Silkie thread!

[FishMtFarm]

I love your Showgirl chick in your avatar!

Thanks! Been hatching a lot of them this year. They are addicting.

 

[FishMtFarm]

Hey silkie owners! I just started a flock of seven blue and white/buff silkie chicks. They have all been so fun and entertaining. My question for you all is about socializing them. For the first few weeks I have been holding and snuggling them, trying to feed them worms or egg yolk, and just sitting by their pen and humming to them, but as they get older they are getting more and more afraid of me. I swear I am friendly and nice! Is this just a phase and I should continue to shower them with love and hold them, or should I back off and try something different? Thanks a bunch!

Keep loving on them! I have found when I grow my chicks out that they hit a stage were they act afraid but they are being teenagers. You'll find that once they hit 3 or 4 months, they change a calm down. I have a young rooster that runs over to be held and he was one of my most skittish!

 

[Hinotori]

Hey silkie owners! I just started a flock of seven blue and white/buff silkie chicks. They have all been so fun and entertaining. My question for you all is about socializing them. For the first few weeks I have been holding and snuggling them, trying to feed them worms or egg yolk, and just sitting by their pen and humming to them, but as they get older they are getting more and more afraid of me. I swear I am friendly and nice! Is this just a phase and I should continue to shower them with love and hold them, or should I back off and try something different? Thanks a bunch!

They all go through the stage where they realize everything eats chicken. Just keep handling them.

 

[Hinotori]

Hi! I'm new to chickens and especially Silkies. I have two babies that I got from tractor supply that are doing well, I got a black silkie rooster on Saturday from a poultry trades day, the breeder said he was two years old, and that he had been treated for mites, I believe her and didn't check and didn't even know what to check for, so I took him to the coop and chicken hard and put him in with my girls, he is the sweetest thing!!! I went to check on them Sunday and he was sitting on the rust roost in the coop, I picked him up to give him some lovin and his neck smelled bad, I looked closely and discovered tons of mites on his neck. I messaged the lady and she was very apologetic and is refunding my money for him plus what it cost for the mite dust. I took him home, bathed him in dawn, blow dried him and dusted him this morning. He acts like he doesn't feel very good, he was crowing at 4 this morning, he's just not moving around much. im wondering how stressed silkies get? I know it will take him a couple of days to recover from the mites, any other suggestions to help him feel better?

If the dust doesn't take care of the mites, it's 2 drops of dog Frontline for an adult silkie.

I almost lost an ameraucana rooster to mites years ago. Couldn't get them in check even with dust and bathing. Then was told about the Frontline. It's one of those last ditch efforts.

They multiply fast. He'll be weak from blood loss for a few days but should be fine.

 

[Hinotori]

Some silkies roosters can just be really fluffy. My older rooster I still have isn't quite as fluffy as the youngest ones. I've not actually been consciously breeding for the fluff. I have been breeding for super fluffy feet and I think it may be a side effect.

So they are fluffy balls

 

[sue25]

Day out of.the nursery. Mama sizzle decided to show them how to dust baith.

 

[NNYchick]

Do any of you have a Silkie that will hatch eggs then push the chicks out when they hatch? This is the second time she has done it. Last time I was able to save one and give it to the other broody but lost one. This time she hatched 2 lucky I found them and gave them to my other broody and didn’t have any losses. But man she is all happy to join in with another broody but I’m not going to let her have eggs anymore. I thought last time was a fluke because she was young.

 

[FishMtFarm]

I had a hen that did that. Awful mother by herself but brooding with other hens, she was great. This was a 3 year old hen too. Experience didn't make her better.

 

[Hinotori]

I had an EE that would set eggs then kill the chicks as they were hatching. Never let her have any again.

I usually use silkies in pairs for taking care of chicks.

 

[sue25]

My white older silkies seem to rase chicks better as a pair as well.

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