Last night I took my final walk around the pens making a head count and thought it funny the way one grow out pen settles down to sleep for the night. The broody hen hatched them in an old nest box (not meant for silkies) I removed her at four weeks old. They still try to pile into that same box. All thirteen of them! Hah!
The day they hatched. That one little red one is a silkie cross from a little bantam RIR that snuck an egg in there when no one was looking. She doesn't want to pile in the nest like her half siblings.
Thirteen eight week old silkie chicks. Still trying to pile into that nest every night.
I wish I could post videos on here I would show you my three white silkies crowing someone told me That they read that even Hens will crow is that true
its been a while since ive been on BYC. I have a lot to catch up on. I thought I would update everyone on how my baby silkie chicks are going (well they aren't really babies anymore
) so my babies are now about four months old (that's about 16 weeks I think) and ive gotten only two roosters (
) out of the eight chicks that hatched! im so happy about that, I was worried that I would get heaps of roosters. so three of the silkies are black and the other five are the that red/orange colour (I forget what its called
) two of the blacks surprisingly turned out to be bearded, which im also very happy about because they are my first ever bearded silkies one of the roosters is black and the other orange/red and they already have started crowing!!! (is it unusually for them to be crowing at this age? I've never had rooster crow this young) and they sound so funny and cute! and I think that's all I have to tell you guys right now....
here are some pics:
the chicken in the front of this pic is my black rooster, he is also one of the bearded ones
these two here are like twins they are always together and look alike. the one on the left is the other bearded silkie (you cant really see it)
and lastly is a big family photo of all of them the chicken on the far right is my other rooster and beside him is the black rooster
Because of nocturnal predators, They all go into their respective pens for the night. I keep grow out kids, adult silkies, and adult LF in their separate runs for three days and nights straight to train them. After that I can turn them out everyday all day. Then when I'm ready to feed for the last time in the evening, they all know where to go. The juvenile silkies are just like human teenagers. They take the longest to round up and settle down so sometimes I let them stay out an hour or so longer. Since this picture was taken, I've added electric fence to the perimeter of the pens. No more losses in the night to coyotes since doing that.
That is really neat you train them like this. When mine go from brooder to outside pen, I teach them to go home by walking behind them and saying "go home!". They usually catch on after a few days and then I can just say go home and they get inside their run/coop. Very cool to think I can train them to go into their respective homes. Love your comment about the silkie juveniles! I have a couple rebels without a cause that tend to stay out later and stray away further than I'd like too.
I found my old 1992 American Bantam Standard and thought folks might be interested in seeing how Silkies have changed over the last couple decades. This used to be considered the perfect ideal for white silkies when I started raising them.
No copyright infringement intended. This is from my own personal copy and I share it here for educational purposes only.
The crest, comb, and foot feathering was less extreme in 1992 and type was different too. The standard in the USA is different than Europe and Australia. I would love to see images from two decades ago in those countries of Silkies then compared to what is being bred and shown now.
Does anyone know what color this chick is? Molly started out looking like a regular yellow chick but in the last week she is getting a ton of buff/reddish coloring along with white and blue/grey. She didn't have the classic chipmunk pattern a partridge silkie would have so I am not sure what to call this.
Does anyone know what color this chick is? Molly started out looking like a regular yellow chick but in the last week she is getting a ton of buff/reddish coloring along with white and blue/grey. She didn't have the classic chipmunk pattern a partridge silkie would have so I am not sure what to call this. Such a cutie! Can't wait hear answer I have 2 like this!!!!
Does anyone know what color this chick is? Molly started out looking like a regular yellow chick but in the last week she is getting a ton of buff/reddish coloring along with white and blue/grey. She didn't have the classic chipmunk pattern a partridge silkie would have so I am not sure what to call this.
Does anyone know what color this chick is? Molly started out looking like a regular yellow chick but in the last week she is getting a ton of buff/reddish coloring along with white and blue/grey. She didn't have the classic chipmunk pattern a partridge silkie would have so I am not sure what to call this.
one of the roosters is black and the other orange/red and they already have started crowing!!! (is it unusually for them to be crowing at this age? I've never had rooster crow this young) and they sound so funny and cute! and I think that's all I have to tell you guys right now....
