Silkie thread!

[Diannastarr]

O and i love silkies so are you in AZ..? im in az : )

yes im in Az in Bisbee ; )

 

[Diannastarr]

Took a few pictures this evening

View attachment 1123720 View attachment 1123722 View attachment 1123723

awwwww sooo adorable, my goodness such sweet tiny little peepers ...! just gotta love them..!!! how could you not right...!!! HA i wanted to get more some day , i had a few in the 1970's , 1 black color 2 rust color & 3 white , very funny cute big personalities in that cute little fluff ball body ,and just as busy as can be running all over our farm like they were the big chickens HA

 

[Hinotori]

I got bit hard enough that blood was drawn twice today. Once when I was catching the 9 week old white chick to have it pose and she screamed for help. The blue mama came running and got me.

The second time when I was picking up chicks to put them to bed since no one will use the ramp to go up. One of the 9 week old boys got my thumb knuckle just right trying to ward off my hands.

My toes were pecked a few times by older silkies, but that wasn't malicious. Goku got me a few times while I was working in his pen. He just wanted attention. Paragus decided it was a good idea to help. He was hoping for treats.

 

[Diannastarr]

well golly im not to sure about any of that, but what i was told , i guess you just have to read the labels..? then to be safe.?

after a few years of trying to find a good litter for my chicks , i started raising all my chicks on chick feed for litter, i buy the big bag of the cheap chick food and fill their brooder with an inch or so for day old chicks, then adding more as the get older , so the messes turns into clumps easily picked up every day , its the best safe litter, they can even eat it HA and it clumps up well like kitty litter and can be picked up easily , i only use the nipple water drinkers and the chick feed it works well together & that makes it easy keeping the babies dry and clean .here is a pic of my 3 week old Colombian wyandott chicks in their day time pay pen with their new colorful cheerios box they just loved...HA the chick feed stays clean & dry

 

[FirstTimeClucky]

I got bit hard enough that blood was drawn twice today. Once when I was catching the 9 week old white chick to have it pose and she screamed for help. The blue mama came running and got me.

The second time when I was picking up chicks to put them to bed since no one will use the ramp to go up. One of the 9 week old boys got my thumb knuckle just right trying to ward off my hands.

My toes were pecked a few times by older silkies, but that wasn't malicious. Goku got me a few times while I was working in his pen. He just wanted attention. Paragus decided it was a good idea to help. He was hoping for treats.

So far, the only bites I've had from my Silkies were on the palm of my hand, while they were eating seeds. Sometimes they also nibble at my fingertips or peck at a mole on my arm. I get bites from my coturnix quail, but that's because they think anything new in their cage is edible. My pigeons bite a lot harder, since they're sitting on eggs. But their bites are nothing compared to their wing slaps, which are surprisingly well aimed. They stare balefully, growl (yes they can growl) raise the wing, and BAM! They even managed to bruise my hand. Do broody hens wing slap to defend their eggs, or do they just bite?

 

[Hinotori]

Mine just bite, and that depends on the hen. Most just growl at me at most. The blue hen viciously defends chicks. I know this. She gets me enough.

The male chicks sometimes get defensive when I'm grabbing everyone. It's just defensive instinct. If I was a predator in the night, that's a good instinct.

 

[FirstTimeClucky]

View attachment 1123768 after a few years of trying to find a good litter for my chicks , i started raising all my chicks on chick feed for litter, i buy the big bag of the cheap chick food and fill their brooder with an inch or so for day old chicks, then adding more as the get older , so the messes turns into clumps easily picked up every day , its the best safe litter, they can even eat it HA and it clumps up well like kitty litter and can be picked up easily , i only use the nipple water drinkers and the chick feed it works well together & that makes it easy keeping the babies dry and clean .here is a pic of my 3 week old Colombian wyandott chicks in their day time pay pen with their new colorful cheerios box they just loved...HA the chick feed stays clean & dry

I was thinking about your idea for using chick feed as bedding, and I'm curious about it because I thought of a few concerns. Have you been doing this for a long time? Do you switch them over to a different bedding once they reach a certain age, and if yes, how old would that be? Have you ever had any chicks die suddenly and for unexplained reasons? Have you ever run into any problems, like chicks spilling water into the feed and creating a sticky mess? How often do you change their bedding?

I'm not trying to shoot down your idea at all, just wondering how you would deal with some things that occurred to me.

My concerns:
I lost one of the three Silkie chicks I purchased, and I believe it was caused by the chick eating something rancid in the cage, either fecal matter or possibly rancid food that got mixed in with their bedding. At that time I was using a low dish to feed them, and they always kicked bedding (aspen shavings) into their dish and food into their bedding. The chick died within 12 hours and the symptoms were similar to botulism. Doesn't using feed as bedding encourage them to eat their bedding, and possibly ingest spoiled food or fecal matter? After that experience, I made a feeder out of an old jug that hangs on the side of the cage, to prevent feed and bedding from being mixed together.

I'd be concerned about water spillage or any kind of moisture, like if a chick got diarrhea. I've added water to chicken feed, it turns into a very sticky mess that a small chick could get stuck in or choke on. Or, feed can mix with feces, dry out and form hard clumps on their toes, causing them to lose a toe. That's why clumping cat litter is a bad idea for bedding. Also, wet feed spoils fast and stinks. I once bought a bag that had been exposed to moisture and the stench and mold were overwhelming. I'm guessing if you change the bedding often enough it shouldn't be a problem. I think you mentioned you use nipples. Do they leak? I use horizontal nipples that don't leak, but I've read that the "vertical" kind can drip.

One more question: do you find that chicks raised on feed bedding are more likely to try to eat inedible bedding when they grow up?

 

[TattooedChicks]

I'm going to say this ones a cockerel now after watching a full on battle royale between this silkie and my very obvious Japanese cockerel. Had to separate the two of them. Any objections to this one joining my next box of cockerels to give away?

 

[Hinotori]

Today was moving day for the babies. Off to the silkie pens. The partridge hen was done caring for them and the blue hen is easing up. Moving 20 silkies 100 feet actually took only a minute or two. They herd really well with my white pvc guide poles.

I had the age off when I was posting pictures of them before. Looking at the marked calendar, they are now 7.5 weeks. I thought they were older. Makes much more sense now since the silkies hens only give the chicks 6-8 weeks of care.

 

[Hinotori]

You can so tell I feed the white birds corn and let them out in the sun. They have that yellowish tint