Silkie thread!

[MamaPoult]

Your birds are just SO beautiful!!!! They are fast suckers I know all about trying to take pics! I've always wanted to get birds with pea or rose combs but it just doesnt seem to work out. Here are my old bantoms they were Polish/Silkie mix! And I also couldnt help putting a pic of my old piggy poo!

 

[Sylvester017]

@MamaPoult -- that pink piggy is ADORABLE !!!

I truly wish you were able to get rose-comb, or walnut-comb birds in your area. They are less prone to comb frostbite than floppy or straight-comb birds

Your Silver Partridge Silkie/Polish girl almost looks laced she's so very pretty!!! Breeders now have developed smooth-feathered Satin, Laced, Frizzled, and Showgirl Silkies that are so gorgeous! The NPIP breeder where we got our 3 Silkie chicks actually breeds all these varieties plus they breed standard many-colored egg chickens too like Olive eggers, Copper Marans, etc.

Locally, we used to get DNA-sexed female Silkie chicks from Amber Waves Silkies which seems to have closed business after 40 years but then we discovered local Buckaboo Farm and are pleased with them because they breed much more than just regular bearded Silkies:

https://buckaboofarm.com/buckaboo-farm-silkies/

Of course Buckaboo is far from you but other BYC members on this thread might like this info.

TY for your beautiful pics!

 

[MamaPoult]

@MamaPoult -- that pink piggy is ADORABLE !!!

I truly wish you were able to get rose-comb, or walnut-comb birds in your area. They are less prone to comb frostbite than floppy or straight-comb birds

Your Silver Partridge Silkie/Polish girl almost looks laced she's so very pretty!!! Breeders now have developed smooth-feathered Satin, Laced, Frizzled, and Showgirl Silkies that are so gorgeous! The NPIP breeder where we got our 3 Silkie chicks actually breeds all these varieties plus they breed standard many-colored egg chickens too like Olive eggers, Copper Marans, etc.

Locally, we used to get DNA-sexed female Silkie chicks from Amber Waves Silkies which seems to have closed business after 40 years but then we discovered local Buckaboo Farm and are pleased with them because they breed much more than just regular bearded Silkies:

https://buckaboofarm.com/buckaboo-farm-silkies/

Of course Buckaboo is far from you but other BYC members on this thread might like this info.

TY for your beautiful pics!

That is so interesting! You are so welcome for pics thank you too! I wanted to keep my banty gals but they were too little and the rest of my flock are big especially the turkeys. I was worried they would get trampled and get cold. Thanks for the info never know when I might need it!

 

[Sylvester017]

@MamaPoult -- I agree bantams should not mix with bigger birds. That's why we phased out standard birds to keep just Silkies as our flock. The one mid-size bird we have left in the yard is our 6-1/2 year-old Dominique hen who has been good around the littles all these years:

 

[MamaPoult]

@MamaPoult -- I agree bantams should not mix with bigger birds. That's why we phased out standard birds to keep just Silkies as our flock. The one mid-size bird we have left in the yard is our 6-1/2 year-old Dominique hen who has been good around the littles all these years:
View attachment 3744584

So gorgeous! Love your gals❤

 

[Hinotori]

This is why I don't have bantams and large fowl mixed.

His name was Genghis Pumpkin. He was on a territory expansion crusade. He attacked any chicken that wasn't a silkie. My ameraucana roosters were terrified of him because he'd come out of no where and start ripping their feathers out. All of my large fowl were paranoid of anything silkie shaped and would run.

He got his hens in on it and would try to take over the large fowl pen until I removed them. He also taught all his sons to attack the big birds. That only stopped when I raised the boys away from his influence.

He cornered an older ameraucana hen and was beating her when she snapped and managed to get him in the head. Blinded him to all but shadows and ended his 3+ year reign. Ended up in a pen with his two favorite hens calling him in and out of the house and to food and water. He was very depressed and only lasted six months like that.

 

[Sylvester017]

@Hinotori -- Ghengis Pumpkin is/was so-o-o gorgeous!

It's odd how multiple birds within the same breed, even the same hatch, can all have different temperaments/personalities. Some seem mellow beginning at hatch, while others turn into bullies, some have a nature to be people-friendly while others don't, etc etc.

One of our 3 newest chicks (she's all Black and Bearded) picks on the other two chicks -- do you think isolating her for a few days will end the behavior? Or trim around her eyes so she doesn't spook at the other chicks? Or ? She's especially peckish during feeding. The other two chicks bump into each other when feeding with no problem but the Black will peck at their heads which is not good! In their brooder she'll peck at the others for no reason sometimes. I don't want to raise a bully!

 

[Hinotori]

@Hinotori -- Ghengis Pumpkin is/was so-o-o gorgeous!

It's odd how multiple birds within the same breed, even the same hatch, can all have different temperaments/personalities. Some seem mellow beginning at hatch, while others turn into bullies, some have a nature to be people-friendly while others don't, etc etc.

One of our 3 newest chicks (she's all Black and Bearded) picks on the other two chicks -- do you think isolating her for a few days will end the behavior? Or trim around her eyes so she doesn't spook at the other chicks? Or ? She's especially peckish during feeding. The other two chicks bump into each other when feeding with no problem but the Black will peck at their heads which is not good! In their brooder she'll peck at the others for no reason sometimes. I don't want to raise a bully!View attachment 3744613View attachment 3744614View attachment 3744615

Sounds like she's trying to establish her spot in the pecking order early

 

[Debbie292d]

@Hinotori -- Ghengis Pumpkin is/was so-o-o gorgeous!

It's odd how multiple birds within the same breed, even the same hatch, can all have different temperaments/personalities. Some seem mellow beginning at hatch, while others turn into bullies, some have a nature to be people-friendly while others don't, etc etc.

One of our 3 newest chicks (she's all Black and Bearded) picks on the other two chicks -- do you think isolating her for a few days will end the behavior? Or trim around her eyes so she doesn't spook at the other chicks? Or ? She's especially peckish during feeding. The other two chicks bump into each other when feeding with no problem but the Black will peck at their heads which is not good! In their brooder she'll peck at the others for no reason sometimes. I don't want to raise a bully!View attachment 3744613View attachment 3744614View attachment 3744615

I had a toe-pecker silkie chick once. So bad it would make other chicks' toes bleed.

Folks here thought if I separated it from the rest, that would maybe make it forget. Then someone said perhaps it was vitamin deficient from the hen. That was a consideration since I got them from the feed mill. I put them all on Nutra Drench water for half the day, regular the rest. I did this for a week. He gradually got better every day so I think they were right. Its aggression was acting out due to being lax in something that the vitamin water had in it.

 

[Hinotori]

This gentleman's saddle feathers are just starting to come in. Had to move fluff to see them. He's the only cockerel I kept from the last hatch apparently.