Silkie thread!

[PaulaMc]

Aww gorgeous birds! Is that a couple buff Orpingtons back there?

Not sure sweet. I thought they were marans as they are ex batts.

 

[Sylvester017]

Thanks so much Steph

Your babies are gorgeous.

I think that I am probably lucky as with the difference in Fahrenheit and Celsius we do not get so cold weather as in the US. Tonight is a low of 42f. 6 c. I really think I am paranoid chicken owner ha ha. Only begun in May with ex batts and adopted silkies 2-3 months ago.

I love this site as there are so many lovely, helpful people.

Thanks again lovely

How nice that you took in ex-battery hens and adopted Silkies. Do you have an idea how old the ex-battery girls are? I can't believe there are civilized places in the world that still get away with cages or crowded poultry industry conditions. Authorities get after backyard flock owners who usually have the most spacious areas and healthiest birds instead of going after the crowded poultry industry conditions. I was told the reason Haz-Mat suits are used in poultry houses other than disease control is because the stench of poop/urine from the crowded hen houses is dangerous to the lungs -- and what about the respiratory issues for the chickens? The poor chickens should have Haz-Mat suits too! Anyway, glad to see nice people giving the poor battery's a normal chicken life. In our area it is hard to adopt battery hens as many are being recycled as fodder for other livestock. So sad.

 

[PaulaMc]

How nice that you took in ex-battery hens and adopted Silkies. Do you have an idea how old the ex-battery girls are? I can't believe there are civilized places in the world that still get away with cages or crowded poultry industry conditions. Authorities get after backyard flock owners who usually have the most spacious areas and healthiest birds instead of going after the crowded poultry industry conditions. I was told the reason Haz-Mat suits are used in poultry houses other than disease control is because the stench of poop/urine from the crowded hen houses is dangerous to the lungs -- and what about the respiratory issues for the chickens? The poor chickens should have Haz-Mat suits too! Anyway, glad to see nice people giving the poor battery's a normal chicken life. In our area it is hard to adopt battery hens as many are being recycled as fodder for other livestock. So sad.

Hi Sylvester

There is a rescue centre near me who rescue ex batts on a monthly basis bless. The girls are probably now 1.5 years old. When I got them, 6 months ago, they looked oven ready. Hardly any feathers, weak feet, had never seen the sun. Now they fly, dust bathe and have a wonderful life. I spoil them rotten.

The sweet silkies just needed a home as the owner didn't want them. Struggled a bit to reconcile them with the fatties but now they all get on fairly OK. The smallest-Bridget-is great at stealing food.

The conditions the ex batts were in has made me paranoid about keeping their home clean. No need for suits here

 

[Sylvester017]

Hi Sylvester

There is a rescue centre near me who rescue ex batts on a monthly basis bless. The girls are probably now 1.5 years old. When I got them, 6 months ago, they looked oven ready. Hardly any feathers, weak feet, had never seen the sun. Now they fly, dust bathe and have a wonderful life. I spoil them rotten.

The sweet silkies just needed a home as the owner didn't want them. Struggled a bit to reconcile them with the fatties but now they all get on fairly OK. The smallest-Bridget-is great at stealing food.

The conditions the ex batts were in has made me paranoid about keeping their home clean. No need for suits here

I am so glad there are rescue groups. Not too many groups are here as poultry industry farmers are stingy about letting go of battery birds -- usually laying hens they don't use past their first laying cycle that are rendered for fertilizer or as livestock feed. Friend of mine tried to rescue/purchase battery hens from a farm near her and the farmer was suspicious of her offer. She said the stench of his farm could be smelled from the highway driving by. He rudely threatened to report her for "harassment" and all she did was ask if he would sell her some of his older spent hens. Farmers without conditions to "hide" shouldn't be that guarded about normal inquiries.

 

[moomoodiddy]

I have family friends that raise industrial meat birds and every time they clean out, they leave at least 2 birds in each house (usually have something wrong with them or ran out of room on the trucks) and he calls me to come get them because he is forced to leave them. I bring them home, feed them good feed and fresh water and watch them grow. Most of them at 8 weeks have lost half their feathers and weigh around 7 pounds and look pitiful. I love seeming them grow their feathers back in and seeing them peck at grass for the first time and learn to trust me. The sad part is that they usually do not live long because of their design.

 

[joydix]

That is really compassionate of you. i wish i had the room to do that as well. i remember some video that was going around about a guy with a very huge barn who takes large amounts of birds he rescued from some industrial egg place and they showed the joy of them sunning themselves and pecking..it brought tears to my eyes. chickens just tug at my heartstrings.....

 

[Sylvester017]

I have family friends that raise industrial meat birds and every time they clean out, they leave at least 2 birds in each house (usually have something wrong with them or ran out of room on the trucks) and he calls me to come get them because he is forced to leave them. I bring them home, feed them good feed and fresh water and watch them grow. Most of them at 8 weeks have lost half their feathers and weigh around 7 pounds and look pitiful. I love seeming them grow their feathers back in and seeing them peck at grass for the first time and learn to trust me. The sad part is that they usually do not live long because of their design.

Around 1940's-1950's when chicken was an expensive luxury meat, there was a contest to engineer a cheap fast-growing meat bird for the market and restaurant industries. Of course the Cornish Cross won for it's fast growth and heavy meat weight but what they didn't consider was the inhumane breeding of these ill-health chickens (bizzare physical problems and crowded living environment) and forgot to consider the tasteless meat of the young-slaughtered Cornish X's. Cornish X's have to be brined, sauced, spiced, or breaded to give the meat any kind of taste. We can't get a restaurant chicken order that isn't steeped in some kind of coating/brine to give it any flavor. Whereas, we don't get steaks in a restaurant coated with gunk unless it's ordered extra like grilled onions or mushrooms as a topping. On my folks' farm we had many a Leghorn bird roasted with just a little salt/pepper and it was delicious -- not huge birds, but flavorful because they weren't slaughtered at 8 weeks like Cornish Xs! I'm glad you can give some poor CXs a little bit of normal chicken life.
The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated - Mahatma Gandhi

 

[Hinotori]

I think this chick is going to have super fluffy feet. I also never paid attention to the fact they get actual foot feathers in at the same time as they start getting wing feathers.

 

[PaulaMc]

I think this chick is going to have super fluffy feet. I also never paid attention to the fact they get actual foot feathers in at the same time as they start getting wing feathers.

Gorgeous

 

[FishMtFarm]

I had to share my excitement with everyone. I bought a pullet and hen over the summer from a woman in Vermont and am totally in love with these two. I lost the lady's contact info which was a bummer cause I would have bought more from her as they came up for sale. Won't you know it I was surfing eBay for silkie hatching eggs and she had an auction for eggs! I bought em as I am so happy with the two I got from her. So I am now for the first time hatching eggs in the middle of winter and here in NY, winter lasts a long time. My incubator holds 27 eggs so I went ahead and bought some eggs from another nice lady in The Dakotas just so I am not wasting space, lol. There's still room so gonna try a few of my eggs from my hens. Now to figure out where to brood and grow out all these babies, if we have a good successful hatch. Gosh I'm so excited!!