Silkie thread!

You need to teach them to let you handle them.  Pick them up when they are asleep at night.  Sausage roll them in a towel and using baby nail scissors trim the feathers that actually block vision.  Hold the head still with the hand that is not using the scissors.  You probably don;t need to trim much to allow them to see better.  Just enough that their eyes are not completely covered.

Afer the trim, unwrap and hold in your lap for awhile, gently stroking their back and under their beak (seem to love that).  Try to get them to eat a treat from your hand.  Repeat several evenings and you will have a devoted friend who comes running for cuddles.
I can't thank you enough for this advice. I was so jealous that everyone in the world seems to have tame silkies and I just seem to have unfriendly freaks, but no one has told me how to change that (until now). I'll give it a try and let you know how I go. Thank you again.
 
Add oatmeal, rice and wheat to her diet. THe whole grains tend to firm up the poop. Probiotics help also.

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Works for mine. I've began feeding them Fermented Feed (very rich in pro-biotics) and the butts have never been so clean. No runny poops at all.

They have oats, barley and wheat mixed in with their grower that is fermented.
I do =) She doesn't really like oatmeal but she gets whole oats. Her poop is solid she just walks in it sometimes and if she's wearing her diaper the poop tends to get smooshed to her bum
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She doesn't get super dirty I just don't want to take her out in public with poopy feet.

I tried dong the fermented feed for about 2 months but it was too much for me to keep up with
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I do =) She doesn't really like oatmeal but she gets whole oats. Her poop is solid she just walks in it sometimes and if she's wearing her diaper the poop tends to get smooshed to her bum
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She doesn't get super dirty I just don't want to take her out in public with poopy feet.

I tried dong the fermented feed for about 2 months but it was too much for me to keep up with
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I find the fermented feed really easy to keep up with, and I have 150 birds. I think the improvement I see in their condition, the savings in my pocket, and how much they love it - it's totally worth it to me.

I know what you mean about the poo. I had a house chicken for a couple of months, and if the diaper wasn't on properly, she'd get poo stuck to her butt feathers.
 
I find the fermented feed really easy to keep up with, and I have 150 birds. I think the improvement I see in their condition, the savings in my pocket, and how much they love it - it's totally worth it to me.

I know what you mean about the poo. I had a house chicken for a couple of months, and if the diaper wasn't on properly, she'd get poo stuck to her butt feathers.
I would be able to keep up with it is I only had birds I think
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but I have a manajery of animals I have to take care of right before going to work and right after work so it was tough.
 
Can you explain how to do this?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds
Here's a link to the Fermented feed thread.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/729605/the-natural-chicken-keeping-thread-ots-welcome
Here's another where we talk about it often.

What you do to break it down here (a few regular silkie thread posters do it as well)
Take the amount of feed you would use in a 2-4 day period (I do more), soak it in water with a few glugs of unpasturized, unfiltered, raw Apple Cider Vinegar with 'The Mother' and stir. Let it sit for 24-48 hours, stir occasionally (once a day or more if you feel like it). It should start to smell like sour dough bread if it is cooking at the right temp. Most people keep it in their house, but I made a little closet down at the barn for winter to keep it cooking. If you have a small number of birds, in the mud room or laundry room is where I hear a lot of people keeping it.



This is what my feed looks like after a few days cooking. You stir daily. I have whole grains and grower at a 40/60 ratio (grains to grower). You'll see BOSS in there as well.

I use 2 buckets, with the top one drilled all over and the bottom holds all the good juices that are packed with probiotics.
Another benefit of this method of feeding I've noticed is very little to no loss in chicks. I haven't lost any since I started. They feather out faster, and grow like little weeds.





Some of my 4 week old chicks to prove the feather rate. Amazing, yes?

Also noted that my hatch rate has gone through the roof. I've been above 90% ever since I started FF. And one more thing, more girls than boys hatched. 4/17 boys hatched last time. There is talk about the ACV changing the PH and allowing for more girls, though it's just a theory. Some people swear by it. I'm just going by what is my experience in the last hatch. That's the first time I've ever been that girl heavy!
 
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MY BABIES ARE HATCHING! I heard pips this morning and one egg has the triangle (that little first crack)!

Unfortunately there are only 8 of the 30 I bought :( But it's better than nothing! I think it was the mail. I just hatched some of my silkie eggs and I got a great hatch rate. Oh well, nothing can upset me too much since I know they are hatching right now!!!

Hopefully I can get them as tame as some of yours. My 3 silkies I have right now are semi-tame. Only one lets me pet and pick her up. I guess I will have to buy mealworms from the PetCo... I bought those dried ones from TSC and my older ones didn't like them! Not even as chicks!
 
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds
Here's a link to the Fermented feed thread.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/729605/the-natural-chicken-keeping-thread-ots-welcome
Here's another where we talk about it often.

What you do to break it down here (a few regular silkie thread posters do it as well)
Take the amount of feed you would use in a 2-4 day period (I do more), soak it in water with a few glugs of unpasturized, unfiltered, raw Apple Cider Vinegar with 'The Mother' and stir. Let it sit for 24-48 hours, stir occasionally (once a day or more if you feel like it). It should start to smell like sour dough bread if it is cooking at the right temp. Most people keep it in their house, but I made a little closet down at the barn for winter to keep it cooking. If you have a small number of birds, in the mud room or laundry room is where I hear a lot of people keeping it.



This is what my feed looks like after a few days cooking. You stir daily. I have whole grains and grower at a 40/60 ratio (grains to grower). You'll see BOSS in there as well.

I use 2 buckets, with the top one drilled all over and the bottom holds all the good juices that are packed with probiotics.
Another benefit of this method of feeding I've noticed is very little to no loss in chicks. I haven't lost any since I started. They feather out faster, and grow like little weeds.





Some of my 4 week old chicks to prove the feather rate. Amazing, yes?

Also noted that my hatch rate has gone through the roof. I've been above 90% ever since I started FF. And one more thing, more girls than boys hatched. 4/17 boys hatched last time. There is talk about the ACV changing the PH and allowing for more girls, though it's just a theory. Some people swear by it. I'm just going by what is my experience in the last hatch. That's the first time I've ever been that girl heavy!
that is amazing!!!!! I am definitely curious about this. And you say it saves $ too right?
 
YAY!!

I have one out of my 7 eggs so far (I think she is just way early).

So our kids will have the same bday? :) I'm so excited for these things. I have silkies but they are far from the fluffy, poofball chicken-cats I've seen on here! So I decided to buy some from here!!!
 

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