Silkie thread!

[PeckPeckChick]

Thank you and yes she has acess to food at all times . Thnk you for the advice

 

[subhanalah]

Thank you and yes she has acess to food at all times . Thnk you for the advice

she's a real cutie

 

[Farley Fam]

My silkie chick. In LOVE!

 

[kabhyper1]

The silkies are outside finally! Yay! Now I can have my den back.

Checking out the nest box


Miss Henley



They aren't sure what to think of this new place.

 

[BuckNBark Farm]

What do they weigh? Many of the Silkies I see being shown are way too big.


ETA: if you're no weighing your breeders you should-everyone should.

I've been in search of a used baby scale, or a good, roomy kitchen scale. I don't know at the moment. Yeah- those show silkies are big! Pam

 

[BuckNBark Farm]

Has anyone tried duckweed for their chickens? Apparently it is higher in protein than roasted soybeans.

I have. I have a pond full of it. They were terrified of it! Never came around.

 

[subhanalah]

I have.  I have a pond full of it.  They were terrified of it!  Never came around.

hahaha! I introduced it to them when they were just a few days old, with chicken grit, be a use the pieces were just the right size for chicks (as opposed to having to cut up leafy greens). I wasn't sure if they were eating it, so didn't try again. Well, last night I gave them a handful and they went CRAZY over it. They will be 5 weeks saturday.

 

[Sylvester017]

Pam, once a week I give mine generic sardines in olive oil mixed with cooked macaroni and raw egg. Only once a week as they are high in salt . Regular dry cat food is also too high in salt to feed on a daily basis. We have a micro pellet here called show bird finisher, it is 22 % protein and as the name suggests quite small and more palatable for smaller birds. Chia seed is also very high in protein and there are several chia products available in yoghurt type tubs that can be fed straight to the bird. Just check the calcium level in some of these products it can be way too high. That being said your birds protein levels may be just fine .
Your birds certainly look healthy enough. I only give the micro pellet when the egg production drops and at molting time.

Fancychooklady has added more info again - Thx chooklady! I forgot about the chia seeds - we added it ground up into the chick starter - not cheap but the chicks don't eat THAT much anyway. Mealworms is really tasty to them but we only had the dry kind but they ate it if it was crumbled. We also used quinoa but it wasn't as tasty to them as the chia. Our vet is always explaining to go easy on any foods not recommended for fowl because it can be injurious to birds' internal organs so I run everything I use by him for his approval as some people foods and supplements are ok for birds. My feed store owner has been the main provider of chicks in our area as there are a lot of egg producers in his town. He recommended to provide some produce to chicks like strawberries and cucumbers to peck at as well as cooked egg yolk.

A very little amount of salt is good as it helps prevent featherpicking in adults so I always shake a tiny amount into the adults' cooked brown rice. I work hard at staying away from GMO-soy junk as much as possible. Really expensive to get natural stuff and don't know why as it hasn't had to be processed or formulated like junk stuff that has all the soy/GMO additives?

Ivermectin wormer is for horses only but my vet was happy I used it in the qualifying dose for my adult birds along with ground up raw pumpkin seeds in their feed. My farm Mom told me chickens eat what their bodies need and I notice some days one of my girls can't get enough of a food one day and totally ignore it on another. They pick and choose their nutritional needs as long as they have a variety. I soak my feed overnight (fermented) because the Silkies have such little mouths and the LF don't mind it wet either. We keep dry crumbles out in a small dish just in case but they prefer the wet. I think we'll stop providing the dry crumbles now. I understand the wet food helps them absorb more nutrients and keep hydrated as well. We also keep a bowl of whole wheat grain for adults' at-will access if they want.

Love these BYC threads!.

 

[Sylvester017]

hahaha! I introduced it to them when they were just a few days old, with chicken grit, be a use the pieces were just the right size for chicks (as opposed to having to cut up leafy greens). I wasn't sure if they were eating it, so didn't try again. Well, last night I gave them a handful and they went CRAZY over it. They will be 5 weeks saturday.

Hi subhanalah - isn't it funny how one day birds go nuts for a food, totally ignore it on another day, and then go nuts for it again on another day? Cucumbers can drive mine into a frenzy on one day and then they barely touch it on another. I noticed that maybe their crop is too full sometimes and they ignore even their favorite food until they sit and snooze for a while to digest. Your chicks must be darling at 5 weeks. I lost a Dominique chick last September at 19 days old to a seizure and she was just starting to get her juvie feathers so I never got to see her in her dinosaur stage - sad :-(

 

[Sylvester017]

The silkies are outside finally! Yay! Now I can have my den back.

Checking out the nest box


Miss Henley



They aren't sure what to think of this new place.

I LOVE Miss Henley - too bad you're so far away or I'd steal her from you during the night - LOL We spruced up one of the chicken's low-shelter areas this afternoon and they loved exploring the cleaned-up digs.