Silkie thread!

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I'm new to silkies and have 5 eggs due to hatch the 17th. As well as three 4-5 week old chicks. Is this dark one lavender?
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TherryChicken said:

My splashed girl is broody, but I have no fertile eggs for her. I'm used to broody ducks, not chickens. What should I do?
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Some people like to take steps to break a broody chicken. But I never found it effective. I let them brood their empty nest because no matter how much we tried cold packs, cool water dunking, locking them out of the coop, isolating them behind a cage with no bedding, etc etc, the Silkies will still brood wherever they find a niche and we didn't want them laying eggs out in the yard somewhere. Ours produce 4-5 eggs a week when laying and that's a lot of eggs for a little 2-lb fowl so if one goes broody on an empty nest we let her give her body a rest from laying so many eggs. We just make sure she gets off nest a couple times a day to dust-bathe/eat/drink/exercise on her way back to her empty nest. To each his own but that's worked for us for 4 years with broodies. My Mom raised hens on the farm with no roos and she never interfered with natural brooding instincts except to make sure they got feed/water/exercise since there was no roo around to help the hens with the nesting process. I understand some roos will even set on a clutch while the hen takes a break. GL with whatever you decide to do and in a few months it will all be a repeat process you'll become comfortable and familiar with to handle.
 
Sylvester017 said:
Some people like to take steps to break a broody chicken. But I never found it effective. I let them brood their empty nest because no matter how much we tried cold packs, cool water dunking, locking them out of the coop, isolating them behind a cage with no bedding, etc etc, the Silkies will still brood wherever they find a niche and we didn't want them laying eggs out in the yard somewhere.  Ours produce 4-5 eggs a week when laying and that's a lot of eggs for a little 2-lb fowl so if one goes broody on an empty nest we let her give her body a rest from laying so many eggs.  We just make sure she gets off nest a couple times a day to dust-bathe/eat/drink/exercise on her way back to her empty nest.  To each his own but that's worked for us for 4 years with broodies.  My Mom raised hens on the farm with no roos and she never interfered with natural brooding instincts except to make sure they got feed/water/exercise since there was no roo around to help the hens with the nesting process.  I understand some roos will even set on a clutch while the hen takes a break.  GL with whatever you decide to do and in a few months it will all be a repeat process you'll become comfortable and familiar with to handle.
Click to expand...

Thank you!!
 
Does anyone here bathe their silkies? I have a white rooster and he's always sooo dirty! I feel bad and tried giving him a bath today…but he still looks dirty.
 
Oops…I didn't dry him. But we live in Arizona and he was dry within 10 minutes. He actually liked the bath and emerged his head in the water a few times. Next time I'll definitely blow dry him though.
 

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