Silkie thread!

[Tncowgirl1903]

silkies or cochins? Silkies you can usually just leave the eggs with them and they will collect a pile and then brood.

thank you.. everyones info they have given me.. I am getting 2 silkie babies later this week

Silkies are broody. Cochins are broody. Silver Phoenix are Broody. You will not be able to "get them to broody" if they aren't a breed that goes broody. And they go broody when they want to, not when you tell them to.

Being broody means they stop laying - for the 21 days, plus however long they take care of the chicks (4 weeks to whenever). Most egg producers do not like chickens taking a "vacation" to hatch eggs - so they choose only the hens that do not sit on their eggs and only hatch from those hens - that is what is called being "bred out" of the breed. They also add leghorn (notorious for never going broody) to their breeds - gives them more eggs but messes with the genetics big time.

This has not been done with the three breeds listed above, that's why they still set on their eggs. Silkies were originally created to be broodies - that's why they are so good (or bad) at it.

If you have a Silkie hen - and you put about 4 golfballs in a nest - she will probably oblige you and try and hatch those golfballs....

thank you I didnt know all of this and It was really helpfull

 

[moomoodiddy]

If they look darker in person, and they look different than the ones from the grocery store - then I would guess they are fertile.  If he got her only once in the last week - I bet she is fertile.  I don't see my roo jump anybody - but all the eggs I got were fertile... I just ate the wrong ones!

color of the yolk has nothing to do with it being fertile or not

 

[OohLaLa]

What ever the reason I'm glad my silkies are not being picked on. I was worried about that given their size and feather difference. I'm so glad I got them and I'm waging a constant battle not to order more (different colors for variety). They are just so darn cute in all aspects.

 

[PaintedFeathers]

color of the yolk has nothing to do with it being fertile or not

I think they meant the bullseye is darker

 

[ChickNmamma]

Quote:

 

[OohLaLa]

My silkies love their swinging cabbage treat

 

[Sanna]

Thanks! I had fun with them. For this white background I used a simple towel. Bounced the on camera flash off the ceiling. I didn't feel like getting my light box out...

Looked nothing like a towel!

Maybe some day I'll own a light box. For right now, I have a reflector. I should probably start using it more often. lol

My silkies love their swinging cabbage treat

That's a great idea!

 

[RockerHen]

Two newest additions. I thought normal silkie chicks were tiny, but the little guy on the left (silkie x oegb) is just soooo small and cute

He has five toes on one foot and four on the other, a beard, walnut comb, and some leg feathering. I have 4 hens with chicks in the silkie pen right now, and the other broody hens know he is different from a normal silkie chick. They make an 'alarm' sound whenever he walks by with the mother who hatched him. But she protects him and loves him just as much as her pure silkie chick.



This is the only picture I could find which compares his mother's size to the silkies. She is outside the fence to the left of the silkies, she sort of blends in. She's a tiny girl.

 

[peepblessed]

I am going to get 2 babies next week of show quality... What are the best colors to get?

Show quality can not be determined until 4 to 5 mos of age. Maybe they are from show quality parents. I would start with any recognized color. Many people recommend white for beginners, but black, blue and splash can be bred together.

I just wanted to add some updated photos of my precious Silkies! I just love these guys and gals My uncle is a professional photographer and he took these beautiful photos for me

Porcelain pair from Catdance:

My Porcelain Hen from Gilda Goodwin (her beard is wet, it was really hot):

And my sweet Delilah Porcelain from Peepblessed:

Very beautiful!

silkies or cochins? Silkies you can usually just leave the eggs with them and they will collect a pile and then brood.

Be careful letting eggs pile in hot weather. They will begin to incubate and die.

Aha, I finally found my picture of my first fertilized silkie egg. See how large, even and circular it is? Unfertilized tend to be more shapeless and small. Hopefully this helps you decide

on breeding and 'taking' I witnessed a roo breed a previously unexposed hen and I started getting fertile eggs 3 or 4 days later.

Great photo!

My silkies love their swinging cabbage treat

Great idea!

 

[chickd]

Hay I need help posting pis to this web site form my iPod my question is can u do it from A iPod and how


Thanks