Silkie thread!

[Urchin]

We lost all our six-week-old silkies but one. Another trip to the breeder later I'm back to having a brooder full of week and two-week old chicks (six silkies and three cochins), plus three five-week-old silkie chicks who we've put out with the rest of the flock of six and seven-week-old egg layers and the remaining silkie after introductions. So far, so good. Other than chasing around the younger ones when they've found something particularly yummy to eat, everyone gets along well. No bullying. Hopefully they'll be as accepting of the younger chicks when it comes time to put them in the coop.

The oldest silkie, Professor Fluffles, has kind of become the flock mascot. He's a very friendly little guy who will happily fall asleep on your lap. Of course, the gender's arbitrary right now, but he sure acts like a roo. I see him on watch a lot out in the chicken yard, especially when Cottonball, one of the five-week-old silkies is near him. But as I told the kids, he could very well turn out to be a hen. The funny thing is the silkies tend to like to hang out together, except Pinto the splash, who follows one of gold star pullets around.

Here's a shot of the Professor.

 

[moncktj]

hi can any one tell me what key things to look for when i am trying to tell if a chick is a roo or pullet

 

[PaintedFeathers]

I'm having a nervous breakdown!!! Help! I'm going away tomorrow to Cape Cod until Tuesday. My 7-8 week old chicks moved to the outside coop last week. For the first few days they had the heat lamp. And for the last 3 nights they did not. I found them huddled up together in one big pig pile in the nesting box in the middle of the night.

Here is the delema. The last few nights it has gotten down to 57-60 degrees and inside the coop was about 68. The next few nights it will drop down into the 40's. I have the ADOR1 automatic door that closes around 8PM so the coop cools down before nightfall, and it is completely in the shade. I really have no place to get the cord to an outlet now that the ADOR1 door is installed...

THE QUESTION IS, will they be ok huddling together throughout the next 4 nights of 40 degrees possibly staying in the 50's in the coop.

Right now it is rainy, breezy, and 56 degrees outside at 11pm and it is not much warmer in the coop. This is how I found them just now... yes there are 6 of them. The silkie is 7 weeks and the rest of the LF are 8 weeks.

Should be fine. I never use a heat lamp, done more harm than good. I have chicks ranging from 6 weeks to 4 months out there and they have all been fine. It has also been rainy and cold here and one night I believe it got down to 40 and upper 30's. Your chicks look plenty big enough to be off heat for good.

 

[SigningChickens]

Has anyone else had trouble with their white silkies getting a bit of yellowing? Can you use the same shampoo they make for white dogs that bleaches out the yellow?

 

[sheeshshe]

isn't the yellowing from the sun?

 

[silkiefive]

Hi, need advice, one of our roosters started limping a few weeks ago but I didnt notice any wound, then he was ok 3 days and next limping again and so on, but last week he got worse as he couldnt use his leg at all, I started using vit e and b complex but no improvement, instead now he has the same problem with his other leg, he keeps alert and feeding, but cannot stand. Its a pretty sad situation as he is one of my sons pet and he cries whenever he looks at him like that.

 

[aoxa]

I'm having a nervous breakdown!!! Help! I'm going away tomorrow to Cape Cod until Tuesday. My 7-8 week old chicks moved to the outside coop last week. For the first few days they had the heat lamp. And for the last 3 nights they did not. I found them huddled up together in one big pig pile in the nesting box in the middle of the night.

Here is the delema. The last few nights it has gotten down to 57-60 degrees and inside the coop was about 68. The next few nights it will drop down into the 40's. I have the ADOR1 automatic door that closes around 8PM so the coop cools down before nightfall, and it is completely in the shade. I really have no place to get the cord to an outlet now that the ADOR1 door is installed...

THE QUESTION IS, will they be ok huddling together throughout the next 4 nights of 40 degrees possibly staying in the 50's in the coop.

Right now it is rainy, breezy, and 56 degrees outside at 11pm and it is not much warmer in the coop. This is how I found them just now... yes there are 6 of them. The silkie is 7 weeks and the rest of the LF are 8 weeks.

OH they will be just fine!!

Mine still huddle like this every night and they are all over 20 weeks, and it is not that cold. They just like to snuggle

 

[Sanna]

Picture's a little blurry, this is way zoomed in because I didn't want to startle them, but this is my rooster mothering some turkey poults who were a little chilled in the evening air.

They snuggled right up to him and he laid down and allowed them to get under his wings. Gotta love sweet silkies!

I love silkie roosters! Mine take care of the babies all the time.

might be going to get a cochin and an araucana chick tomorrow! Gonna see what her breeding stock looks like first, but she said that her breeders won a lot of first and second place ribbons, and her cochin roo took best cock at one show. I just LOVE the look of quality cochins, and araucanas are just so cool and rumpless haha

Oh, those Cochins are great! I'm assuming you'll be getting a bantam? I don't know anything about those Aracaunas, but Cochins are great. I love my two.

Can't wait to have more!

Has anyone else had trouble with their white silkies getting a bit of yellowing? Can you use the same shampoo they make for white dogs that bleaches out the yellow?

Sometimes it's the sun. Corn can also turn the white feathers yellow.

 

[1234ro]

this is my 2 year old silkie duffy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! shes such a love bug and shes so friendly, and just wants to follow u around. also my profile pic is of her trying to eat the camra

 

[SigningChickens]

My silkies got their first bath (by me) today! The one that is always clean immediately began to preen herself & the one that is always dirty just sat there wet. I guess I know who is the pullet lol.