Silkie thread!

[Cynthia12]

I went to feed mom and babies today and found this. These little boogers think they are old enough to not sleep under mom anymore apparently. Maybe the food dish is more comfortable. They are a whole 4 days old.

 

[JONNIEGIRL]

Too cute for words. Mine like to sit in the bowl also. I keep a low dog dish filled with food along with the tall feeder. They eat all the food and
at least one tries to sit in the bowl. These are my first chicks ever at my ripe old age of almost 66 and I talk to anyone who will listen every
where I go like they were my kids or grandkids. Am I nuts or what??

 

[Sylvester017]

We aren't there yet, but things are getting more interesting by the day.
Now I have another concern which may shed some light on the bullying issue.
I bought 5 straight run Silkies knowing there was a 50-50 chance of girls vs boys.
Well, up until a few days ago we thought we had a 3 roo, 2 pullet breakdown, though I know sexing Silkies is tricky at best.
That being said one of the girls started crowing making a total of 4 that are now crowing.
Don't get me wrong, we love 'em and it's amusing to watch, but when we let them out in the morning it's like a contest.
I bet my neighbors love me!

So, if 4 truly turn out to be roos, I'm guessing it will be time to re-home a couple because I think they will be hard on each other and I hate to think about the lonely Silkie girl having to deal with 4 of those bobble heads.
Come to think of it when the BO's hit the run, it's going to be one big party one way or the other and I don't know what to do.

It's gonna be hard for you getting rid of your surplus Silkie roos becase the little boys are spunky and as sweet as can be.

One of our 3-year-old Silkie hens is trying to crow - it's the funniest thing - she's definitely a hen as she's been laying eggs for almost 3 years but she's our alpha and it's not unusual for alphas to mockmate other hens or try to crow - I'm just glad the LF submit to the Bantam and don't try to fight back!

We still miss our Partridge boy that went back to the breeder sold to us as a "pullet" - after that incident I only buy juveniles to be absolutely certain I have pullets. You'll have no choice but trade out your excess roos to get more pullets. It's not fair to her to be overmated by the sexy roos. I'm also on the concerned side of such big BOs around little Silkies when they all grow up. BOs are huge birds and though sweet around each other and humans can be tyrants to smaller birds when fully matured. Maybe you can negotiate a trade with someone - your BOs for either EEs or a couple APA Ameraucanas. The BOs will go broody and with broody Silkies you may see a dent in your egg output.

The EEs and Ameraucanas will give mostly XL eggs and aren't broodies and can keep you supplied w/eggs many times through winter when other breeds have stopped. Not to mention they are less pushy than other breeds. BOs can weigh up to 7-8 lbs where EEs and Ameraucanas usually don't top 5.5 lbs but still give large eggs, don't go broody, lay through winter, and are generally quite sweet-tempered in a flock - they are not heavy but stand very tall and statuesque. One note I'd like to mention is that BOs and EEs/Ameraucanas/Silkies have very fluffy butts and may need hygiene care/butt washes in warm water and baby shampoo to get the gunk off the vent feathers. There's always one of these girls at least once a month we've got to wash but they like the lukewarm hairdryer blowing on them - my DH helps keep them in a towel to keep from getting chilled as I blow-dry them. We take the towel away bit by bit as each area is dried. I love the baby shampoo as it works well to loosen the gunk that warm water alone doesn't do. Some people like Dawn but I prefer the baby shampoo on the off-chance it could splash into their eyes since chickens can suddenly flap for no reason.

I identify with your dilemma because I had to bite the bullet and re-home my Silkie boy, and a 7-lb bully Marans, and a sweet White Leghorn that went aggressive after her 3rd year. Not to mention two lost juvenile/chicks last year which were meant to replace my re-homed birds. A real heartache but I love the new flock temperament I have now - 2 alpha Silkies, 1 APA Blue Wheaten Ameraucana, and 1 Buff Leghorn (calmer than either White or Brown Legs).

My Buff Leghorn is currently going through a broody period. Leghorns are not broody. However to get a Buff Leghorn her background history has Phoenix, Buff Rock, Buff Minorca, and Buff Orp to breed for body type and the Buff color - so it is not unusual for Buff Legs to go broody. Buff Legs now breed true (Buff Leg male to Buff Leg female) but a I guess it's expected for the hens to go broody because of their cross-breeding. For now she is sweet tempered so hope she stays that way - she lays the prettiest pink eggs both inside and outside the shell the way the Ameraucana lays blue eggs both inside and outside the shell. Our Buff Leg is so easy to handle she's like a bowl of jello - any position we put her in she'll stay - or let us pet her - and of course will sit on our lap to get treats. What my favourite thing about her is that though she is a LF she submits to the alpha Silkies which is the MOST important thing in our flock. It is hilarious watching our alpha 2.5-lb Partridge Silkie chasing the Buff Leg or Ameraucana around the yard at a full Silkie run!

At 3-years-old our Partridge Silkie has fully matured and finally aggressive enough to be leader of the flock. I much prefer a Bantam as the alpha rather than a LF. We had our White Leg as alpha for 3 years but at that maturity she was too aggressive to the Bantams. I prefer the Bantams as the leaders since their diminutive size can't hurt the submissive LF.

Hope you get your flock figured out as it took us 3 years to finally get a flock we were happy with.

 

[JONNIEGIRL]

So sorry.

 

[roostercantrell]

my chickens are ready to get out of the coop in the morning but when it is time to go in for the night they wont go in the coop by themselves i have to put them inside what can i do if anything

 

[fazziobear1]

my chickens are ready to get out of the coop in the morning but when it is time to go in for the night they wont go in the coop by themselves i have to put them inside what can i do if anything

When my RIR get stubborn, I grab a handful of scratch and walk into the run and drop it while they're watching. They usually come running all by themselves

 

[DarynA146]

it is the first time my hens are hatching eggs and only one hatched out of 5, and with another first timer she hatched 2 out of 8. Is there a problem? By the way it is day 26 and I'm abit worried?

 

[fazziobear1]

OMG... I just found some photos of my Sammie that passed away on us last year.. I miss him!

 

[Fancychooklady]

When my RIR get stubborn, I grab a handful of scratch and walk into the run and drop it while they're watching. They usually come running all by themselves

Yes, I agree. Food is the universal language. When I rattle the feed bucket they would follow me to the end of the world. Sometimes it's worth locking them up for a week so know where to return to.

 

[6 littleHens]

I hatched 12


Only one showgirl this time. See her in the background? If anyone can help with the colors I would be happy! I think 3 partridge, 3 grey or porcelain, and one white and one white showgirl. I gave 4 away

Since the 4 left, they dont come out much. None are very brave and stay in hiding most of the time.