Silkie thread!

[emvickrey]

I had a hen that was broody this summer and I brought her in and let her raise the babies in the trough I use in my carport room for juvies. When I went to put her back she was rejected by the flock. The same flock she has been in for 2 years. I had added a few juvies to the pen and it may be because the "top hen" thought there was enough in that pen. IDK but I put her in with my porcelain roo and she was accepted as if she belonged there all along. I also had a splash hen that was broody it seemed most of the summer. So I ended up giving her some eggs from the sizzle pen and let her raise the chicks for about a month and she hasn't been broody since. Maybe your hen is just wanting babies real bad. It's not easy to break a broody hen once she has made up her mind. And I always put a little feed next to or in front of broodies that are doing it alone. It's rare around here. It seems once one starts the others follow suit

 

[emvickrey]

I'm pretty new to chickens so please forgive me if this is a totally stupid question but what do you do with an abundance of silkies? Do you eat them? Are they easily rehomed? I know full size chickens are regularly processed but I can't imagine eating a silkie!

I currently have three I got "by accident" and am having to drive for several hours to rehome the boy (sob!) but I watch this thread and see a bunch of you happily hatching away. Doing the math, you can't really keep all the boys you hatch, can you?

I belong to a club where we hold swaps regularly on the weekends in warm weather. I sell off my boys and girls that I decide I don't want to keep. I pick out the best and sell the rest. I don't always keep all the best. I just keep what I need to improve my pens or simply add to them. I normally hatch all winter and by spring I know who is staying except for the younger ones. I will make my first initial picks after they are about a week old. I let those grow out to about 3 months old and I make my final picks from those. I'll sell a boy for as little as $5 just to find him a home. If I can't get them sold by mid summer they go to the auction house which I haven't had to do at all this past year. Thank goodness. I really hate to resort to the auction house. I don't like how they are treated since I am careful with them myself. They just yank them out of the cages and hold them up by a wing. I do still have a couple that the splash hens hatched but they will stay till I find new owners. I'm not desperate.

 

[Lacey1988]

Just talked to a man over Facebook who sells show quality silkies and if all goes right I'm a have me some babies by the end of this week.

 

[ottbjumper06]

Just talked to a man over Facebook who sells show quality silkies and if all goes right I'm a have me some babies by the end of this week.  

Ooooh I'm excited for you! What color(s) are you getting?

 

[Suzierd]

I will try that. She is so zoned out most of the time. I threw some scratch in her food which usually gets her attention but she just doesn't seem interested. I was wondering if having them together is making them nervous, and they don't want to get off the nest because of each other. They don't seem nervous, but separating them might be better. I didn't want to have to reintegrate them that much when it comes time to put them back with the flock.

I don't think she would be nervous, I have three that like to brood together right smack next to each other and all share in the duties and get along great. She might ignore the food at first while your looking so I would leave it right in front of her where she can reach it without getting up. They love mash.

 

[kabhyper1]

I don't think she would be nervous, I have three that like to brood together right smack next to each other and all share in the duties and get along great. She might ignore the food at first while your looking so I would leave it right in front of her where she can reach it without getting up. They love mash.

When I put them together to eat, Ashes pecks Snow in the head. She is bossy, so I didn't know if that was the problem. They have been together and have gotten along fine since may of last year.

 

[kabhyper1]

Future fuzz ball. My video isn't very good, but I can see her in there wiggling around

 

[K Epp]

Father was white, mother was splash    apparently both carrying a partridge gene.  You could also breed the blue to splash to get some splash (and blues).  Don't know how the gold leakage would work in that.  I wouldn't think it wouldn't show in the splash, but maybe in the blues.  Then, you maybe could keep the blues that don't have the leakage.  I'm not totally sure if that will weed out the gold gene.  I'm afraid that since my splash had the gold leakage blue chicks, that they always will?  Maybe they won't, if the roo that I have for them now doesn't have the gold gene.  I'm not good at genetics!

Pam

Thanks. You know I don't care if they have gold leakage I have silver my self.LOL. They are pets. One of them is always the first to greet me when I open the coop door. I have some one wanting to trade me his white silkie flock 1 roo, 4 hens and a frizzle hen for one of my turkeys. I think I'm going to do it. The turkey will be used to breed not eat so I can except that. My turkeys share the barn with my LF flock and can get rough with them at times.

 

[Suzierd]

When I put them together to eat, Ashes pecks Snow in the head. She is bossy, so I didn't know if that was the problem. They have been together and have gotten along fine since may of last year.

You would think if she pecked Snow she would peck at the food best of luck with them I hope she starts eating better for you. I would also put some avian super pack or something similar in there water for three to five days.

 

[kabhyper1]

You would think if she pecked Snow she would peck at the food

best of luck with them I hope she starts eating better for you. I would also put some avian super pack or something similar in there water for three to five days.

She does eat, just not a lot. I have poultry drench and apple cider vinegar. I never see them drink though. Maybe I'll put some drench in their mash.