Silkie thread!

[Sylvester017]

We don't have mild winters here. Always get some snow. But, the chard did come back up on it's own this spring. I'm letting a couple of bunches..for less of a better word, lol...go to seed. I want to replant and get some new starts. I love it. It tastes like spinach to me, and I love cooked fresh spinach...and chard.

The roots on Ruby Swiss Chard get humongous inground in the garden box and I need to turn over the soil in winter for the chickens. So rather than planting inground I decided to plant the chard in a container this year and set the plant on my herb shelf under the eaves. Any time we need a couple lettuce leaves we hack off a couple chard leaves and use like lettuce in salads, tacos, sandwiches, etc. In the winter we don't get snow but some frost so I'll set it under the eaves with the other herbs to survive the cold temps so we can keep using the plant through winter. I have some Dinosaur Kale seeds to try for winter too but so far haven't had much luck getting the seeds started. The little shoots keep wanting to wither and die on me. A friend told me to try planting it closer to winter in a container to see if it takes hold better.

 

[subhanalah]

Inky will be 12 weeks old this weekend.

 

[Epent12]

Inky will be 12 weeks old this weekend.

SO CUTE! I'd love to have one like that!!!!

 

[nate1the1great1]

Here is my black silkie hen and blue rooster

 

[atrueb00]

The silkies have all this room at night but what do they do? They pile into the nest box. There are 5 full grown silkies in that milk crate and the head hen is perched on the top.

 

[atrueb00]

Here is my black silkie hen and blue rooster

Love these guys, would love to have a pair like this someday.

 

[emvickrey]

It would probably cost more to send it then what I could buy it here for but thanks for the offer and the info. What kind of Kale do you have, cause I know there are different ones, like Purple Kale ect... ?

Really I hae no idea. It's not purple they are very large and green though. Your right it may cost more to send the seeds than to buy them. I got mine from CO-OP. They have larger bags instead of the paper packets found at walmart. I used a whole packet in the rows. I just sprinkled the seeds in a shallow trench and covered them up with a rake. I let my splash silkies out today and there is a small bed of young kale by their door. They went nuts over it. I usually give them 3 handfuls of the kale I cut form the garden and they eat it all up. I have 7 splash in that pen. I do the same with the sizzle pen and there are 7 in that pen too. The other pens have less birds in them and other than the silver partridge silkies the rest of the pens get 1 handful. The silver partridges eat more. They're little piggies. My Orpingtons help themselves to it in the garden. They get out more often, nearly everyday. I don't think the hawks can pick them up and carry them off like they can the silkies. I've lost 2 silkies that way so they don't get out unless I'm gonna be out with them.

 

[nate1the1great1]

Thx i knew it was a boy and girl rot away cause they say the boys are less skid dish and he follows my around and loves being held unlike the girl she is a lot more skid dish and hates being held

 

[chick rookie]

Really I hae no idea. It's not purple they are very large and green though. Your right it may cost more to send the seeds than to buy them. I got mine from CO-OP. They have larger bags instead of the paper packets found at walmart. I used a whole packet in the rows. I just sprinkled the seeds in a shallow trench and covered them up with a rake. I let my splash silkies out today and there is a small bed of young kale by their door. They went nuts over it. I usually give them 3 handfuls of the kale I cut form the garden and they eat it all up. I have 7 splash in that pen. I do the same with the sizzle pen and there are 7 in that pen too. The other pens have less birds in them and other than the silver partridge silkies the rest of the pens get 1 handful. The silver partridges eat more. They're little piggies. My Orpingtons help themselves to it in the garden. They get out more often, nearly everyday. I don't think the hawks can pick them up and carry them off like they can the silkies. I've lost 2 silkies that way so they don't get out unless I'm gonna be out with them.

k will look around and talk to an ol farmer I know see if he knows. I will figure it out..
My silkies don't have to worry about flying things, I have it fixed so that they get out into the dog yard when they want. never had a problem yet, hope I wont either.

I only have 4 Silkies and am trying to Sell/trade 2 of them. They turned out to be boys I already have boys. I need girls. really sucks too cause I really like them, but oh well....

 

[blipit007]

I don't know if the number of Roo's has anything to do with it but I have 2 Silkie Roo's and I only get crowing in the morning and it is not very loud. I like thier crows better then LF Roo's cause its not so loud and my neighbors don't get upset about it. That would be a bad place for a coop, but we do what we must... lol

Thanks. The placement of the coop is ok because it is the safest possible spot in the whole yard.There is not much wildlife that ventures that close to my house. Also, its good because it is sheltered from the hot sun, (somedays in the summer it reaches over 100*) and in the winter the snow can not get inside their pen... And we get snow! Tons this winter and last.

What to feed chick's and adukts.. same food?

I fed my flock.. all ages crumbles by purina. Well they had white Lil mites in it which freaked me out. Now I don't want to use it. I want a feed for chick's and adults? Tractor supply is where I get mine

Mites inside the feed?? Ugh gross!

I grow lamb's quarter (a weed by any other name) for mine, as they like it and it contains over 300 mg of calcium per 1/2 cup serving.
Of course I love to eat it steamed...it's like spinach, but tastier.

I've never heard of lamb's quarter. Ill have to look it up.

I would worm them . Valbazen will treat for all worms.

We were just talking about this on FB. Someone suggested to give a pea size drop of horse ivermectin to each bird to de-worm. Would this be better?

Jeffers pet supplies . It's not labelled for chickens. Dosage is 1/2 cc standard and 1/4 cc bantams.

http://www.jefferspet.com/cattle/camid/LIV/cc/310/c2c/ln/

Thanks for the link.

The silkies have all this room at night but what do they do? They pile into the nest box. There are 5 full grown silkies in that milk crate and the head hen is perched on the top.

This is awesome!