Silkie thread!

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Some pics I took today :)
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I wish I could get better pictures of this cockerel, he's so pretty.
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This girl was quite photogenic today. I got lots of good shots of her.
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Trying to figure out the door :gig
 
QueenMisha said:
Good point! I'll check out their birds when I get a chance.

Sex Links definitely seem like an important and largely unexploited resource for the backyard breeder and keeper. Sex Link Silkies, Sex Link Bantams, Sex Link Easter/Olive/Chocolate Eggers... so much potential for these birds and yet, surprisingly, so few people working on them. I personally plan on pioneering my own lines of Sex Link EE, Sex Link OE, Sex Link Chocolate Eggers... and of course Sex Link Silkies! Just as soon as I move into my own place and can get a more professional and biosecure set up going. At that point I'm hoping to start making my own "proprietary blends" of multiple strains within multiple breeds, with an emphasis on sex linking or Autosexing ability, and pet and/or egg color qualities. Those definitely seem to be the big trends these days, ESPECIALLY colored eggers. Working at a chicken shop which sells pullets, I think I've gotten more requests for Easter Eggers/Ameraucanas/Marans/Welsummers than almost all other breeds combined. Heck, we can usually sell out of 75-100 EEs in a week or less, and Marans are now on a reserve-only basis because they're in such high demand. Had Welsummers a few weeks back... I predicated we'd sell out of them within the first ten customers of the day. I was close, it was thirteen if I recall correctly.

I don't intend on selling any of this year's (or probably next year's hatch) due to health issues, but I consider these very important test runs and possibly the start of lines I may try to continue propagating via hatching eggs once I move out, if by some miracle I manage to create something worth keeping or which can't be easily replicated. I've got a lot of "book knowledge" but this being my first year hatching purebreds/purposeful hybrids, my practical experience is limited and I'm doing what I can to fix that.

My next hatch is due May 1st-2nd. I think I have a total of 8 Silkie eggs in that batch... all 8 still seem to be developing well. I'm always anxious waiting for them. I spaced this hatch a little further apart than my previous ones, because I ran out of room in my Octagon 20. Lol, that's one problem I forgot to include in my plans for a staggered hatch... I'm putting another Brinsea Mini on order tonight to help remedy that issue. In the meantime, fingers crossed more of my hens decide to brood when I actually want them to... fat chance but I can hope!
Click to expand...

I think Jerryse created his lavender sex links so he could sell his males right after hatching in order to focus on his lavender AM project. I'm planning on a OE sexlink project with my blue AM cockerel over a Cuckoo Marans. EEs sell very well on my side of the country, too.
 
Newtochicklets said:
Mine are way to skittish too. Which is a little disappointing as i read about how calm and gentle they are. And easy to tame. But my large egg layer chickens are way more tame! At this age my big ones would sit on my lap and follow me around. I will have to try live mealworms. My husband gave them an earthworm and they went wild over that. But they never eat the dried mealworms i give.
Click to expand...

Silkies seem skittish as youngsters because they are very aware of their diminutive size and your giant size -- but now that mine are 4 and 5 yrs old I can't keep them from getting in my way and underfoot as I walk through the backyard. I have one Black Silkie that pecks at my leg to get attention the whole time I'm distributing treats. I started tapping her back and tail to get her attention for her treat. It's a game with us now. My Partridge is oldest but she'll peck at my leg or shoes for attention during treats almost like saying "HEY! Don't forget me! I'm way down here!" I'm too old to bend down on the ground to distribute treats but when they see me sit in the yard chair they come running to see what the goodies will be. Sometimes they try to jump up to my lap but it's too high for Silkies so I stretch out my legs and they'll climb halfway up to my knees.

Our Black Silkie is the smartest and tamest because we got her as a lone pullet about 3 or 4 months old and had to keep her in-house until she was grown about 6 months old. During her stay in-house we had her in a chicken diaper and she got accustomed to all the handling we did to put on and remove diapers, and wash her tush feathers every evening, blowdry her, and then she insisted on sleeping in a dinette chair in the kitchen instead of her kennel. She was our first experience with an in-house chicken and she got very used to all the handling we did every day. It was comical trying to put on a chicken diaper when there are 10-toes pushing it away as you try to put it on. Needless to say, all that handling made her a very tame Silkie. The older Partridge Silkie got accustomed to being picked up (judge's hold) and rewarded with treats -- today she trembles with excitement and squats to be picked up for treats or else she tugs at our socks or pant leg to get our attention. They grow every day with something new and endearing but it doesn't happen all at once -- but very rewarding when it does happen.

P.S. So far there have been only 2 breeds of chickens that were people-friendly and unafraid right out of the shipping crate -- Breda chickens and Dominique chickens. These two breeds as juveniles in our limited experience have been the most outgoing, curious, unafraid, people-seeking breeds we've owned. And they play nice with the Silkies in the flock. our Ameraucana is sweet and plays nice with flock members but not as outgoing or curious -- more wary, skittish, and alert.
 
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