Silkie thread!

[silkiecuddles]

Seminolewind, the second to last pic looks pretty girly to me. And then the black one a couple pics before looks kinda girly.

 

[RubyNala97]

Hi All! My silkie is now 9 weeks old. I know its early but I'm so eager! Heres some photo updates. I really hope my baby Ling Ling is a girl!

Can you take some close-up pictures? I'm just learning to sex silkies. Mine are 10 wks, 1 boy, 1 girl. Also the boy started crowing at 6 wks, so that really helped me see the differences. Just guessing here but it looks kinda like a male to me. Hopefully some more knowledgable folks will be able to tell.

 

[silkiecuddles]

Alee44, it's crest looks slicked back, which usually signifies boy. I have several right now with slicked crests. Really hoping they're girls, but they'll probably prove otherwise. do you see any streamer like feathers in its tail feathers? That's a good indication of male.

 

[WVduckchick]

Maybe i should give this up. i lost a silkie nd two seramas to a coon.. i now have mo more of either but ill have a dead coon tonight..

So sorry. I saw a couple coons last night, so if they come back tonite, they will be joining yours.

 

[seminolewind]

Seminolewind, the second to last pic looks pretty girly to me. And then the black one a couple pics before looks kinda girly.

That would be nice if that second to last one is a girl. Right now I'm sure of 7/10 being roos. At 4months old.

Sorry about all the chickens lost to raccoons. How sad.

 

[Sylvester017]

That is correct. Vaulted skull birds are more susceptible to peck injuries. The brain is just under the skin and is not afforded the protection of the skull, that non vaulted birds have.

Chickenjunkie.com said that . . . a vaulted skull is a hole or unclosed portion of bone in the top portion of the Silkie’s skull. This genetic trait was introduced into silkies via crosses with the Polish breed of chickens. The Polish were bred into Silkies to improve crest size. . .

Is that breeders' understanding of where the Silkie's vaulted skull originated - from crossbreeding to Polish? As if the Silkies didn't have enough strange things going for them like 5 toes, feathered legs/toes, missing barbicels, melanism, crests, beards, turquoise earlobes, incessant broodiness, someone decided "let's add a vaulted skull" ! I know, I know, I digress!

The vulnerability of having the hole at the top of the skull to expose soft brain tissue to injury really frightens me for the safety of the bird. When my DH saw the vaulted skull structure he was horrified and said it would never be a characteristic he wants in our backyard flock. This characteristic may be acceptable for show chickens that are isolated and in a safe pampered environment but for practicality of a backyard free-range flock we saw no value in perpetuating the vaulted skull other than satisfying vanity. Wow! Did I say all that? Our two hens do not have vaulted skulls but after molt they display the fullest and prettiest crests/beards - of course after a couple weeks romping around in the backyard the feathers get dirty or matted or sparser or faded - but then even if our girls did have vaulted skulls I imagine the foraging in our backyard would produce the same matted feather result - in which case the worn out feathers wouldn't look good on either a flat OR a vaulted skull so we see no benefit to the vaulting (at least in a flock or foraging environment).

This is JMHO and not directed at anyone who feels differently but just sharing an opinion. Wonder how other Silkie lovers feel about the safety of this trait? Of course this is a matter of personal preference but certainly needs to be mentioned often enough for newbies to be aware of the pros/cons of the trait.

 

[RubyNala97]

[COLOR=0000CD]Chickenjunkie.com said that . . . a vaulted skull is a hole or unclosed portion of bone in the top portion of the Silkie’s skull. This genetic trait was introduced into silkies via crosses with the Polish breed of chickens. The Polish were bred into Silkies to improve crest size. . .[/COLOR]

[COLOR=0000CD]Is that breeders' understanding of where the Silkie's vaulted skull originated - from crossbreeding to Polish?  As if the Silkies didn't have enough strange things going for them like 5 toes, feathered legs/toes, missing barbicels, melanism, crests, beards, turquoise earlobes, incessant broodiness, someone decided "let's add a vaulted skull" !  I know, I know, I digress![/COLOR] [COLOR=0000CD] [/COLOR]

[COLOR=0000CD]The vulnerability of having the hole at the top of the skull to expose soft brain tissue to injury really frightens me for the safety of the bird.  When my DH saw the vaulted skull structure he was horrified and said it would never be a characteristic he wants in our backyard flock.  This characteristic may be acceptable for show chickens that are isolated and in a safe pampered environment but for practicality of a backyard free-range flock we saw no value in perpetuating the vaulted skull other than satisfying vanity.  Wow!  Did I say all that?  Our two hens do not have vaulted skulls but after molt they display the fullest and prettiest crests/beards - of course after a couple weeks romping around in the backyard the feathers get dirty or matted or sparser or faded - but then even if our girls did have vaulted skulls I imagine the foraging in our backyard would produce the same matted feather result - in which case the worn out feathers wouldn't look good on either a flat OR a vaulted skull so we see no benefit to the vaulting (at least in a flock or foraging environment).[/COLOR]

[COLOR=0000CD]This is JMHO and not directed at anyone who feels differently but just sharing an opinion.  Wonder how other Silkie lovers feel about the safety of this trait?  Of course this is a matter of personal preference but certainly needs to be mentioned often enough for newbies to be aware of the pros/cons of the trait.[/COLOR]

Good post! Food for thought, very interesting.

 

[Adorkable]

Maybe i should give this up. i lost a silkie nd two seramas to a coon.. i now have mo more of either but ill have a dead coon tonight..

I personally wouldn't give up, but I would take a good look at my set-up and figure out why the coons are able to get my birds and adjust it to make it predator proof, more specifically coon proof... they're persistent nasty things. Good luck and don't give up!

 

[RubyNala97]

I personally wouldn't give up, but I would take a good look at my set-up and figure out why the coons are able to get my birds and adjust it to make it predator proof, more specifically coon proof... they're persistent nasty things. Good luck and don't give up!

X2

 

[Aleee44]

Here's some "better" photos. She/He loves to get away!