Silkie thread!

[ultasol]

Oh, and I have no trade secrets. I'm in it for fun. I will try to answer. I consider my secret weapons a good blowdry and a fleacomb or furminator... oops, now the word is out.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

I put my juveniles on play sand because I think it help the poop to dry quickly and reduces the chance for cocci. JMO for me. Show birds come right out of the breeding pens most of the time. I pick the ones that look the best, bathe them and take them to the show. I just can't stand the idea of a bird in a little cage for 2 months or more just to be shown. Not judging others...just the way I manage our flock. Shavings for the adults.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
No. Aks 10 people and you get AT LEAST 15, if not 20 variations. Some of my birds are on shavings; others have wire floors; some have a choice or either/or; some are on sand/dirt. Coop sides vary from wire to screen to wood; most of my coops have at least two kinds of siding. For what it is worth, the ones whose foot feathers stay the nicest are the ones on pure dirt (well, there were shavings added a couple of years ago, but not much left as "shavings"). However, they are in a HUGE horse stall (15'x30'). Hay occasionally drifts over the "wall" to litter their "floor."

 

[robin416]

Quote:
An additional benefit is that mites are kept to a minimum. When my birds were on sand I never had a mite problem. Now they're in a coop with a wood floor and its become a constant battle.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Quote:
An additional benefit is that mites are kept to a minimum. When my birds were on sand I never had a mite problem. Now they're in a coop with a wood floor and its become a constant battle.

Didn't know that Robin. Thanks for the info!

 

[LeasureChix]

Quote:
Thank you for the info. Makes sense to protect them from sunbleaching, especially down here in SO OR. I'd love to have 10 people tell me what works for them. I guess my problem right now is I'm trying to treat them like fragile China dolls. I bought a white pullet from Karen and she's in such awesome condition with such a gorgeous crest that I feel like she should be spending her days in a spa, not a chicken coop. I don't want to un-do what's been done.

I hope a few others will share what has or has not worked.

Thank you,
Julie

 

[LeasureChix]

Now we're talkin'! Woo hoo! That's what I was looking for!! Thank you thank you thank you!!

Ladies (and any gentlemen), you have made my day, just with a few posts.

I sure wish our property had a barn. I was thinking stalls would be great.

Three Cedars, I love that they go right from the breeding pen. I couldn't wrap my head around doing it any other way but I was worried about crests being damaged etc.

Thank you for the info. I know I'll have much happier chickens now.

Julie

 

[robin416]

Quote:
Just so you realize its not you, that it just might be the birds. Some of them are pigs. You know how sometimes that you have a child that no matter where they are they'll find a way to get dirty? Well, there are birds like that. I raise predominately white Silkies. Its always amazing to look in one of my pens and see four birds absolutely white and one that looks like it rolled in the barn yard.

 

[ultasol]

There are some cocks/cockerels that are easier on the feathering while breeding, and I can sometimes pull from breeding pens they are in without problem. Some of my other cock/cockerels are wide enough or unwieldy enough that, while not acting aggressively, they have to grab feathers and hold on for dear life when mating. In these pens I always have some missing crest feathers.

Stay on top of mite control. Check around vent, in the cushion, in the crest. As soon as it starts to warm up here, which has already happened (actually before Stevenson) I usually get a flush of them. They aren't as bad later in the year when it is really hot or when it is cooler in winter. May not hold true for others, has been my experience so far. Forget DE, it is not enough and can harm your lungs.

 

[Colie <3]

Since you brought up DE in your experience will it help with odor? I'm trying to keep things dry as possible but my coops are in my backyard and some parts of the runs get wet when the sprinklers turn on not soaked but yeah it stinks if I'm not scraping out the shavings and replacing them weekly. I'm not really sure what to do...

Also anyone have any ideas of cockroaches? I'm in a neighborhood where they come from other people's yards I guess. I have Terminix spray my house but not my yard because of the birds. I'm seeing roaches in the runs and since my silkies are refusing to use their ramps (UGH!) they are sleeping in a pile in the run and I'm seeing a roach here or there literally crawling underneath them at night

Somehow they didn't get the message that chickens like to eat bugs lol either that or when they roaches are out they are just too sleepy to care.