Silkie thread!

[Sylvester017]

Both parents for Sora had crests and beards. The breeder has no beardless silkies and from pictures and videos of her breeding pens is very picky about what she is breeding. I just look at my other three who are literal balls of fluff and then look at Sora. I mean Sora is still pretty in his own way and has the advantage of sight which the other 3 don't have. Been trying to put ponytails in their feathers to make it easier for them but Sora likes to pull them out and run off with them. Still would be nice if his crest could get a little fuller. He's got one hell of a beard though so at least I have that.

A lot of Silkie boys have a windswept backflowing crest as the streamers come in so maybe it's a guy thing with some of the boys. I have a Black Silkie hen that is not as thickly fluffed as the Partridge hen as far as body/tail fluff yet both have a nice crest (when they aren't matted). Our Partridge cockerel didn't have a full fluff head but had the windswept backward streamers. Our girls were more rounded fluff.

Approx 6 months - Partridge cockerel


Partridge hen - molting


Black pullet

 

[DianeClare]

Hello
We are brand new to raising chickens but are very excited about the adventure. Our chicks arrive on April 5th. Included in the bunch are 5 Silkies as a birthday gift for my 16 year old granddaughter. Strange kid - wanted chickens for her birthday! Didn't even ask for clothes!!
We would be very happy for any and all tips and advice for success. Do the hens get broody? Would love to have some hatchlings some day.
Should the Silkies be housed separately from the others ?
We are new homesteaders totally organic.
Thanks for starting this thread. I'll be following.
Diane

 

[Hinotori]

Hello
We are brand new to raising chickens but are very excited about the adventure. Our chicks arrive on April 5th. Included in the bunch are 5 Silkies as a birthday gift for my 16 year old granddaughter. Strange kid - wanted chickens for her birthday! Didn't even ask for clothes!!
We would be very happy for any and all tips and advice for success. Do the hens get broody? Would love to have some hatchlings some day.
Should the Silkies be housed separately from the others ?
We are new homesteaders totally organic.
Thanks for starting this thread. I'll be following.
Diane

Welcome!

Silkies tend to do best separate, but can do okay with non-aggressive breeds.

As for broody, silkies are one of the most broody breeds out there. They will happily raise chicks of all breeds for you

 

[Sylvester017]

Hello
We are brand new to raising chickens but are very excited about the adventure. Our chicks arrive on April 5th. Included in the bunch are 5 Silkies as a birthday gift for my 16 year old granddaughter. Strange kid - wanted chickens for her birthday! Didn't even ask for clothes!!
We would be very happy for any and all tips and advice for success. Do the hens get broody? Would love to have some hatchlings some day.
Should the Silkies be housed separately from the others ?
We are new homesteaders totally organic.
Thanks for starting this thread. I'll be following.
Diane

I would love to say read all 6,000+ pages of this Silkie thread to thoroughly learn about Silkies but then maybe your granddaughter can do it to learn about her birthday presents.

First thing, learn the "judge's hold" for picking up hens of any breed -- you don't want to grab them from their reproductive sides. Takes practice for both humans and birds to get accustomed and my birds are very used to it now. The following youtube video shows how to pick up a chicken under it's chest and hold it's legs with fingers --

Since Silkies, like most bantams, are broody it is not necessary to give them eggs to hatch if you don't want. I let my Silkies set an empty nest when they go broody to give their bodies a nutrition break from laying so many eggs (Silkies are amazing layers for bantams). After 2 or 3 weeks of sitting on an empty nest they will rejoin the flock again like normal. While Silkies are broody I take them off nest a couple times daily to eat/drink/exercise/dust-bathe before they go running back to their nest.

Sometimes chickens get reclusive and lethargic when molting and if a Silkie stays in a nextbox more than 3 weeks mine are probably molting. Either way I give molting, brooding, sick, or injured chickens a drop of children's no-iron Poly-Vi-Sol vitamin on the side of their beak 2 or 3x weekly since they aren't eating as well as usual and I want them to get their vitamins. My vet highly reminds me to feed my chickens vitamins. In their regular feed or cooked brown rice I add Rooster Booster vitamins, Brewer's Yeast, Bee Pollen, and a very very light pinch of selenium and offer it every afternoon as a treat.

Silkie crests, feathered feet, and vent feathers can get matted or dirty and may need a bath. I don't immerse a Silkie in water but just direct the faucet on either their feet, or tush, or use a warm washcloth for getting gunk out of the crest feathers -- don't want to get water down their nostrils since chickens are prone to respiratory ailments. I use gentle no tears baby shampoo just in case it gets in the chicken's or my eyes! They love a warm blow-dry with a hairdryer -- I use a Baby Pro small hair dryer on low warm after patting a wet bird with paper towels or super absorbent industrial towels or soft baby towel. I use vitamin E oil per vet recommendation on the face skin, beak, comb, legs, toes, and nails of my chickens rather than greasy Vaseline which has no vitamin benefit to the chicken's skin, I had an in-house Silkie that would tap on the fan when she wanted us to turn it on -- Silkies like to stand in front of a low-breeze heater in winter or fan in summer.


Have a chicken first-aid kit available. Mine has Q-tips, Manna Pro Poultry Protector, Vetericyn, soft stretchy white tape wrap, vitamin E oil, small nail clippers, nail file, septic stick, cotton balls, veterinary fecal test kit, super absorbent industrial paper towels, baby shampoo, etc (you get the idea). I also have some veterinary-assigned medicines that I keep refrigerated along with the Poly-Vi-Sol vitamins. Having all these prepared in one place makes it handy for emergencies or when grooming a chicken.

Any other questions like breeding there are many on this thread willing to help - Smiles!

 

[yoopergirl1211]

Hi! Can anyone give me an idea on what color the darker chick is please? Doesn't really matter but they're my first silkies and I'm super curious.

Or this one. It is light with faint chipmunk stripes

 

[Hinotori]

Any idea on parentage?

I have a pen with some mixed silkies. I get weird stuff I can't predict out of it

This with the very light chipmunk

Became this

And this

Looks like this at almost 11 weeks

 

[Hinotori]

The back left one here





Looks like this at almost 11 (she wasn't cooperative)




ETA this. She's the one on the left in this picture from a couple weeks ago

 

[FishMtFarm]

Anyone in NY want a black Silkie cockerel? He is still a baby and I'm not sure it's a boy but pretty sure cause he is bigger these the rest that hatched his age. Willing to just give him away if someone wants him.

 

[Sylvester017]

@DianeClare Sorry, I didn't notice you said your granddaughter was 16 -- I didn't read thoroughly. So, indeed she will definitely love to read the 6,000+ pages of this Silkie thread. I devoured every informative blog, website, and thread to learn about our Silkies when we got them.

 

[Sylvester017]

Anyone in NY want a black Silkie cockerel? He is still a baby and I'm not sure it's a boy but pretty sure cause he is bigger these the rest that hatched his age. Willing to just give him away if someone wants him.

I hope you find a good home. Looks like such a sweetie. I have to get DNA-sexed Silkies in advance because we can't have roos either and it's hard for me in the city to re-home cockerels.