Silkie thread!

[Fancychooklady]

How old do silkies have to be before they can go outside? Or how warm does it have to be outside during the night?
I have 6- 1 month old chicks and 2- 3 week old chicks. i am going to take them out in the sun for a short bit today. But was wondering how old when they can stay out. They still seem so small it seems like it will be at least a few more weeks....
I have only had regular size chicks.. They are my first bantam breed so they seem so tiny!

I take mine outside in a prorected pen , for an hour a day at about 2 weeks of age. By the time they are 5-6 weeks they are left outside for most of the day, by doing this you are not only allowing them access to the soil and building up their immunity, but the exposure to the elements is also assisting them in their natural ' feathering in ' process. If you are introducing them to an existing flock , I prefer to wait until they are of equal or similar size, but as for living outside , mine are living out by 6-7 weeks.

 

[Ducks4us]

I take mine outside in a prorected pen , for an hour a day at about 2 weeks of age. By the time they are 5-6 weeks they are left outside for most of the day, by doing this you are not only allowing them access to the soil and building up their immunity, but the exposure to the elements is also assisting them in their natural ' feathering in ' process. If you are introducing them to an existing flock , I prefer to wait until they are of equal or similar size, but as for living outside , mine are living out by 6-7 weeks.

Oh okay sounds good. When you put them out at 6-7 weeks do u put a heat lamp out with them?
Mine will be in their own coop and run seperate from the big laying chickens. I was too scared to mix them so we are building them their own coop.

 

[Chikn-Chik]

Hi all! I love this thread alot! So many silkie pics! I'm planing on downsizing my flock (literally) from LF to bantams and silkies are definitely on the list. So my search for some silkies begins!

 

[Fancychooklady]

Oh okay sounds good. When you put them out at 6-7 weeks do u put a heat lamp out with them?
Mine will be in their own coop and run seperate from the big laying chickens. I was too scared to mix them so we are building them their own coop.

No, once they are ' feathered in ' there is no need for a heat lamp, there is safety in numbers and they will huddle up together. Heat lamps start fires unless properly designed in the coop but I have seen some solar alternatives that might be worth investigating.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Hi all! I love this thread alot! So many silkie pics! I'm planing on downsizing my flock (literally) from LF to bantams and silkies are definitely on the list. So my search for some silkies begins!

I must warn you that these little guys are addictive and that whilst you may downsize in bird size, once you get the ' bug ' you won't necessarily be downsizing in numbers.
Look forward to seeing some pics of your birds.

 

[abbevilleoz]

I must warn you that these little guys are addictive and that whilst you may downsize in bird size, once you get the ' bug ' you won't necessarily be downsizing in numbers.
Look forward to seeing some pics of your birds.

X2

 

[Chikn-Chik]

I must warn you that these little guys are addictive and that whilst you may downsize in bird size, once you get the ' bug ' you won't necessarily be downsizing in numbers.
Look forward to seeing some pics of your birds.

That's what I'm afraid of! It's happened to me more times than not... I'm excited and very impatient to find some!

 

[Chapel Hill Chicks]

I've been breeding silkies for 12 years and I am getting good at sexing my own birds , but some lines carry different identifiable traits and only experience will raise the percentage of correctness. For now I'm nearly always 50% right when sexing silkies under 12 weeks of age.

I purchased a Silkie from a breeder who told me it was a pullet, but he turned out to be a rooster. This past January, I ordered three female Silkies from My Pet Chicken to hatch and ship at the end of May. I am really hoping for no accidental roosters in the mix! In the past 7 years, I've ended up with four roosters when purchasing pullets. Since they're supposed to have 90% accuracy sexing their chicks, I'm really hoping that the 10% aren't all made up of Silkies.

 

[thecreekhouse]

I have a Silkie question. I understand that Silkies generally have 5 or even 6 toes. However I just brought home 3 very pretty Silkie chicks from a good breeder and none of them seems to have more than 4 toes. Is this unusual? I met the parents so I feel certain that these are purebred chicks. Any thoughts?

 

[Fancychooklady]

I have a Silkie question. I understand that Silkies generally have 5 or even 6 toes. However I just brought home 3 very pretty Silkie chicks from a good breeder and none of them seems to have more than 4 toes. Is this unusual? I met the parents so I feel certain that these are purebred chicks. Any thoughts?

It's a DQ in the show ring but you can still get some very pretty ' pet ' quality birds with anywhere from 4-7 toes. I've only ever had one chick hatch with 4 toes and whilst I kept it as a pet I chose not to breed it. Some believe that this along with straight comb are a result of inbreeding. I like to change my roo out every 2 years .
If you are not breeding or showing I can't see that 4 toes should make the experience any less enjoyable .