Silkie thread!

[joydix]

i thought the same thing. my 90 yr old neighbor used to have them and she kept saying i should get some of those...finally i did...she is my Zen chicken ....she stands for anything...sits and coos at me...such a good mom...she is so tiny and sweet. how can anyone NOT love silkies...i have 12 eggs in incubator now..well 10 and 2 under her. which lead me to the question i needed answered....
first time with an incubator....humidity is 45 right now and has been all day...put them in at noon, it is 5:30 now....and temp is 99 and sometimes 100....is that fluctuation ok? i really am impressed by nature that the hens do this naturally...

 

[Sylvester017]

So how would silkies do with bigger birds like RIR and rocks? I know my EE don't do well so I wondered.

I can only speak of my own experience with an Ameraucana (related to EE) and 2 Silkies -- these breeds are too timid, gentle, or small when we had a White Leghorn, a Buff Leghorn, and a Cuckoo Marans around. We found that the regular egg-laying or dual-purpose birds were either too assertive or too heavy around the Silkies -- a 2-lb Silkie didn't stand an equal chance against a 7-lb Marans in flock politics. Our Ameraucana is so timid that she was easily picked on by the Leghorns who chased and yanked out her muff and beard feathers as they did to the Silkies too. The Leghorns were okay as pullets but once they matured they turned into bullies. The Marans was the most vicious/aggressive because she was the heaviest and even tried to battle with the Leghorns. We re-homed all our common assertive chicken breeds and kept the gentle and timid ones. This past year as an experiment we added a Blue Breda pullet which is around 4-lb, a smaller and gentler breed to mix with our Amer and 2 Silkies. So far she has been a good flockmate and decent layer of almost 2.0 oz white eggs. My folks had RIR, NHR, and BRs and together they get along but our experience has not been so good putting them together with gentler smaller breeds. I have only 4 birds and a small backyard so my flock has to be compatible -- I have no room to separate gentle breeds from dual-purpose chickens. Everyone's situation is unique and you'll know if something will work or not in your own yard.

 

[Hholly]

I'm having good luck with my silkies and bigger birds getting along. But I had the silkies first. My bigger birds are brahmas and an easter egger. The silkies were ruling the roost when the big birds arrived. And there is plenty of feed stations and roost space.

 

[Sylvester017]

I'm having good luck with my silkies and bigger birds getting along. But I had the silkies first. My bigger birds are brahmas and an easter egger. The silkies were ruling the roost when the big birds arrived. And there is plenty of feed stations and roost space.

I had a similar experience. After going thru re-homing some aggressive dual-purpose or heavy breeds it left us with the original 2 Silkies. They rule the roost at 5 and 4 yrs old. Our Ameraucana is 21/2 yrs old and is always the bottom of the pecking order, even after we added a Breda pullet last year -- the Breda is submissive to the Silkies. I hear Brahmas are mellow but I was afraid to incorporate a 9-lb hen with our 2-lb Silkies so we experimented with the Breda and so far it's been a peaceful flock of 2 Silkies, 1 Ameraucana, 1 Breda. None are over 5-lbs and all gentle. I think your multiple feed stations is wise with any chicken flock

.

 

[silkiecuddles]

I'm having good luck with my silkies and bigger birds getting along. But I had the silkies first. My bigger birds are brahmas and an easter egger. The silkies were ruling the roost when the big birds arrived. And there is plenty of feed stations and roost space. 

I'd like to point out that brahmas are a gentler breed, despite their size. Leghorns and RIR and similar breeds tend to bully more so be cautious of keeping them with silkies.

 

[Banaynaychicken]

so I said goodbye to my silkie rooster this weekend......

ill be honest

i cried

and then i went to panda express, i felt better after that.

still miss the crowing in the morning though.....


just some photography i did on our last day together

still as handsome as ever <3

 

[silkiecuddles]

so I said goodbye to my silkie rooster this weekend...... ill be honest i cried and then i went to panda express, i felt better after that. still miss the crowing in the morning though..... just some photography i did on our last day together still as handsome as ever QUOTE] he was a lovely rooster, and these pics are gorgeous!! Chinese food makes everything better.

 

[abbevilleoz]

he was a lovely rooster, and these pics are gorgeous!!
Chinese food makes everything better.

Ditto

 

[cade hall]

I found out earlier today I can't order the paint silkies from cackle hatchery becouse I would have to order 25 of them. I only want 5 does anyone know where I can get them. If full grown birds I would like it to be in Alabama. But if chicks I want them shipped.

 

[Michelle27]

just got this pretty girl yesterday. I am so excited trying to figure out a good name for her