Silkie thread!

[Fancychooklady]

One of my 9 week olds Edited to add: It's amazing how fast they change. Here's what he (pretty sure this one is a cockerel) looked like on 3/21:

Very ' funky ' chicks.

 

[QueenMisha]

I want to know more about this breed. I am pretty new to chickens in general, but I love to learn. I want to get a few broody chickens in the next year or so. My husband and I are currently working on a new coop and run that is more safe and bigger for our current chickens ( we have 18 chicks at this time).

We live in Wyoming and it can get pretty hot in the summer and very cold in the winter. Would this breed survive?  Any info you guys could give me would be great! Thanks in advance!

Generally speaking they do pretty well in both cold and hot climates - it's really the rain and snow that can get to them. They should have plenty of completely dry shelter so they can remain dry and warm during stormy periods. And of course all chickens should have misters and frozen treats offered during any periods of weather hotter than, say, 85-90 degrees.

If you are looking for broody fowl than you have certainly picked the right breed! The only broody I have found superior to Silkies are the Shamo, but those are another ball of wax entirely... it takes a special kind of person to appreciate the beauty in such birds as the Shamo, and most people would use the word "ugly" to describe them! Silkies on the other hand seem to be rather universally liked. They make amazing pets, even better broodies, and though they are not bred for egg production they are decent producers; my pen of 6 females are currently producing between 3-4 eggs each day. I doubt most anyone wants them for meat but I'll mention that I've eaten a few of my nasty tempered cockerels and they were quite good as a soup; the skin, meat, and bones are indeed varying shades of black or gray, while the organs are tinged a bit darker than normal.

What else... oh, I really recommend getting Silkies from a breeder rather than a hatchery. Every day the hatchery stock Silkies seem to get further and further away from the standard, and at this point many of them look more like a small bird which happens to have silky feathering than a true Silkie. Not to mention the personality and broodiness are much exemplified in the true breeder's Silkie, compared to the hatchery Silkie which seems to get more skittish and less inclined to brood with every passing generation. If you must purchase Silkies from a hatchery, I'd suggest Ideal or Cackle.

I also recommend keeping them in the brooder longer than a normal breed - say, in warm weather, 7-8 weeks instead of 5-6, or in cold, 9-10 instead of 8-9. In really warm/hot weather (80+ degrees) they could probably go out at 5-6 weeks.

 

[jas humbert]

Generally speaking they do pretty well in both cold and hot climates - it's really the rain and snow that can get to them. They should have plenty of completely dry shelter so they can remain dry and warm during stormy periods. And of course all chickens should have misters and frozen treats offered during any periods of weather hotter than, say, 85-90 degrees.

If you are looking for broody fowl than you have certainly picked the right breed! The only broody I have found superior to Silkies are the Shamo, but those are another ball of wax entirely... it takes a special kind of person to appreciate the beauty in such birds as the Shamo, and most people would use the word "ugly" to describe them! Silkies on the other hand seem to be rather universally liked. They make amazing pets, even better broodies, and though they are not bred for egg production they are decent producers; my pen of 6 females are currently producing between 3-4 eggs each day. I doubt most anyone wants them for meat but I'll mention that I've eaten a few of my nasty tempered cockerels and they were quite good as a soup; the skin, meat, and bones are indeed varying shades of black or gray, while the organs are tinged a bit darker than normal.

What else... oh, I really recommend getting Silkies from a breeder rather than a hatchery. Every day the hatchery stock Silkies seem to get further and further away from the standard, and at this point many of them look more like a small bird which happens to have silky feathering than a true Silkie. Not to mention the personality and broodiness are much exemplified in the true breeder's Silkie, compared to the hatchery Silkie which seems to get more skittish and less inclined to brood with every passing generation. If you must purchase Silkies from a hatchery, I'd suggest Ideal or Cackle.

