Silkie thread!

[Ckicken Lover]

I get my 2 silkie chickies on monday!!!!!!! i'm stoked!!!!!

i got creative and turned my old playhouse into a coop and my big doll house into laying boxes!!

any suggestions about how to make them feel comfortable? or how to feed chickies!!!

 

[Roxannemc]

IM new to silkies just have 6 and only 3 full grown laying.
My question is ...what is the right color for Porcelain.?
Ive only seen pics.I bought some eggs wanted splash she didnt have any laying and i got porcelain
However from hatch day they had black spots. And still do.
One has a lot of id call darker champagne on its neck and basically cream i guess. with one or 2 black spots Pic doesnt really give a good idea.

My younger are from another lady who gave them to me free ....all splash

I really cant tell the difference but maybe the younger splash are a little whiter but not enough to really tell.So the older grown ..porcelain but splash look..what color would i call them when i sell their eggs?
Are porcelain every spotted?

 

[ChickNmamma]

IM new to silkies just have 6 and only 3 full grown laying.

My question is ...what is the right color for Porcelain.?

Ive only seen pics.I bought some eggs wanted splash she didnt have any laying and i got porcelain

However from hatch day they had black spots. And still do.

One has a lot of id call darker champagne on its neck and basically cream i guess. with one or 2 black spots Pic doesnt really give a good idea.



My younger are from another lady who gave them to me free ....all splash



I really cant tell the difference but maybe the younger splash are a little whiter but not enough to really tell.So the older grown ..porcelain but splash look..what color would i call them when i sell their eggs?

Are porcelain every spotted?

We would really like pictures to see them (because we LOVE pictures) - but no - Porcelain will not have black spots. The genetics of Porcelain contain a gene called lavender that turns all black to gray (self-blue). There should be no Black on a Porcelain, and no spots either. Do the spots stay always in the same place (like Paints do)?

Porcelain (Self-Blue Creme) is still a project color, so you might have oddball genetics in there. I wouldn't sell the eggs - except as mixed colors or for eating. If you .. I mean WHEN you get a broody hen stick some of the eggs under there and see what kind of chicks hatch out - they might carry lavender but not have two copies. I am still not sure why they would have black splashes though - perhaps they are Blue based instead of Lavender and they are really Splash with Buff?

 

[Fancychooklady]

I get my 2 silkie chickies on monday!!!!!!! i'm stoked!!!!!  e ​
i got creative and turned my old playhouse into a coop and my big doll house into laying boxes!!:cd

any suggestions about how to make them feel comfortable? or how to feed chickies!!!
:yiipchick  

This is our converted cubby.

 

[jajeanpierre]

This week we are having just awful weather here in south central Texas--wind, rain and cold. It's been just above freezing all day today.

I don't have a big coop building, just a couple of moveable ones where the chickens can lay eggs and I can lock them up safe from predators at night. There is a lot of ventilation in the coops--I'm in south central Texas and heat is my biggest concern. I've wrapped a tarp around three sides, but am still worried about the little Silkies and the double-copy frizzle Cochins.

I brought all the Silkies into the garage and set up a pen for them with a heat lamp. They need to dry off. Should I just keep them in all week until the rain ends?

The frazzle Cochin pullet came into the house yestereday. She gave me an egg this afternoon, bless her heart. I brought the wet frazzle cockerel in to dry off. He's now in the garage with the Silkies and a heat lamp.

I've left the Ameraucanas out. They look pretty wet, but I don't think they are wet other than on the surface feathers. I've wrapped their coop on three sides with a tarp as well. Their coop will not be warm, but they are protected from the bitter north wind and the rain. I'm worried because their heads look wet. Do I need to worry about them tonight? It will be going down to below freezing with freezing rain expected.

What about the Polish? Their top knots are wet, but their bodies are dry.

I never expected to be worried about the cold living so far south!

Thanks for any advice.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Do the spots stay always in the same place (like Paints do)?

Does a splash change its spots?

If my splash has a certain feather color and molts that feather, will the feather that grows in be the same markings as the feather it molted?

 

[Aria]

I don't know what to do. I am starting to like my silkies more than my large chickens. But I don't want to get rid of the big ones and I don't have any time to build a new coop. Ahhhh

Silkies

are very special. WE KNOW what you mean. We now have Silkies only. Regards, Aria

 

[ChickNmamma]

This week we are having just awful weather here in south central Texas--wind, rain and cold. It's been just above freezing all day today.

I don't have a big coop building, just a couple of moveable ones where the chickens can lay eggs and I can lock them up safe from predators at night. There is a lot of ventilation in the coops--I'm in south central Texas and heat is my biggest concern. I've wrapped a tarp around three sides, but am still worried about the little Silkies and the double-copy frizzle Cochins.

I brought all the Silkies into the garage and set up a pen for them with a heat lamp. They need to dry off. Should I just keep them in all week until the rain ends?

The frazzle Cochin pullet came into the house yestereday. She gave me an egg this afternoon, bless her heart. I brought the wet frazzle cockerel in to dry off. He's now in the garage with the Silkies and a heat lamp.

I've left the Ameraucanas out. They look pretty wet, but I don't think they are wet other than on the surface feathers. I've wrapped their coop on three sides with a tarp as well. Their coop will not be warm, but they are protected from the bitter north wind and the rain. I'm worried because their heads look wet. Do I need to worry about them tonight? It will be going down to below freezing with freezing rain expected.

