Silkie thread!

[silkiecuddles]

My baby girl Taylor! I love her so much and she is getting SO BIG (well, compared to how small she used to be). I really need to work on her indoor coop, she's outgrowing her 3' cage very fast. I'm thinking a 5x3 wooden box, complete with hanging feeder and waterer, a small shelf for sleeping, a box for laying, a kitty litter box with sand and dirt for dustbathing, a fodder box so she can have fresh greens, and a mirror to keep her company until I can find the right indoor-suitable companion for her. Anyone else have any suggestions?

aww spoilt little thing. Is she inside??

 

[getreal]

Is that we're u got us from

yes

 

[getreal]

From were I have been looking for some for how long now

iron river Mi. she will ship.

 

[getreal]

So I have a question. Are your silkies laying eggs this time of year? I live in Northwest va and my beautiful silkies haven't started laying again. They stopped around december. Will they start again in the spring? I really wanted to try and hatch some of their eggs.

I have 3 girls and I have 2 eggs almost every day. all winter.

 

[flockofbantams]

My baby girl Taylor! I love her so much and she is getting SO BIG (well, compared to how small she used to be). I really need to work on her indoor coop, she's outgrowing her 3' cage very fast. I'm thinking a 5x3 wooden box, complete with hanging feeder and waterer, a small shelf for sleeping, a box for laying, a kitty litter box with sand and dirt for dustbathing, a fodder box so she can have fresh greens, and a mirror to keep her company until I can find the right indoor-suitable companion for her. Anyone else have any suggestions?

General rule of thumb for how much room a chicken needs:
(at least based on my research and I what I give my chickens with good results)
4 square foot of coop space per chicken and
8 square foot of run/outside space per chicken for large/standard size.

Cut those in 1/2 for bantam.
Also look into rabbit, guinia pig or serama chicken for a companion!
Serama being my first pick.
They are tiny like 8oz. Give or take and quiet and great pets like silkies very calm!!!!

 

[abbevilleoz]

My baby girl Taylor! I love her so much and she is getting SO BIG (well, compared to how small she used to be). I really need to work on her indoor coop, she's outgrowing her 3' cage very fast. I'm thinking a 5x3 wooden box, complete with hanging feeder and waterer, a small shelf for sleeping, a box for laying, a kitty litter box with sand and dirt for dustbathing, a fodder box so she can have fresh greens, and a mirror to keep her company until I can find the right indoor-suitable companion for her. Anyone else have any suggestions?

Check out this brooder @amferro103 built in the brooder forum:

It's almost 5'x3' with easy access. Since Taylor has special needs this would give you easy access and you can hang small feeders and waterers from the wire mesh.

 

[joydix]

i would prob to #3....give her some and keep some in incubator...some hens are just more diligent!

 

[QueenMisha]

aww spoilt little thing. Is she inside??

Yep. She's special needs so she'll be living indoors for the foreseeable future.

General rule of thumb for how much room a chicken needs:
(at least based on my research and I what I give my chickens with good results)
4 square foot of coop space per chicken and
8 square foot of run/outside space per chicken for large/standard size.

Cut those in 1/2 for bantam.
Also look into rabbit, guinia pig or serama chicken for a companion!
Serama being my first pick.
They are tiny like 8oz. Give or take and quiet and great pets like silkies very calm!!!!

I've definitely been considering Seramas! My boss has some so I get to work with them daily. I love the little guys! I'm just not sure I want to get something with much flight capability. I'd like to make the brooder about 3' tall but I don't want to cover it so it's very easy to access. But I also don't want chickens running all over my bedroom! Maybe a Silkied or Frizzled Serama? I know both have less flight capability than a flat feather, but I'm not sure if they'd be capable of hopping 3 feet.

Check out this brooder @amferro103 built in the brooder forum:

It's almost 5'x3' with easy access. Since Taylor has special needs this would give you easy access and you can hang small feeders and waterers from the wire mesh.

Holy crap I love that design! Similar to what I want to do, except I don't think I'm going to cover it so I can access it easily. I was gonna do a partial roof and put the laying box, roosting shelf, and feeders and waterers hung under it. I was just thinking I would do a 2x3 board over the end, to make a little overhang/safe space.

 

[QueenMisha]

Speaking of Taylor... her wry neck relapsed AGAIN last night after I took those photos. At least she's now big enough that I can tube feed her instead of hand feeding her. That will save me a lot of time. I hope this isn't going to be a long fit.

 

[abbevilleoz]

Yep. She's special needs so she'll be living indoors for the foreseeable future.
I've definitely been considering Seramas! My boss has some so I get to work with them daily. I love the little guys! I'm just not sure I want to get something with much flight capability. I'd like to make the brooder about 3' tall but I don't want to cover it so it's very easy to access. But I also don't want chickens running all over my bedroom! Maybe a Silkied or Frizzled Serama? I know both have less flight capability than a flat feather, but I'm not sure if they'd be capable of hopping 3 feet.
Holy crap I love that design! Similar to what I want to do, except I don't think I'm going to cover it so I can access it easily. I was gonna do a partial roof and put the laying box, roosting shelf, and feeders and waterers hung under it. I was just thinking I would do a 2x3 board over the end, to make a little overhang/safe space.

I'm building one for a brooder and I'm thinking about making another for a maternity ward for broody Silkies. We have lots of snakes so I need something they can't wriggle into. I'm also lining it with vinyl flooring to make it easy to disinfect when I remove the bedding.