Silkie thread!

[Basel]

I don't think he will....he will learn and get louder...sometimes if one cokeral is more dominant than the other he will not crow or crow as often...but I have found that if remover the crower than the other one learns to crow just as loud...

Thank you, for sharing your experience. Boo hoo. I really adore him and would like to keep him. I he gets really loud I won't be able to.

 

[cindersga]

I have always feed my girls organic layer...have now switched to grower/broiler...I can only get Countryside Organic and it is whole grains...they will get used to it especially if you are mixing it with other things that they eat...
I agree that organic is expensive but I just can't bring myself to feeding other feed...especially since I do not support GMO farming by the likes of Monsanto...
Grower and broiler are the same feed...it goes starter, grower, layer

I'm with you both...No GMO for me either we have to stop Monsanto in it's tracks. I also garden and all of my seed is heirloom, open pollinated. I joined several seed trading sites last year and I have been having a blast growing healthy organic food. I get my 50 lb bag of organic feed from a friend who has it shipped by the pallet. I pay her $35 for it. She is an organic farmer too. Darrin I don't know what size bag you get but if this interests you I can give you her info.

On another note...I did not know that you are to be giving your chickens Chick Starter until they are 6 months old. Once they were old enough to go out to the coop (4 months) I started giving them layer feed. It's the organic kind but I was reading that giving your chickens layer prior to 6 months can damage their kidneys and I think maybe hurt their reproductive capacity(?) not sure on that one. Do you two know about that or have read anything about it? Lord, I hope I haven't ruined my babies.

 

[chickendales]

Well I bit the bullet and payed 30.99 for organic feed. I couldn't find grower,they only had layer or chick starter. The name brand is Payback it's the only organic feed I can find here.
I got the layer pellets ( no crumbles available ). I mixed it with warm water added a little olive oil and ACV, chopped grapes and a touch of cottage cheese like I always do with their nutrena chick starter that they can't hardly wait for and gobble right up. I set he new great GMO free organic stuff down they slowly peck a few times then walk away looking at me for something else, I'm so bummed they don't like it! Now what to do go back and buy the nasty GMO stuff so they eat it?
Is chick starter and grower the same thing? The bag of nutrena I had said both on it? Does anybody know of any purina or nutrena feeds that are GMO free? That's what we get the most here and I may be able to have them order it. If my chickens will eat it.

Not sure what to do now, hated paying that much and now they won't eat it. I don't want GMO eggs.

at that price i would not feed it i would find local mill to make for you i well not pay over $20 for 50lb at this point

 

[aoxa]

How are you all doing who are in the path of the storm? Everyone prepared and safe??

I think we are only getting a lot of rain here... Worried about power outages because I have an incubator going with some bantam Ameraucana eggs.. They are finally fertile, and I'll be quite upset if I lose them :/

 

[BuckNBark Farm]

Go on! Get away. Shoo!!!

 

[dwegg]

I really feel for all people in the path of the storm...my thoughts are with you all and please stay safe and keep all your animals as safe as you can...prepare now and don't wait...have a backup plan for when the power goes out...

 

[dwegg]

at that price i would not feed it i would find local mill to make for you i well not pay over $20 for 50lb at this point 

I don't know of any organic feed under $30-$35 per 50lb bag...I go through one a week..but there's no point in me supplementing it with anything else but organic now...

Thank you, for sharing your experience.  Boo hoo.  I really adore him and would like to keep him.  I he gets really loud I won't be able to. 

Keep him until someone says something...I have one very loud black silkie roo who now lives in the garage till I find him a home. My paint, splash, and buff roo are not as loud as him. So you never know he may not be too loud!!!

I'm with you both...No GMO for me either we have to stop Monsanto in it's tracks.  I also garden and all of my seed is heirloom, open pollinated.  I joined several seed trading sites last year and I have been having a blast growing healthy organic food.  I get my 50 lb bag of organic feed from a friend who has it shipped by the pallet.  I pay her $35 for it.  She is an organic farmer too.  Darrin I don't know what size bag you get but if this interests you I can give you her info.  

On another note...I did not know that you are to be giving your chickens Chick Starter until they are 6 months old.  Once they were old enough to go out to the coop (4 months) I started giving them layer feed.  It's the organic kind but I was reading that giving your chickens layer prior to 6 months can damage their kidneys and I think maybe hurt their reproductive capacity(?) not sure on that one.  Do you two know about that or have read anything about it?  Lord, I hope I haven't ruined my babies. 

It is hard to stay with organic when the other feeds are half the price but as we started to keep chickens for more control over what we ate (eggs) I cannot give in to feed with possible chemicals in it.

I give my chicks starter till they are about a month old or till I finish a 50lb bag...then I start them on grower/broiler till they were old enough to move in with the older silkies...then they all got layer....but now it will be no problem as I moved to feeding all grower/broiler after the discussion previously...it has a higher protein content 20%.. And I have started putting out oyster shell for everyone but they have not been too fussed with it yet.

 

[Member 151789]

would it be reccomended to feed flock raiser to silkies? i bought a 25 pd bag for my amerucana, but im selling her. should i just keep them on the chick grower even as adults?

 

[KMHunter]

would it be reccomended to feed flock raiser to silkies? i bought a 25 pd bag for my amerucana, but im selling her. should i just keep them on the chick grower even as adults?

You could use the flock raiser up too. No need to waste feed!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: A question to sk yourself is why she wants you to have her birds. Is it because she knows you take good care of yours? Because you like silkies? Because she doesn't have anything else to do with them? Because...?

Once you figure out the answer to that, then you can figure out how to respond. Maybe you could offer to take them until you can find other homes, or thank her for the very kind offer, but say that "the inn is all filled up at the moment." Or you can offer to keep them until she has her pens and coops set up at her new home. Or ...

Do you have males, too? Or are hers the only ones? Or maybe you have the boy and you are worried about eggs from her birds hatching? Separate coops, pens and free range times would prevent mixing the birds, and with only 5 birds, shouldn't be too difficult to organize, especially for a short timeframe.