brooding, but their looks and temperament really attract me.
I've seen mixed reports on them in mixed flocks, but thought I might get a lot more feedback in this active thread. Do you think it would be possible for me to include some silkies in a mixed flock? At least 2 or 3 of them? Maybe stick with 2 or 3 breeds and have 2-3 of each? I think I would need to add in a higher egg layer to the mix to balance things out.
(Oh, and everyone's photos are just precious!)
You know, as I am reading more and more, the silkies and EEs are really standing out. Perhaps just those two would be good to start out with.Hi Again - well, my favorite mixed flock is Silkies and Ameraucanas. Silkies for the "awww" factor and Ameraucanas (or EEs) for their gentleness, productivity, and colorful XL eggs. But just so you know, don't let the diminutive size or cuteness of Silkies deceive you. They are very hardy for all their cuteness, can be combative with each other in their hormonal broody moods, don't peck viciously if disturbed in the nestbox, and when not broody they lay 5-6 eggs/week of around 1.25 to 1.5 oz eggs. The yolks are the same size as a Buff Leghorn yolk - there's just less white albumen (spelling?) inside the Silkie egg.
Now two drawbacks for me with Silkies is that they ARE very broody several times sometimes in one year which drops their wonderful egg production but great if you have other chicken eggs that need to be hatched by a broody hen. The other drawback is the feathers on the feet. Because of their fluffiness all over we use Organic Poultry Protector against lice/mites and wash and massage their legs/toes with vitamin E oil to protect from scaly mites - some people treat with vaseline or olive oil but these are greasy - at roost time the vitamin E oil absorbs into their feet overnight without soiling their feathers. Vaseline or olive oil seems to grease up the feathers and then dust-bath dirt gets stuck to the feathers. E oil doesn't seem to do this. So far they've been infestation-free but it does take commitment to checkup on their health. We have to keep their toenails trimmed but you'd have to do that with any chicken breed if they needed it.
Drawbacks with Amers/EEs is that they are a kooky (but sweet) bird, skittish (but that's good against predators), spook at noises and movements (again good against predators), and their fluffy butts (like Silkies) might need to be washed with warm water and baby shampoo and blow-dried when they lay a lot of eggs. Don't worry about using the hairdryer as most chickens don't seem to mind it as much as you might expect. My Silkies love to stand in front of heaters or fans to feel the air go through their fur. Silkies and fluffy butt breeds seem to need occasional butt washes during the times they lay a lot of eggs.
Good grief, I am sick of skunks. We battled them this winter getting under the house as we were remodeling it. We trapped and terminated 3 of them before deciding we could seal up the hole better (we used stuff on the outside to look for tracks and game cameras - didn't want to seal one in.) I was always so careful dealing with the actual skunks, but then I would get careless, take of the gloves, and carry them around in my bare hands, or I would rub up against the trap getting it back set.
It's a work in progress on the dogs. The good one died a few years ago. A few months back we added in a blue lacy. He's 9 months old now and good when he focuses. Boy will he chase a coyote! We have a larger dog, but we keep him penned up in our fenced in yard as he can be a bit aggressive to other dogs. He will at least be a bit of an alert. I grew up on this property and we've always had animals, but never chickens due to my mother's fear. It's only now, after moving back 12 years later as an adult, that we are finally exploring the idea.