Silkie thread!

[Sylvester017]

Really? That's interesting. Although not really that surprising since I figured it wasn't short short like a boxer or something. Is it sort of like a Lab coat? I feel like they'd still do pretty well in the heat though considering their lean build and where they originated from? It's interesting they shed so much though. And nice you let yours retire with you

So is yours friendly with people and other animals or? I've heard they can be less stranger and "other animal" friendly than Great Pyrenees or at least can take a little longer to get to that point.

Pyrenees owners say the Pyrs have a wanderlust. If they don't have a job to do or small space they will wander off and I've had an owner say theirs was gone for 5 days! Guardian breeds are very independent (including self-willed or stubborn) and will do what they think is right so a great amount of training is required to have them do what you want. They think on their own instinctively and will be wary of strangers. They are naturally loyal to their owner, family, herd, or flock. I know with our friend's Ovcharka, she will be wary of strangers at the door, but once the family has welcomed the stranger into the home she will forever consider the newcomer as an addition to her "pack" ~ I've had the pleasure of dog-sitting her many times with no problem of her welcoming me when I turned the key to her family's home while they were gone on vacation. She will bounce for joy at seeing me as if I was a family member even if I haven't seen her in 6 months! In a gathering of people in the yard she will search me out remembering me as one of her own.

It's amazing how the guardians can be so fierce at their duties and yet allow the family children to "ride" them, roll around on the floor with them, pull their ear or tail, and still be gentle giants. Guardians are great around children because of their family gentleness and because kids will keep the dog actively "guarding" while getting exercise with the kids at the same time which big breeds need. Once outdoors on duty the guardian dog's demeanor changes. A wild rabbit enters our friend's backyard almost daily to nibble the lawn and the Ovcharka will sit and watch it with no response. Once a coyote is at the back fence the Ovcharka will stand between me and the fence - doesn't charge up to the fence or even bark - just stares the coyote into submission and the Ovcharka will not move out of my way until the coyote has moved on. I love the guardian dog's instinct to stay with the herd (or me in this case) until the predator moves on. Guardians are fiercely loyal to family and other family pets - if a stranger is present and accepted by the family the guardian normally accepts the newcomer. If there's no threat to the family they accept the new presence.

My DD's property is 5 houses away from our Ovcharka friends. I dog-sit my DD's Pitbull who was professionally-trained at terrific expense, she is a very sweet dog. But outdoors if a possum, rabbit, coyote, lynx, bobcat, skunk, deer, rattlesnake, etc, is at the back fence, no amount of professional "leave it" commands will stop her from charging after the intruder. I will only let her in the backyard on a leash so I can control her insatiable instinct to chase anything that moves ~ I have no desire to de-skunk her should she find one! It's just not in a Pitbull's nature to "leave it" which explains their fierce dog-fighting reputation. But I bet a pack of Pits would be great in a hunting party to chase down a wild boar or fox! I believe South America uses a lot of Pit-type breed-packs to hunt dangerous wildlife.

 

[Sylvester017]

Yeah I found it annoying there were no perches in the run so I inserted a few wooden bars across the wiring and they love them! Inside the house the floor has strips of plastic across so they can actually perch on the floor! In one corner there is a little laying box (which I'm not using at the moment but it looks good) and for me as I have four bantams they seem to have plenty of space to move around if need be. But I suppose with bigger breeds I can see the problem of no space

In terms of nighttime predators the only ones I have to worry about are foxes and the occasional badger and so far they haven't figured out the way in - they'd actually have to rip out two strong layers of thick plastic - so for me I find it perfectly suited to my needs. In the daytime the only predators I need to worry about are the farmer's dogs but as they're free range chickens for a portion of the day there's not much I can do apart from usher them to the run quickly!!

I agree the Cube look rather dangerous hence why mine is The Eglu Go

Omlet has a lot going for it in some of their coop features except for their flimsy cage runs and chickens prefer wooden perches in my experience. Another thing ~ unsuspecting customers fall for any manufacturers' recommended number of chickens that fit in a coop. Whether I have Silkies or large fowl I factor in the same square feet per chicken. Silkies are bantams but because they don't fly they still need the same space as large fowl so they can flap and run for exercise. Even though I have a large Chicken Condos Barn Coop that recommends 15 chickens I wouldn't keep more than 4 or 5 in it ~ especially when you factor how much ventilation is needed the more chickens are pooping and roosting in it. People buying a little coop for the first time are fooled into thinking they can keep more chickens than is actually safe! I feel so sorry for newbies falling for the manufacturers' misleading recommendations.

Omlet must make some very secure Eglu Classics - I subscribe to the Omlet Newsletter and they posted a picture of a Classic that floated in a backyard flood and the owners found their 2 hens safe and sound and dry when they opened the Eglu!!! A couple years ago I ordered 3 Eglu Grubs to use as waterers. I had a Leghorn that would stand in the drinking water and muddy it up so I figured there was no way she could figure a way to stand in water in a Grub. Well, sadly the hooks on the Grubs didn't fit our kennel wire and I was out over $70 and not worth the expense of returning or monkeying with fitting them. So we gave them away to a friend.

