Silkie thread!

[Sylvester017]

Alright, thanks! I'll be sure to show them off when they come! Now I have to wait three months!

I may have to wait even longer than that for my special order Breda juvenile. I only get one or two at most chickens in a single shipped order so shipping that few chicks to me is not an option from breeders. I have to wait until the chicks grow up big enough to be sex-identified and old enough to travel alone by shipping so I don't get new pullets younger than 2 or 3 months old. I don't mind though. Raising a single baby chick is a hassle but having an older juvenile is easier on us -- especially since we quarantine a new bird in-house to socialize and bond with her before integrating into the backyard flock.

Our last Cuckoo Breda juvenile got integrated into the outdoors just before Christmas.

 

[Lamaremybabies]

I may have to wait even longer than that for my special order Breda juvenile. I only get one or two at most chickens in a single shipped order so shipping that few chicks to me is not an option from breeders. I have to wait until the chicks grow up big enough to be sex-identified and old enough to travel alone by shipping so I don't get new pullets younger than 2 or 3 months old. I don't mind though. Raising a single baby chick is a hassle but having an older juvenile is easier on us -- especially since we quarantine a new bird in-house to socialize and bond with her before integrating into the backyard flock. Our last Cuckoo Breda juvenile got integrated into the outdoors just before Christmas.

Oh wow. That actually sounds kinda nice. I love chicks and all but part of me loves them a lot more when they aren't mine. I'd rather be able to quarantine for a week or two and then add in with the older flock. Also your cuckoo is quite adorable!

 

[Elbert Garrett]

Are you breeding them? You know it's inevitable you'll get fertile eggs and Silkies LUV to go broody!

Well they are together.....I figure if she wants to go broody in the Spring I`ll let her try to hatch some out.

 

[Sylvester017]

Well they are together.....I figure if she wants to go broody in the Spring I`ll let her try to hatch some out.

Looks they'll throw some handsome offspring!

 

[Sylvester017]

Oh wow. That actually sounds kinda nice. I love chicks and all but part of me loves them a lot more when they aren't mine. I'd rather be able to quarantine for a week or two and then add in with the older flock. Also your cuckoo is quite adorable!

TY! Yep, the Cuckoo is a crackup - sweet, gentle, and funny to watch with her triangle crest, big vulture hocks, and feather-flippered feet! She was in-house with us for 3-months before we put her outdoors. We had so much fun with her we hated to turn her out! She won't be ready to lay eggs until her wattles grow out and turn red. Breda are slow-maturing birds. I also love adorable baby chicks but it's not an option for us since we can only get one or maybe two birds at a time. We've had several breeds of chickens in the last 6 years - some were re-homed, some died, yet our 2 original Silkies at 6 and 5 yrs old are our longest-lived chickens so far.

 

[FishMtFarm]

At 5 and 6 years old do your silkies still lay eggs for you?

 

[Sylvester017]

At 5 and 6 years old do your silkies still lay eggs for you?

Yep! The Black Silkie (5 yrs) is a better layer than the Partridge (6 yrs) but they occasionally spit out some eggs for us! These are from both Partridge and Black Silkies - the brown egg is an XL store egg.


These are 21/2 weeks of our Black Silkie's winter eggs:


My Silkies are not steady layers. But they will lay like crazy for 2 or 3 weeks from 4 to 5 eggs/weekly, then go broody. I don't mind when they go broody to give their bodies a rest from laying so many eggs in such a short time.

 

[Lamaremybabies]

TY! Yep, the Cuckoo is a crackup - sweet, gentle, and funny to watch with her triangle crest, big vulture hocks, and feather-flippered feet! She was in-house with us for 3-months before we put her outdoors. We had so much fun with her we hated to turn her out! She won't be ready to lay eggs until her wattles grow out and turn red. Breda are slow-maturing birds. I also love adorable baby chicks but it's not an option for us since we can only get one or maybe two birds at a time. We've had several breeds of chickens in the last 6 years - some were re-homed, some died, yet our 2 original Silkies at 6 and 5 yrs old are our longest-lived chickens so far.

That's great! I'm assuming your zoning limits are 5 hens?

 

[Sylvester017]

That's great! I'm assuming your zoning limits are 5 hens?

Yes, 5 hens/no roos -- and only so long as there are no neighbor complaints. Our city can be zoned for chickens but if a neighbor complains, it means disbanding. My friend 2 blocks away had a nosy neighbor that was the bane of city hall with her complaint calls about all her surrounding neighbors that she was coined a "nuisance caller" but the city still has to follow up all calls. My friend was measured by the city as not having a coop enough distance of 50 feet from any houses and was shut down even though technically she could have chickens but she was shut down on an ordinance detail just because of a nuisance neighbor. Nuisance neighbors have dogs that bark all day and night but they call city hall if a rooster crows or a hen cackles -- go figure?

 

[Sylvester017]

Hurray! My new camera arrived yesterday afternoon and I actually figured out how to put most of it together! It's basic but still has more features than I'll ever use. I just hope I can take some decent pictures of my moving hens -- the little buggers never stay still!