Silkie thread!

[Falena]

Okay guys, I need some help. Is anyone familiar with red in Silkies? Particularly in chicks... A local feed and seed place is supposed to be getting in "Red Bantam Silkies" this week, and if they are indeed red and not buff, I really want to get a couple. A couple of questions:

1. Can you tell a difference between BUFF chicks and RED chicks at a very young age?

2. Does anyone have any pictures of RED chicks, if #1 is applicable?

Thanks so much for any assistance you guys can offer!

 

[Fancychooklady]

Okay guys, I need some help. Is anyone familiar with red in Silkies? Particularly in chicks... A local feed and seed place is supposed to be getting in "Red Bantam Silkies" this week, and if they are indeed red and not buff, I really want to get a couple. A couple of questions:

1. Can you tell a difference between BUFF chicks and RED chicks at a very young age?

2. Does anyone have any pictures of RED chicks, if #1 is applicable?

Thanks so much for any assistance you guys can offer! :yiipchick

If by red, you mean red partridge , I have them.

 

[esme13]

New silkie owner, we got our only silkie DNA tested and now have a pullet

My questions are simple, born in april when will she lay?
How often do they go broody and are they mean when broody?
I've never dealt with broody, mine are none setters.
How are they with weather conditions in the New England area.
Are they more prone to lice/mites being feather footed.
How big are their eggs? besides being a small chicken is their much egg?

Our little one is an interesting color too, does anyone think this color could be patridge blue?

She is a pale blue color with tan stripes. As she's been feathering she has a lot of tan specks with the blue. will get pictures.

 

[Falena]

Thanks Fancychooklady! Your Red Partridges are lovely! The sign in the store just says "Red Silkie Bantams", so I don't know what exactly they're referring to. I did find an illustration from eFowl that seems to show 'red' chicks with a bit of chipmunk striping...
<---Red <---Buff

I also found this thread- https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/583407/red-silkies -with some nice pictures of adult reds compared to buffs...


...not much luck with finding photos of red chicks though, but I think I'll only buy a couple of the feed store ones if they are chipmunky-looking.

 

[Falena]

New silkie owner, we got our only silkie DNA tested and now have a pullet

Congratulations! I'm sure you'll fall in love with her!

My questions are simple, born in april when will she lay? Could be as late as next April. Silkies are slow to mature. I think my last pullet took 10 months to lay...
How often do they go broody and are they mean when broody? Depends on the bird, but my 'meanest' broodies still barely peck. And they go broody a LOT! Mine wanted to sit all Winter long... I finally let them hatch a clutch in February and they tried to go broody again after the chicks feathered out!
I've never dealt with broody, mine are none setters. Trust me, you'll most likely deal with it with a Silkie. She'd probably even hatch your non-broodies' eggs!
How are they with weather conditions in the New England area. Mine seem to do fine through Winters, but we certainly don't get as cold as New England. Make sure to keep her from getting soaked in the rain though. Silkies aren't as 'waterproof' as straight feathered birds.
Are they more prone to lice/mites being feather footed. Not sure it makes a difference.

Someone else may know...
How big are their eggs? besides being a small chicken is their much egg? Fairly small. I use an extra egg in recipes when I bake with them. They taste just as good as larger eggs though.

Our little one is an interesting color too, does anyone think this color could be patridge blue? From your description below, I'd say probably so. I get blue/light partridge fairly often out of my mixed color flock. Please do share a pic or two!

She is a pale blue color with tan stripes. As she's been feathering she has a lot of tan specks with the blue. will get pictures.

Hope my responses are helpful... y'all feel free to correct me if I'm out in left field on anything lol!

 

[Kelxey]

New silkie owner, we got our only silkie DNA tested and now have a pullet

My questions are simple, born in april when will she lay?
How often do they go broody and are they mean when broody?
I've never dealt with broody, mine are none setters.
How are they with weather conditions in the New England area.
Are they more prone to lice/mites being feather footed.
How big are their eggs? besides being a small chicken is their much egg?

Our little one is an interesting color too, does anyone think this color could be patridge blue?

She is a pale blue color with tan stripes. As she's been feathering she has a lot of tan specks with the blue. will get pictures.

Congrats on your pullet!! Show us some pics if you can!

My girls just hit 6 months and they started laying. The eggs are very small, I posted a picture for comparison a few pages back. I think it depends slightly on how big your girl grows because my bigger girl lays sliiightly bigger eggs (but nowhere near regular egg size still).

 

[Fancychooklady]

Thanks Fancychooklady! Your Red Partridges are lovely! The sign in the store just says "Red Silkie Bantams", so I don't know what exactly they're referring to. I did find an illustration from eFowl that seems to show 'red' chicks with a bit of chipmunk striping... [/URL] [/URL] ...not much luck with finding photos of red chicks though, but I think I'll only buy a couple of the feed store ones if they are chipmunky-looking.

There are many variations in the colour but chipmunk stripes indicate partridge. I can pick the red ones at day 1 by the deep mahogany on their backs and head.

 

[Fancychooklady]

New silkie owner, we got our only silkie DNA tested and now have a pullet 

My questions are simple, born in april when will she lay?
How often do they go broody and are they mean when broody?
I've never dealt with broody, mine are none setters.
How are they with weather conditions in the New England area.
Are they more prone to lice/mites being feather footed.
How big are their eggs? besides being a small chicken is their much egg?

Our little one is an interesting color too, does anyone think this color could be patridge blue?

She is a pale blue color with tan stripes. As she's been feathering she has a lot of tan specks with the blue. will get pictures.

The egg size does increase with the age of the hen. My 4th&5th year layers eggs are similarly sized to wyandotte eggs.
Most of mine lay before 6 months of age.
Even when they are trying to be mean a silkie isn't very intimidating.

 

[mystonedgarden]

I snapped a quick picture for yall. I counted 7 blue silkies so far. More pictures later

Congrats on your pullets @esme13
We share names by the way.

 

[rcross]

You

...

So sorry about losing your chick.  I just spent over $100 on a juvenile shipped to me a few weeks ago that had Cocci, CRD, and round worms all at once.  I have a good vet and sometimes save money when I know all he needs to diagnose my chickens is a fecal sample and that way I just get charged a lab fee.  Of course I've been going to him for a couple years and know now if I have to take a chicken in for exam or if I just need to drop off a lab sample.  It's nice to have a vet that sees poultry but it can get expensive and there's never a convenient time for emergency visits.  But every animal deserves a good vet whether it's a dog, cat, iguana, parrot, aviary bird, poultry, goat, sheep, pig, or horse!