I also recommend keeping them in the brooder longer than a normal breed - say, in warm weather, 7-8 weeks instead of 5-6, or in cold, 9-10 instead of 8-9. In really warm/hot weather (80+ degrees) they could probably go out at 5-6 weeks.

x2 Misha is so right! I started with a couple of farms store silkies a few years ago. I was hooked on the breed but they were very skittish and never did get friendly. Plus they were not near a pretty and flufffy as the ones you see here. The next year I hatched eggs from a breeder and I could not believe the difference in personality. These silkies were so much friendlier plus they matured into big balls of fluff.

 

[Fancychooklady]

x2  Misha is so right!  I started with a couple of farms store silkies a few years ago.  I was hooked on the breed  but they were very skittish and never did get friendly. Plus they were not near a pretty and flufffy as the ones you see here.  The next year I hatched eggs from a breeder and I could not believe the difference in personality. These silkies were so much friendlier plus they matured into big balls of fluff. 

Birds that are hatched on mass would miss out on the handling that is imperative if you want tame birds. Even broody hen raised chicks are a world away from those hatched and raised without.

 

[joydix]

i have a small baby pen which is this wire cage basically. i can almost stand up in it which is convenient and i have nest boxes off the ground that attach to the outside that i built. i move a broody hen in there with fake eggs for a few days to be sure she is settling, she lives there with the babies til they are about 6 weeks. i let her out with them when i can watch. i have not had any big girls bother the chicks but you never know. my biggest fear is that they can get separated and if i am gone i worry...so i make sure they are a reasonable size.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

When did u say u were going to be certified

I'm not sure, I'm hoping for sometime in the Summer. My understanding, from the research I've done, is that all of my birds need to be older than 4 months or they'll have to come back and retest any that aren't old enough. So, I've got some chicks I need to grow out before I go about scheduling the appointment.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Here are a couple more I decided to hang onto...also 9 weeks old.

I really like this splash, hoping its a pullet

Cute little blue frizzled Silkie, also hoping its a pullet!

 

[flockofbantams]

Hi guys!
Can anyone tell me what color this little silkie might be?
I order hatching eggs and they hatched yeaturday! I love them so much!
I had 4 out of 7 hatch and had 2 white and 1 black and this copper color chick.
I thought cartridge at first but after comparing to cartridge chick photos I don't think I'm right. So does anyone know this color?

 

[Sylvester017]

I want to know more about this breed. I am pretty new to chickens in general, but I love to learn. I want to get a few broody chickens in the next year or so. My husband and I are currently working on a new coop and run that is more safe and bigger for our current chickens ( we have 18 chicks at this time).

We live in Wyoming and it can get pretty hot in the summer and very cold in the winter. Would this breed survive? Any info you guys could give me would be great! Thanks in advance!

Those are beautiful! I have a question about Silkies. I live in WA and it rains all the time. I have read that Silkies can't live in rainy areas, but I love them , and would love to have some.

I live in WA too and have 6-7 grown silkies and Silkie babies in the brooder. They do just fine. Yes they get wet and their feet can get muddy but once they dry they are good as new again.

I live in bright sunny SoCal which is mild most of the year. But when it rains, it pours, plus the disgusting wind brings the wind chill factor way down. I have two Silkie hens -- one has the good sense to stay out of the heavy rain -- but the other one gets soaked and chilled to the skin and happens to be my CRD issues Silkie. Just to be safe I keep both out of heavy or cold rain, sometimes I bring them into the kitchen to paper towel dry and let them preen themselves dry. If the rain has stopped I let them back out. On days of very light sprinkles I let them cavort as long as there are no blinding winds. It's the rain with cold temps with high winds that my Silkies don't do well. I've had to take the one Silkie to the vet twice because of weather-caused issues so now I keep both of them out of regular rainy days and mud. Silkies are tough little birds but it takes common sense to know if you need to keep your flock in or out of the rain. We almost lost one Silkie to inclement weather so not taking any more chances with my two little hens. Our larger chicken breeds do better because most of the rain rolls off their feathers but with Silkies rain seems to soak to the skin and added with high cold wind it chills our little buggers.

 

[jessivogel]

Are these two Buff or Partridge?
Thanks!