 

[Sylvester017]

We have an Anatolian and she is very thick coated even though it is short compared to long haired breed. The undercoat sheds constantly with a "blow out" twice a year. Because she is retired we have her in the house to live out her senior years in comfort and the amount of hair she sheds is unlike any breed I have owned.

Also I would add that although Malinois and GSD are technically herding breeds, they're more working dogs at this point. Although GSDs are often family pets at this point too and there's soooo many different lines and types it's hard to say anything specific or applicable to the whole breed. But they do tend to have more of an off switch, they can work but in home or off duty are calm. Whereas the Belgian Shepherds (of which there are 4 varieties, the Malinois being one), particularly the Malinois, tend to be GO GO GO GO, always needing a job and something to do, and TONS of work and exercise, and tend to either have no off switch or not for a long time. But of course there are exceptions to the breed. And of course serious working line GSDs can be just as GO GO GO or hard. The other Belgian Shepherd varieties I think are a little bit calmer but still pretty high energy. In the U.S. they are considered seperate breeds (with the Groenendael variety being called the Belgian Sheepdog here) but other places they are just one variety of 4. There is the Belgian Malinois, Groenendael, Tervuren, and Lakenois.

That's definitely true! Sorry, I should have clarified, I guess I knew the coat wasn't short like a rottie or boxer or anything and had thought you meant all the guard dogs had actual long coats, not just thick. Although that said I must admit I didn't realize the coat was quite as thick as it was and I have seen pictures of dogs with both coats so it must depend on lineage or maybe in summer it gets thinner. But yeah, I love big dogs too. They're great. Ours is Black Lab/Great Pyrenees. And didn't know rotties were hyper. I always thought they were more chilled and laid back. Maybe with enough work or exercise they might be haha unfortunately my friend thinks Rotties and pit bulls are vicious and will kill you. Found that out watching the movie Max at her house lol "those dogs and pit bulls are so vicious, theyll kill you" i tried to explain that "no, they're actually very sweet and goofy dogs unless they're like trained to attack" but was met, again with, "no, they're vicious." And I was like "no they arent" she came back with "rottweilers? Are you kidding me!?" So i just stopped arguing at that point. She doesn't know like anything about dogs and clearly has inherited the general publics mentality of yes, they WILL kill you and you must be afraid of them. My mom is afraid of them too, saw them at a dog show once and she kept being like "stay away from those dogs" and "i would never have one of those in my house" it's just very frustrating cause although i have never had or met one, i know/knew 2 people online that do and both of theirs are very goofy and playful. I can only imagine how frustrating it must have been for you. Also, I soooo wanted to say "if they're so vicious then how did they train them for the movie?" But I didn't. But I mean seriously, if they're sooooo mean and vicious and aggressive and will turn on you and go after you and attack for no reason and kill you then they must have had a helluva time training them and having them around all of those people on the movie set.....

Sorry, got on a tangent/rant lol but yeah, there are sooo many guardian breeds. And LOL true.

Thanks guys for all the extra input!!!! We must be dog lovers

 

[chickchick56]

Thank you everyone for all the great information

 

[Sylvester017]

Thank you everyone for all the great information

Let us know what you decided and how it turned out for you. In my case in our tiny cottage backyard we decided against a dog. So for protection from predators we demolished the chainlink fence and put up solid block wall and double iron gates to keep out stray neighborhood dogs. For aerial predator protection we put up 5 large doghouses, a pop-up canopy, lawn furniture, some low plywood shelters on cinderblocks, a lot of container plants, even compost bins, wheelbrarrows, and trash cans make great hiding/snoozing places for the chickens during the day. The Cooper's Hawk (chicken hawk) lands in the yard or on the block wall but won't go after hiding hens. I guess raptors prefer swooping down on running hens rather than fighting them face-to-face on the ground!

 

[ShrekDawg]

[COLOR=0000CD]Thanks guys for all the extra input!!!!  We must be dog lovers[/COLOR]

Youre welcome lol definitely are!

Pyrenees owners say the Pyrs have a wanderlust.  If they don't have a job to do or small space they will wander off and I've had an owner say theirs was gone for 5 days!  Guardian breeds are very independent (including self-willed or stubborn) and will do what they think is right so a great amount of training is required to have them do what you want.  They think on their own instinctively and will be wary of strangers.  They are naturally loyal to their owner, family, herd, or flock.  I know with our friend's Ovcharka, she will be wary of strangers at the door, but once the family has welcomed the stranger into the home she will forever consider the newcomer as an addition to her "pack" ~ I've had the pleasure of dog-sitting her many times with no problem of her welcoming me when I turned the key to her family's home while they were gone on vacation.  She will bounce for joy at seeing me as if I was a family member even if I haven't seen her in 6 months!  In a gathering of people in the yard she will search me out remembering me as one of her own. 

