Silkie thread!

[Sonoran Silkies]

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Should be black with a white spot on the head.

 

[mshuey1]

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HI I have two baby cuckcoo, am not sure now to post the pictures on here yet but I will send the photos. The colors look alot a B.Rock

 

[minihorse927]

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I hatched this cockerel here back in January. These pictures are a month or two old now but I have had someone call him a calico but I am not sure if that is what he actually is or if he is just a mutt color. Any other thoughts on color from a color expert are appreciated! I am fairly new to silkies and I know he came from a hatch that was suppose to produce cuckoo blue and black. I did hatch one cuckoo but it only had 4 toes one one foot so it found a new home.

 

[lemkoboxer]

Okay, so question about combs.

Silkies should have a walnut comb. In reading about Silkies on here I have seen some breeders mention that some Silkies do not have a true walnut comb, but rather a modified rose comb. So could someone explain, or better yet post clear pictures, on what the difference is between a true walnut comb and a modified rose comb?

Does the modified rose comb have horns on the end? I've seen more than once where silkie breeders say to pull the crest back on roosters to check for horns hidden in the feathers. Is this a modified rose comb then if it has horns, or no?

Thanks!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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Actually, the horns come from crossing to polish V-combed birds. Believe it or not, once upon a time the horms were REQUIRED by the standard. I do not know when or how that was changed; just that it was indeed a change to the standard.

Back before MSN groups disappeared, there was a website that actually showed the difference between modified rose combs and walnut combs. They look quite different. A modified rose comb does not have the transverse line/indentation across it; and they are much more likely to have spikey protuberances all over the surface.

 

[critterranch]

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I've been using Dumor 20% crumbles for all the birds chicks through adults. I get it at Tractor Supply. The adults I will alternate with some lay mash from the local feed mill/or lay pellets once in a while. They seem to do better on higher protein and their feathers stay in nicer condition.

Im also interested in hearing what others feed, including supplements/vitamins, etc.

been doing this same thing too. i found out on accident how good this works i had a quad of breeding silkies eatting laying pellets and they werent laying very good. well the time came to put some younger silkies in there that were 8-10 weeks so i needed to still feed them the 20%. so i started feeeding just that and my silkie quad starting pumping out eggs and there crestes got bigger and fuller.
i just give them a scoop of laying pellets every few days. the pellets are big so the younger chicks cant eat them. and on the plus side everyone gets along perfect.

 

[Brody's Broodello]

I found that feeding a layer pellet, the chciks did not hatch well. The shells were way to hard to pip ( they have harder shells, because layers will need protection to keep the egg from getting broke) the breeder birds need shell that can break. So once we switched to flock raiser the the birds bred better & hatched better.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

We feed adults (over 6 months) Flock Raiser with a few additives. To a gallon of feed we add 1 cup of calf manna, 1 cup of BOSS, 1 cup of "shell free mix" from TCS. The shell free mix has all sorts of nuts and seeds. We add this for variety more than anything else. We also add 1 cup of whole or crimped oats and 1 scoop of Vit. E/Selenium mix (Farnham).

From hatch to 3 months they get only medicated chick starter. At about 3 months we start adding a small amount of the above mixture. Again, we do this to transition them over the next few months and for variety. All birds under 6 months are on chick starter.

We only add some wheat germ oil to the adult mixture for bird being prepped for a show, unless they happen to be under 6 months. If so, they stay on the chick starter w/additives.

 

[NewToFarming]

Brody's Broodello :

I found that feeding a layer pellet, the chciks did not hatch well. The shells were way to hard to pip ( they have harder shells, because layers will need protection to keep the egg from getting broke) the breeder birds need shell that can break. So once we switched to flock raiser the the birds bred better & hatched better.

This is interesting! Thanks!! Do you also offer oyster shell? I actually have just switched to the flock raiser/chick starter mix. I am on my second bags of it now, going on my third.​

 

[lemkoboxer]

Thank you Sonoran Silkies for the explanation about the horns on the comb. Makes perfect sense it came from Polish genes. Is it common to find this in silkies still since it was once a standard requirement?

Would love to see some pics comparing a true walnut comb to a modified rose comb if anyone has some or can steer me to somehwere I can see them. I think I understand your description of how a modified rose comb looks though. It does sound very different from a walnut comb. Anyone care to share a pic of what breeders and judges might consider a really good comb on a Silkie?