Silkie thread!

[phoenix-silkie]

my silkies hatched today but the breeder is keeping them for five days so on Wednesday i get my silkies YA they are partridge not my favorite but who cares.

 

[RubyNala97]

my silkies hatched today but the breeder is keeping them for five days so on Wednesday i get my silkies YA  they are partridge not my favorite but who cares.

I'm dying for partridge! And I think I like paint too now. As soon as I get one color, I'm ready for the next! Lol. Enjoy them!

 

[ChickenLady2014]

At what age do silkies start laying?  Also, are the eggs white or brown?  My big chickens have been laying for a month or so now.  I keep expecting to find a small silkie egg laying in there.  

Hi, I'm a first time Silkie owner. My one Silkie just started laying a couple of weeks ago, almost to the day of 6 months. She is very petite so I was expecting a very small egg, but to my surprise hers were the same size as my other LF pullets that started laying at the same time. My gals eggs are a light pinkish color. Its amazing her eggs are the same size as she was before she hatched. I think every Silkie are different. I have another female that hatched the same time as the one laying, but she hasnt even grown a comb or wattle yet.

 

[Sylvester017]

At what age do silkies start laying? Also, are the eggs white or brown? My big chickens have been laying for a month or so now. I keep expecting to find a small silkie egg laying in there.

I had one Partridge pullet begin laying at appriox 7.5 mos and one that began around 6 months, I've learned there seems to be no definitive timeline where Silkies are concerned. One owner had a 2-y/o Silkie that never layed but I'd look for little eggs hidden around the yard. Sometimes our Silkies will be walking along and drop an egg behind them while still walking and never bat an eyelash to look back - LOL! My Partridge girl lays cream/off-white matte eggs while our Black Silkie lays pinkish-tint glossy shells.

 

[Sylvester017]

I'm dying for partridge! And I think I like paint too now. As soon as I get one color, I'm ready for the next! Lol. Enjoy them!

The white Silkies get really soiled after foraging around. The darker colors like Partridge, Black, Blue, even Buff, etc, don't show so much stains on their feathers. My all-time favourite of the colors are the Partridge because the boys are so spectacularly colored but no matter what color we adore them.

 

[Sylvester017]

Looking for help with a broody silkie...

I have a 11 month old broody silkie. I have tried kicking her out of the egg box over and over, and I've tried moving her into the garage. She is so broody she is hardly eating and is losing weight. She does eat a few times a day, but not very much. I added a vitamin supplement to her water, but she is acting strangely. When she is out of the egg box, she stands on one foot, with the other foot curled up, and sometimes she appears to be shaking. There is no injury to her feet and no leg mites. Is she shaking because she is so mad she is out of the egg box, or is there something else going on here.

Please help, I'm confused on what else to do for her. She is eating a little this morning, and nibbled on some squash I gave her too.

~Sara

Hi Sara - Fancychooklady has wonderful suggestions of what to look for with Silkies (as do many others on this thread!) It's very shocking to see our broody Silkies look like they're withering away which is why we water/feed our broodies sometime in the nestbox if we can't keep them off the nest to take nourishment. We also supplement our broodies 2-3x every week with one drop of liquid children's Poly-Vi-Sol no iron vitamin (just a drop) on the side or tip of their beak until they lick the annoying drop. The vitamin content should help to cover any deficiency they might have. My DH will take a broody out of the box 3-4x a day to take nourishment and the exercise walking back to the nest helps to keep them healthy. Silkies are a very broody breed as I understand most bantam breeds are. Our girls will seem broody in the nest when they are molting too because molting makes them lethargic - so it seems like our girls spend half their lifetime in the nestboxes! We don't "break" our broodies but allow them time to get the broody out of their system because even if you manage to "break" a broody they'll just be back at it again in a few days anyway so we let them brood an empty nest to give their body a rest from laying so many big eggs. When they're done with their brooding or molting they'll rejoin the flock normally. Your hen's leg issue doesn't sound normal and it's good you are watching symptoms in your birds to resolve issues. In our case we have a wonderful vet that's just 10 minutes away to help us with our flock issues.

Curling toes are usually sign of niacin deficiency, if she's not drinking much she won't benefit from the supplements . Put the water in with her, a hanging dish is best if you have somewhere to hang it from. Cook up some rice and add some sardines in oil, sprinkle with Brewers yeast, alternately sprinkle it over some soft scrambled egg.
Shaking is often due to magnesium shortfalls so check what's in your multi vitamin.
I've had hens brood for months on end without too many problems, but if they have deficiencies in the outset it wouldn't take long for trouble to show up.

I use poly aid plus for any sick birds. Just a teaspoon at a time with a little water to make a sticky slurry. Drawn up into a syringe
( no needle ) and fed a drop at a time so as not to aspirate the bird.

http://www.thebirdcottage.com/s-poly-aidplus.asp

Hi @Fancychooklady - so glad you are on this thread!

 

[Sylvester017]

my silkies hatched today but the breeder is keeping them for five days so on Wednesday i get my silkies YA they are partridge not my favorite but who cares.

Partridge are my favourite of the Silkies. The boys are spectacularly handsome with their shinier head and tail streamers and wing feathers and the array of different colors. The hens are a bit less spectacularly brilliant but have the 2-tone feathering that makes them unique. You'll understand what I mean after your Partridge mature in their first year! My Partridge girl is very dainty while my Black is a little rough-and-tumble comical tom-girl!

 

[sara1226]

I have tried to put food and water in with her, she won't touch it. I will pick up the poly vi sol tomorrow. I was able to get her to eat some oats with poly vite powder on it.

 

[phoenix-silkie]

I'm dying for partridge! And I think I like paint too now. As soon as I get one color, I'm ready for the next! Lol. Enjoy them!

ya i think i only like white just because they look more like little fluff balls, but these ones will do me till next year.

 

[Fancychooklady]

[COLOR=0000CD]Hi Sara - Fancychooklady has wonderful suggestions of what to look for with Silkies (as do many others on this thread!)  It's very shocking to see our broody Silkies look like they're withering away which is why we water/feed our broodies sometime in the nestbox if we can't keep them off the nest to take nourishment.  We also supplement our broodies 2-3x every week with one drop of liquid children's Poly-Vi-Sol no iron vitamin (just a drop) on the side or tip of their beak until they lick the annoying drop.  The vitamin content should help to cover any deficiency they might have.  My DH will take a broody out of the box 3-4x a day to take nourishment and the exercise walking back to the nest helps to keep them healthy.  Silkies are a very broody breed as I understand most bantam breeds are.  Our girls will seem broody in the nest when they are molting too because molting makes them lethargic - so it seems like our girls spend half their lifetime in the nestboxes!  We don't "break" our broodies but allow them time to get the broody out of their system because even if you manage to "break" a broody they'll just be back at it again in a few days anyway so we let them brood an empty nest to give their body a rest from laying so many big eggs.  When they're done with their brooding or molting they'll rejoin the flock normally.  Your hen's leg issue doesn't sound normal and it's good you are watching symptoms in your birds to resolve issues.  In our case we have a wonderful vet that's just 10 minutes away to help us with our flock issues.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=0000CD]Hi @Fancychooklady
- so glad you are on this thread![/COLOR]

It's a pity there is such a big pond between us, I would love to have a coffee with you.

I just know that we could talk up a ' chicken storm ' .