Silkie thread!

[sager:)silkies]

Congrats, Zack!! Post pics when they are fluffed out! How are the others doing that hatched out a few weeks back?

right now i have some that are 5 weeks old and they are doin great then i got 4 that hatched 9-10 days ago that are doin great and now today i have 8 chicks and 2 pips still waiting dont know if the others will come out

 

[Skeetergirl]

Good Luck, Zack, I'd love to see photos of all your hatches.

right now i have some that are 5 weeks old and they are doin great then i got 4 that hatched 9-10 days ago that are doin great and now today i have 8 chicks and 2 pips still waiting dont know if the others will come out

 

[chisNchickens]

Will keep fingers crossed for you!!! I see you have them laying on their sides - do you incubate upright and then lay them down for lock down? I am approaching lock down too and am oh so paranoid about everything I do after my last lousy hatch (my mistakes).

Silkie eggs in lock down. BBS, Black, Lavender, Porcelain and Paint! Can you tell I'm excited?

That is when I'm not do this!

I made little clear hatching baskets so I would have good visability and each color is separate. Hope everything works!

 

[Hawkeye95]

Gosh, thanks, Hawkeye. Your comments mean a lot! I'm just hoping her defects won't disqualifiy her for breeding.

Well, from what I know about partridge, she looks pretty darned good and I'd be using her for sure. I agree, I'd show her! We're going to try our hand with our birds next week! Can't wait!

Yeah you need to just do it

IMO, If you do A.I. you need to actually work with the boy everyday to get him used to you handling him. You also need to get him so when you pick him up he is not all tense. Once you get past the hurtle of that hen you just work with him and you can do this daily at first and then the sperm can live up to two weeks in the females cloaca. But remember you are doing this for a reason which is to have a very fertile hen/egg so the more the better until you achieve your goal. I know it kills folks to do this but, to make sure your boy is not infertile even with the A.I. I would do a crack test with the egg to see if it has the bulleyes instead of waiting to see in a bator or under a broody.

Yeah Hawks are very smart and will check everyday till one day they get lucky

Okay, Beth-- I tried it last night!! But NOTHING happened. I watched the video and tried to do it exactly like that. He's 10 months old now, shouldn't he have something in there? I hold him all the time, so he wasn't at all upset about that, but he wasn't real thrilled with having his head down and tail up like I had to position him to give it a try at first. But he calmed down during it and was putting his tail straight up and didn't seem upset about it after a while. I tried and tried and then felt bad for trying so long on him. Sigh. I did do it at night yesterday, maybe he was all done in for the day? Too late in the evening?? I cracked an egg yesterday to see and still nothing, which is why I'm now determined I'm going to get this AI thing down. Does it work on the first try, or will he have to get used to it... or do you think I just did it wrong??

 

[Hawkeye95]

right now i have some that are 5 weeks old and they are doin great then i got 4 that hatched 9-10 days ago that are doin great and now today i have 8 chicks and 2 pips still waiting dont know if the others will come out

That's great! I hope the others go ahead and zip and come on out! Good luck with the rest of your hatch! You'll have to post some pics of your babies!

 

[Beth G.]

Hi,
Your boy will be way to tense right now to give you anything. That is why you really need to work with him daily. When you go out to check on them in the morning, add to your routine to gently pick up your boy and work him as if you are going to do A.I. and get he himself into this routine. Then right before you would go to lock them up at night, you need to do this again with the rooster.

Yes technically it should be done in the morning when they have rested all night and at the crack of first light as we all have seen as chicken keeper with roosters, They waste no time getting to the ladies at first light!!!

But in all seriousiness now you do need him to get used to being handled and also when you hold him and are work his top, you need to kind use your hands holding him to rub and work his belly too. After a week of doing this you'll be amazed at how some of the boys actually get ready and look forward to this! lol

Remember alot of videos are out there to show how but, what you don't realize if they don't tell you is that cockrel has been worked with many many times so that they can show you a proper video with proper results.

