Silkie thread!

[JoshU]

My silkie hen decided to go broody again. I was wondering if anyone in Ohio has some eggs from good quality stock that I can purchase. I know this isnt the bst thread but I am not having any luck. My hen is just not throwing any good chicks so I want to replace her eggs with better quality. You can pm me if you can help. Thanks

If anyone knows anybody in Ohio with bq or sq silkies Please send them to me. I appreciate any help I can get. Seems nobody is in Ohio on this site.

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

I am getting my very first silkies this week!

I'm getting a splash bantam silkie rooster and a blue bantam silkie hen. How many hens have you guys found that a silkie rooster needs?

 

[peepblessed]

I am getting my very first silkies this week!

I'm getting a splash bantam silkie rooster and a blue bantam silkie hen. How many hens have you guys found that a silkie rooster needs?

It depends on the rooster. Many roosters will wear out one hen so it's best to at least have two or three. On the other hand one rooster can usually keep several hens fertile.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

I actually had to put ALL 12 of my Silkies inside tonight. They were all camped outside in their pen looking like they were going to try camping! Don't think so. Man! Were they ever upset with me for disturbing their plans. Except maybe Elliot (my older cockerel). He was trying to encourage them at the feeder as they all protested profusely as I put them inside.

Ok ... newbie Silkie owner question for the experts -- my chicks are 12 weeks old today and already one of them, I think pullet but obviously I don't know for sure, is making sounds like a hen. The others still all communicate in chick speak - even the two I have that are a week older. This particular bird also sits like a broody a good percentage of the day complete with clucks and purrs and such. I've never seen anything like it! Is this common with Silkies? There really doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her. She is QUITE offended if any of us disturb her. She joins us for a bit and then she's off sitting again on her own.

I haven't even built the nest boxes for them yet!!!

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

It depends on the rooster. Many roosters will wear out one hen so it's best to at least have two or three. On the other hand one rooster can usually keep several hens fertile.

Ok, thanks. I will get 1 more hen just to be sure. I also have 2 sizzle pullets that I can put in with Mr.Splash if the need arises.

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

I have a question about the amount of space silkies require. Do they do well in smaller cages or are they like my layers and need room to roam? I just got an insulated dog house that I'm going to make a silkie coop out of for the silkies I'm getting. It's 3 feet in length by 2 ft, 8 inches in width. How many bantam silkies do you think that it could house? They have a nice big run as well but I just want to make sure they have enough coop space to stay nice and dry in. Could it house more than 2 bantam silkies? How many b silkies would you put in it? Here's a pic of the new silkie coop. You'll have to excuse it, it still needs a coat of paint.

 

[Basel]

Thank you Basel....do you, or anyone, know if on day 18 a lot of fluid can still be seen upon candling? There are a few more that I can see veins and a little movement....but it still looks like they need another week to grow---unlike the other bantams I've hatched at this stage. The air cells in these were pretty shot, but the membrane has tightened that up....lots of air cell seen, too.
Are silkies that much different in growth/incubating/hatching than other breeds, or is this just typical for badly packaged/shipped eggs?
Someone please help....

Oh I of course have no idea [and know you'll get lots of great help from others], but I am so happy we're both on day 18 together!

I'm so nervous since I have no idea if any of mine are alive. I didn't candle at all so I am going into these next few days completely blind!

 

[Lisa Pedro]

I have enjoyed reading the Silkie Thread for awhile now. I decided to post a couple pics. They are almost 4 weeks old. They used to be very fluffy and cute, but I think they are going through their awkward stage. I have 3. Will their beards and crests come back? And does that look like 3 boy crests they have right now?

This is the first one.


This is the second one.




And this is our 3rd one. This one is the smallest. I had to do band aide splints on it feet when it got here from the hatchery because it little feet were curled under. But after a couple days, it was healed and now gets around great. They were not happy about pictures and wanted to jump off. I did give them all a bath today. They needed it. Thanks for looking.

 

[peepblessed]

I actually had to put ALL 12 of my Silkies inside tonight. They were all camped outside in their pen looking like they were going to try camping! Don't think so. Man! Were they ever upset with me for disturbing their plans. Except maybe Elliot (my older cockerel). He was trying to encourage them at the feeder as they all protested profusely as I put them inside.

Ok ... newbie Silkie owner question for the experts -- my chicks are 12 weeks old today and already one of them, I think pullet but obviously I don't know for sure, is making sounds like a hen. The others still all communicate in chick speak - even the two I have that are a week older. This particular bird also sits like a broody a good percentage of the day complete with clucks and purrs and such. I've never seen anything like it! Is this common with Silkies? There really doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her. She is QUITE offended if any of us disturb her. She joins us for a bit and then she's off sitting again on her own.

I haven't even built the nest boxes for them yet!!!

My girls do get way less active at about 3 months but when they don't want to move I check to see if their cheeks are blocking their visability. In your case it does sound like early nesting. That's really early!

 

[peepblessed]

I have enjoyed reading the Silkie Thread for awhile now. I decided to post a couple pics. They are almost 4 weeks old. They used to be very fluffy and cute, but I think they are going through their awkward stage. I have 3. Will their beards and crests come back? And does that look like 3 boy crests they have right now?

This is the first one.


This is the second one.




And this is our 3rd one. This one is the smallest. I had to do band aide splints on it feet when it got here from the hatchery because it little feet were curled under. But after a couple days, it was healed and now gets around great. They were not happy about pictures and wanted to jump off. I did give them all a bath today. They needed it. Thanks for looking.

They will look pretty awkward for a few more weeks. I can usually enjoy looking at mine again at about 9 or 10 weeks. Those are pretty large combs on the last two which indicates boy but I have seen large combs on hatchery girls.