Silkie thread!

[Sylvester017]

That is adorablr :3 i cant wait till i get my chicks 10 will be silkies so im excited

Oh, how you will LUV your Silkies - in fact, ALL the babies will be so cute. But once you've owned Silkies & see how hardy they are, good foragers, talkative, eat out of your hand, alert to things in the sky, you'll be hooked. Silkies do take a mild amount of care but more than make up for it w/ their wonderful productivity & mothering skills. We have one Silkie that loves to join the big girls in the rain puddles. She looks like a drowned rat by end of day but is all dry & fluffy again in the morning! Even the boys are darlings. Like most chickens they won't like being touched from overhead. Some breeds are more curious than others, some chirp more, some breeds are combative at an early age, others are mind-their-own-business breeds, etc. It won't take long to ID the trouble-makers from the inquisitive or friendly explorers. ENJOY!

 

[EZFarms]

I shall post pics on here when we get them. how loud are the silkie roos?

 

[drumstick diva]

flocknfoal It's really not torture to a chick(en) to get bathed. You could dampen her with a little warm water where she is sticky and work some shampoo(diluted) into the area and work it well into the shellacked feathers. Leave it on a few minutes (you could wrap her in a towel). Then put her in the sink and rinse her in warm water well till the soap is all out. Wrap her back into a dry towel or better yet use a human hair dryer on low. Do not put her back with the others till she is completely dry.

A lot of birds actually enjoy a bath in warm water and sometimes start to fall asleep. They also like the warm air blowing through their feathers. This should de-shellac her. If not you may have to repeat - not the same day. Sounds like she was partially shrink wrapped. I think she would feel better having it cleaned off - having it plastered is probably irritating .

 

[Sylvester017]

flocknfoal It's really not torture to a chick(en) to get bathed. You could dampen her with a little warm water where she is sticky and work some shampoo(diluted) into the area and work it well into the shellacked feathers. Leave it on a few minutes (you could wrap her in a towel). Then put her in the sink and rinse her in warm water well till the soap is all out. Wrap her back into a dry towel or better yet use a human hair dryer on low. Do not put her back with the others till she is completely dry.

A lot of birds actually enjoy a bath in warm water and sometimes start to fall asleep. They also like the warm air blowing through their feathers. This should de-shellac her. If not you may have to repeat - not the same day. Sounds like she was partially shrink wrapped. I think she would feel better having it cleaned off - having it plastered is probably irritating .

How cute - a shrink-wrapped chick LOL. Diva, you are so right about the shampoo. I use baby shampoo for crusty hen butts. Regular warm water just doesn't do the job like the baby shampoo for disintegrating crusty gunk off feathers. I've never used anything but baby shampoo & don't know about other types of shampoo. I once read not to use antibacterial soap but in any event the baby shampoo works wonders at loosening gunk - whether Silkies or hardfeathered breeds. It takes a while to work things loose from the feathers gently w/ your fingers so be patient & you should feel the stuff coming off in the warm bath water. I use heavy duty paper towels, the industrial kind, to pat the chickens dry as regular bath towels just don't absorb well enough IMO, then use the blowdryer on low & keep my fingers in front of the heat to diffuse it from overheating the chicken's skin. All my chickens LUV blowdryers. My Silkies love to stand in front of either heaters or box fans just for the joy of it! Diva's got good advice!

 

[flocknfoal]

flocknfoal It's really not torture to a chick(en) to get bathed. You could dampen her with a little warm water where she is sticky and work some shampoo(diluted) into the area and work it well into the shellacked feathers. Leave it on a few minutes (you could wrap her in a towel). Then put her in the sink and rinse her in warm water well till the soap is all out. Wrap her back into a dry towel or better yet use a human hair dryer on low. Do not put her back with the others till she is completely dry.

A lot of birds actually enjoy a bath in warm water and sometimes start to fall asleep. They also like the warm air blowing through their feathers. This should de-shellac her. If not you may have to repeat - not the same day. Sounds like she was partially shrink wrapped. I think she would feel better having it cleaned off - having it plastered is probably irritating .

Thanks for the advice. When I tried to wash the poor little thing before she just chirped and chirped like I was torturing her. I figured she was cold, and wanted to be back with her chick buddies, but what you said makes sense. I'll try again tomorrow and let you know how it goes.

 

[Sylvester017]

I shall post pics on here when we get them. how loud are the silkie roos?

Silkie cockerels are not any more louder than most bantams but like bantams, have the funniest sounding higher-pitched crow. The crow is not loud but more annoying than anything else because they love to crow, & crow, & crow, & crow, etc. I think they have a "repeat" button in their throat LOL. The little Silkie boys love to crow. If our little boy (we were told he was a "pullet") wasn't so noisy we wouldn't have returned him to the breeder but he didn't know how to shut up for the neighbors and he was such a darling too.

 

[flocknfoal]

I shall post pics on here when we get them. how loud are the silkie roos?

It depends on the roo - some are louder than others. I have one that's sort of deep and throaty and doesn't seem loud at all. Others are higher pitched and a bit annoying, but in my limited experience they aren't as loud as LF roos.

 

[ellymayRans]

Silkie cockerels are not any more louder than most bantams but like bantams, have the funniest sounding higher-pitched crow. The crow is not loud but more annoying than anything else because they love to crow, & crow, & crow, & crow, etc. I think they have a "repeat" button in their throat LOL. The little Silkie boys love to crow. If our little boy (we were told he was a "pullet") wasn't so noisy we wouldn't have returned him to the breeder but he didn't know how to shut up for the neighbors and he was such a darling too.

Sooo true! I had to comment here! I can remember the first time one of mine crowed, I ran outside thinking something bad was happening but found nothing wrong...stood there for a minute and heard this week "cry" of a crow! He just happened to be near a window of the house or I would have never heard it from inside! Once I realized what it was I just laughed and of course stayed outside to listen to him over and over! Not near as loud (or annoying) as my bantam Cochins or LF roos. I guess it's cuz they're just extra cute!!

 

[EZFarms]

Well ive never had bantams only LF

we have neighbors who are complaining now at our LF roos so i have to be cautious at roos

 

[Nikki816]

I shall post pics on here when we get them. how loud are the silkie roos?

My roo is awesome, He only crows a couple times in the morning and I rarely ever hear him unless I'm outside.....so it pretty much depends on the rooster