It's amazing how the guardians can be so fierce at their duties and yet allow the family children to "ride" them, roll around on the floor with them, pull their ear or tail, and still be gentle giants.  Guardians are great around children because of their family gentleness and because kids will keep the dog actively "guarding" while getting exercise with the kids at the same time which big breeds need.  Once outdoors on duty the guardian dog's demeanor changes.  A wild rabbit enters our friend's backyard almost daily to nibble the lawn and the Ovcharka will sit and watch it with no response.  Once a coyote is at the back fence the Ovcharka will stand between me and the fence - doesn't charge up to the fence or even bark - just stares the coyote into submission and the Ovcharka will not move out of my way until the coyote has moved on.  I love the guardian dog's instinct to stay with the herd (or me in this case) until the predator moves on.  Guardians are fiercely loyal to family and other family pets - if a stranger is present and accepted by the family the guardian normally accepts the newcomer.  If there's no threat to the family they accept the new presence.

My DD's property is 5 houses away from our Ovcharka friends.  I dog-sit my DD's Pitbull who was professionally-trained at terrific expense, she is a very sweet dog.  But outdoors if a possum, rabbit, coyote, lynx, bobcat, skunk, deer, rattlesnake, etc, is at the back fence, no amount of professional "leave it" commands will stop her from charging after the intruder.  I will only let her in the backyard on a leash so I can control her insatiable instinct to chase anything that moves ~ I have no desire to de-skunk her should she find one!  It's just not in a Pitbull's nature to "leave it" which explains their fierce dog-fighting reputation.  But I bet a pack of Pits would be great in a hunting party to chase down a wild boar or fox!  I believe South America uses a lot of Pit-type breed-packs to hunt dangerous wildlife.

Thanks for all the great info. Fascinating reallt and Gator is similar with people except we didn't socialize him and he's sort of BYB so I think he's maybe a little less stable or good at detecting threats. He barks at most strange noises and HATES loud noises, terrified. Goes BALLISTIC when deliver people or guests or anyone comes over. Though the big delivery trucks are scary lol but goes crazy, lunging and barking, nothing will get him away. He's scary actually. BUT. If you can manage to get them through the door then he is fine. But usually that involves bribing him away with food (he's actually pretty easy to do that with and he stays away, with food rewards intermittently, once out of that state, or risk trying to get a leash on him and pull him away, usually it involves no touching him and very fast clipping or bribing him with food first then leashing or locking in a seperate room before someone gets here. But there's like no way someone is gettinf in with him in that state. I guess maybe I need to worm on claiming the front door. But he's fine after they get in. But the weird thing is he doesn't seem to remember people. He remembers certain ones but he still goes crazy when people come. And he's protective of the car, certain people or dogs going by he freaks at. Almost bit someone once when they stuck their hand in the window. And he growled at some people at McDonald's but that was partly cause the food was taking a while so they were talking to us, when it's just the usual very short, immediate, time to get the food he is perfectly calm because he knows food is coming and we occasionally give him a bite lol he's almost dangerous how crazy he is at times but I guess he could be helped with training and also our fault for not socializing.

As for threats, it's funny, sometimes if i hear something or ask "gator whats that" he'll come right over and stand right in front of me and even did it as a puppy. Will be right there. But if he actually sees an animal he will go ballistic and charge and nearly break his neck trying to get to it. So I guess that part is definitely the Lab part since I've been told before, maybe by you?, that true Pyra and guardians are supposed to stay put. Although I have heard of one fending off a bear. When they do decide to protect, there is no getting them back. Fortunately because Gator is on a long rope when he goes outside, he usually comes back when I call him. Occasionally he doesn't and he didn't used to but then I started saying it once and if he didn't listen, I'd start reeling the leash in, forcing him to, lol. It worked.

But he loves kids too.

And also he's probably more like the pit with the going after animals but oddly he is mostly Pyr in his personality I decided and does sometimes do the protection but he's goofy like a Lab and has the food motivation/trainability and willingness to please, as well as being more willing to accept people. Which btw on walks he loves people. And his looks you can see the Pyr by looking at him, it's in his stance, his head, and tail, even though he looks Lab. And he will lay outside in the yard for as long as you let him, just watching the property and his family. And now he lays by the chicken pen. But he lays in the same spot for a loooong time and it's always the best viewing spot, the spot where he can see the most property from where he is and where he can see the front yard and driveway, etc. Except he barks a lot so he doesn't usually get to stsy out long. Although being in the backyard has helped because when there was a rope out front he could see more and could see people and dogs walking by and run towards them barking all the time.

 

[jenniferlamar70]

Hey guys quick question? I am new to silkies and I'm wondering do the hens get combs also? At what age do the roosters combs start to develop? Thanks.

 

[chickchick56]

Yes both do

 

[Fancychooklady]

Hey guys quick question? I am new to silkies and I'm wondering do the hens get combs also? At what age do the roosters combs start to develop? Thanks.

The hens combs are generally much smaller.

 

[jenniferlamar70]

The hens combs are generally much smaller.

Ok thanks. One of my silkies looks like a comb might be starting. I didn't know if that meant boy for sure or not..