Don't give up now and if you have a hard time with collection I would say to make sure that boy and a bare bum so you can really be sure to catch what you need and it doesn't go wasted

Okay, Beth-- I tried it last night!! But NOTHING happened. I watched the video and tried to do it exactly like that. He's 10 months old now, shouldn't he have something in there? I hold him all the time, so he wasn't at all upset about that, but he wasn't real thrilled with having his head down and tail up like I had to position him to give it a try at first. But he calmed down during it and was putting his tail straight up and didn't seem upset about it after a while. I tried and tried and then felt bad for trying so long on him. Sigh. I did do it at night yesterday, maybe he was all done in for the day? Too late in the evening?? I cracked an egg yesterday to see and still nothing, which is why I'm now determined I'm going to get this AI thing down. Does it work on the first try, or will he have to get used to it... or do you think I just did it wrong??

 

[Beth G.]

x2 Zach Good Luck!!

 

[Beth G.]

Judy, For Partridge only I am going to paste information off the web. First is the website that I have found best describes Silkie coloring.


http://www.browneggblueegg.com/StandardColors.html <<Website used

This information below was copy and pasted from their
APA Standard - Silkie Colors Page:


Partridge Silkie Bantams (Bearded and Non-Bearded)

Plumage of Male
Head: Web of feather, lustrous rich red.
Neck: Hackle - Web of feather, lustrous greenish black with a narrow lacing of medium shade of rich, brilliant red; shaft black
Front of neck - black
Back: Back including saddle - Web of feather, lustrous, greenish black with narrow facing of a medium shade of rich brilliant red, a slight shafting of rich red permissible. Rich brilliant red predominating on surface of upper back; saddle matching with hackle in color.
Tail: Main tail - web, black
Main and lesser sickles - lustrous, greenish black
Coverts - lustrous greenish black, laced with medium shade of rich brilliant red.
Wings: Front - black
Bows - a medium shade of rich brilliant red
Coverts - lustrous, greenish black, forming a distinct wing bar of this color across entire wing when folded
Primaries - black, with narrow edging of reddish bay on lower webs.
Secondaries - lower webs black with lower half reddish bay, terminating with black at end of each feather; upper webs, black; secondaries when folded forming a triangular reddish bay wing-bay between the wing bar and tips of secondary feathers.
Breast: Lustrous, greenish black.
Body and Fluff: Body - black fluff
Fluff - black, slightly tinged with red
Legs and Toes: black

Plumage of Female
Head: Deep reddish bay.
Neck: Hackle - black, slightly penciled with deep reddish bay and laced with reddish bay.
Front of neck - penciled same as breast
Back: Deep reddish bay, with distinct black pencilings.
Tail: Main tail - black except two top feathers which have black lower webs and deep reddish bay with black penciled upper webs
Coverts - Deep reddish bay with distinct black pencilings.
Wings: Front - Deep reddish bay with distinct black pencilings.
Bows - Deep reddish bay with distinct black pencilings.
Coverts - Deep reddish bay with distinct black pencilings.
Primaries - black with deep reddish bay diagonal pencilings on lower webs.
Secondaries - lower webs, deep reddish bay with black pencilings extended well around tips of feathers; balance of upper webs, black
Breast: Deep reddish bay with distinct black pencilings.
Body and Fluff: Body - Deep reddish bay with distinct black pencilings.
Fluff - deep reddish bay penciled with dull black
Legs and Toes: Deep reddish bay with black pencilings.


Now with all that I have copied and pasted, I think you should print this out, bring it to the barn with you to view your partridges. Also bring with you a sheet of paper with two rows down, mark one yes and the other no. Evaluate your bird and line by line mark a yes if she has the right description, and no if she does not have what is described.

Look at your results and tell me what you have. I think you have fully gotten the hang of evaluating your bird for Type and you've told me what you do and don't like there. I believe your girls type is good. But, if you are concerned about her color this will help you make that decision whether or not she meets both criteria.

Oh Wow! You think I could show her? Yay! On the wings, everyone says it should look like a smile and her's doesn't look like a smile to me. So the lack of barring isn't a big deal?

 

[peepblessed]

WOW! This is not a color I am familiar with (I mean, I don't know what should be there and what shouldn't-- I'm much better at the BBS colors!) But she is amazing! Her crest is to die for! As well as her cushion. I can't wait to see what one of our experts say about her!

You guys have all been so generous with your compliments! I'll have to plan on showing her. It won't be any time soon as all her cheek (muff) feathers are trimmed.

 

[peepblessed]

She's gorgeous - that's all I know!

Thank you!! I have her first eggs hatching next week. What fun!