What about the Polish? Their top knots are wet, but their bodies are dry.

I never expected to be worried about the cold living so far south!

Thanks for any advice.

Yes, this weather is odd, to say the least. Last year my quarantined silkies slept in a white plastic bucket. It snowed (not usual).. Their heads got wet (from the condensation at the top of the bucket from their warm breath) and all did fine. They were out running around in the snow most mornings. If they are soaked to the skin then I would dry them off - but we just had a dumping rain and my sillies got wet - but only the top layer. I could see the underlayer was still dry (if you have ever bathed one you will see the difference from fully soaked to just top wet). I would NOT give them a heat lamp though - once they are dry they have their own body heat to keep them warm - heat lamps will un-condition them for the outside weather. Just a dry place out of the wind is all they need. Don't worry about the Ameraucanas - their body heat will dry off their heads if they are out of the rain. I never worry about my big birds and the cold. The polish I have LIKED her top knot wet - much easier to see. Never hurt her. The frazzles I would bring inside (as you have done). Those poor birds have so few feathers...

If you have any hay bales I would put them up against the sides of your mobile coops as further windbreaks and as insulation against the cold on that side.

Quote: I think the Splashes do move. From my reading the Paint ones do not (I don't have Paint so I don't know). I read that Paints are born with the black spots they will have all their lives - in the same spot. Splashes are born light and get their splashes later on. Both the Splashes I have had got more splashes as they got older, and there was never a pattern to where they were placed. The feathers that grew in were not the same color as the ones they replaced.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Yes, this weather is odd, to say the least. Last year my quarantined silkies slept in a white plastic bucket. It snowed (not usual).. Their heads got wet (from the condensation at the top of the bucket from their warm breath) and all did fine. They were out running around in the snow most mornings. If they are soaked to the skin then I would dry them off - but we just had a dumping rain and my sillies got wet - but only the top layer. I could see the underlayer was still dry (if you have ever bathed one you will see the difference from fully soaked to just top wet). I would NOT give them a heat lamp though - once they are dry they have their own body heat to keep them warm - heat lamps will un-condition them for the outside weather. Just a dry place out of the wind is all they need. Don't worry about the Ameraucanas - their body heat will dry off their heads if they are out of the rain. I never worry about my big birds and the cold. The polish I have LIKED her top knot wet - much easier to see. Never hurt her. The frazzles I would bring inside (as you have done). Those poor birds have so few feathers...

If you have any hay bales I would put them up against the sides of your mobile coops as further windbreaks and as insulation against the cold on that side.

I think the Splashes do move. From my reading the Paint ones do not (I don't have Paint so I don't know). I read that Paints are born with the black spots they will have all their lives - in the same spot. Splashes are born light and get their splashes later on. Both the Splashes I have had got more splashes as they got older, and there was never a pattern to where they were placed. The feathers that grew in were not the same color as the ones they replaced.

We've had a steady drizzle all day and yesterday . It has just been an awful day. The Silkies seemed cold (hunched and not moving around). Their wet feathers weighed down the dry feathers, so they didn't have much insulation. In fact, I would say they were damp right down to the skin. I'll turn the heat lamp when they are dry. Maybe I'll put all the Silkies back in the little coop for the night. It is protected from the wind, but the door facing south is all screen.

I'm not worried about the cold, but this drizzle is really not good.

My poor lavender Ameraucana ended up damp to the skin. She has these lousy cottony feathers that I think are common with lavenders. She has lots of feathers, but they aren't of a good quality that repels water very well at all. Plus, the cockerels have been trying to breed her and have broken off a lot of the feathers on her back. I ended up blow drying her this afternoon. I think she liked it.

The pathetic Ameraucana cockerels seem dry enough but their feet are cold. They are standing around on one foot.

 

[Roxannemc]

Well thanks to all the details from everyone about splash silkies. All new to me.Cant wait for spring to hatch some and see what i get.
!

Yes, this weather is odd, to say the least. Last year my quarantined silkies slept in a white plastic bucket. It snowed (not usual)..  Their heads got wet (from the condensation at the top of the bucket from their warm breath) and all did fine.  They were out running around in the snow most mornings.   If they are soaked to the skin then I would dry them off - but we just had a dumping rain and my sillies got wet - but only the top layer.  I could see the underlayer was still dry (if you have ever bathed one you will see the difference from fully soaked to just top wet).   I would NOT give them a heat lamp though - once they are dry they have their own body heat to keep them warm - heat lamps will un-condition them for the outside weather.   Just a dry place out of the wind is all they need.   Don't worry about the Ameraucanas - their body heat will dry off their heads if they are out of the rain.   I never worry about my big birds and the cold.  The polish I have LIKED her top knot wet - much easier to see.  Never hurt her.  The frazzles I would bring inside (as you have done).  Those poor birds have so few feathers...

If you have any hay bales I would put them up against the sides of your mobile coops as further windbreaks and as insulation against the cold on that side.

I think the Splashes do move.  From my reading the Paint ones do not (I don't have Paint so I don't know).  I read that Paints are born with the black spots they will have all their lives - in the same spot.  Splashes are born light and get their splashes later on.  Both the Splashes I have had got more splashes as they got older, and there was never a pattern to where they were placed.  The feathers that grew in were not the same color as the ones they replaced.