Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

Trying to get a head-count on silkie lovers...

  • ME! - I like silkies!

    Votes: 825 96.2%

  • ^

    Votes: 98 11.4%
  • Total voters
    858
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chickengr said:
people here keep 1 flock and keep hatching from them. that's how they destroyed marans. they get small and weak birds. most die by the age of 3 mo. we can inbreed birds once then we have to separate their offspring and breed them with unrelated/less related birds. not full brothers and sisters for generations.
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Curious where this information is coming from? Is this your personal experience? Can you expand on it if so? If not experience then what or who are you referencing? Just curious....
 
chickengr said:
naked necks are really tough birds. so showgirls should be as well.

some breeds are prone to some health issues. if we introduce them to another breed a few generations might be ok but later they become prone to those health issues - my 2 cents. hybrids are supposed to be healthier than pure breeds. in my 10 year experience laying hybrids always got sick first and probably spread disease to the others. I decided to butcher all of my hybrids and keep naked necks and dutch bantams for eggs.
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Interesting....

So far my hybrids have been pretty healthy birds, but not all of them. I have some purebreds I would put in that category as well.

My cinnamon queens seems more resistant to some things and lay very well but they also seem to have more reproductive issues and don't live as long.

I've had ENDLESS issues with English Orpingtons. I love the breed, but honestly find American Orpingtons to be much harder over all.

I have no complaints so far with my Ameraucana's or Easter eggers for that matter. Cross beak is a thing with them though.

My Andalusians are fantastic.

I love salmon Faverolles but lost quite a few of those chicks this year to general weakness.

I find my Australorps to be very hardy and excellent layers. Generally pretty healthy and resilient.

American game are incredibly robust but seriously lacking in the personality department and friendly temperaments. Excellent mothers though.

My welsummer rooster has been very hardy and robust. Resistance and resilient would both be characteristic I attribute to that bird/breed.

Speckled sussex- no issues.

Buff Orpingtons- all around healthy and resilient

Bantam cochins- pretty healthy and strong for me.

Breeds that stick out for me as generally having issues- at least here for me- English Orpingtons, showgirls, silkies in general.

****BUT- I adore my silkies and wouldn't trade them for anything. And it has spurred me to learn more and has molded me into a better flock manager because of it. So in the end, I think it's been a blessing even though it's been a difficult road sometimes 🥰
 
CSolis said:
I've been doing line breeding, and breeding cousins that have at least one outside line. Babies are getting better all the time. Very few failures to thrive or other problems.
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Re-reading what I said originally I should of said the inbreeding CAN bring to the surface problems already there. If you already have really great lines then it can make it better. There are two side to that coin. But what I was saying was that I don't think enough people realize because of the bad wrap that it gets that when you see that happen in a breeding program you can push past it. Most people freak out at that point and do a complete u turn instead of continuing on the journey. Unfortunately, what they don't realize is they were literally in the last bend of race so to say and had they pushed through it, the proverbial finish line was right after it.

Just my personal opinion though 😉
 
chickengr said:
silkies are slow growers. as they have a lot of feathers they need more protein. years ago I had white silkies. they never got sick. black with huge crest probably were bred to some other breed in order to get bigger crest. they are not as strong as the white ones - at least in my experience.
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Do all chickens not have the same amount of feathers?
 
RememberTheWay said:
Curious where this information is coming from? Is this your personal experience? Can you expand on it if so? If not experience then what or who are you referencing? Just curious....
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I know a lot of those people personally. they insist that inbreeding in chickens does not exist. they sell hatching eggs and don't care about people who buy them.

I tried to keep marans but the last 3 years or so no chick lived more than 3 months. they were skinny and light weight. I had other chicks with them so disease is ruled out.
 
RememberTheWay said:
Do all chickens not have the same amount of feathers?
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definitely not. and not all the feathers are the same. some are hard and the others soft. I find that soft feathered birds need more protein. I am not an expert just observed many things during my 10 years of chicken keeping.

do these look the same to you? 3-day-old-naked-neck-breed-1000x1000.jpg 1b silkie.jpg
 
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I de
chickengr said:
definitely not. and not all the feathers are the same. some are hard and the others soft. I find that soft feathered birds need more protein. I am not an expert just observed many things during my 10 years of chicken keeping.

do these look the same to you?View attachment 3874413View attachment 3874414
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I definitely wasn't talking about non feathered/naked birds when I said "don't all chickens have the same amount of feathers" that would be ridiculous. What I meant was across a feathered chickens body, I bet if we counted the actual quiles on a silkie feathered silkie and a smooth feathered silkie that it would be the same. Silkies have the appearance of "more" simply because each individual feather isn't barbed together the way it is in a smooth feathered bird, not because they actually have more feathers. At least from my perspective. Now with that said- I absolutely believe you that they need more protein and highly value your actual experience over books smarts ANY DAY! 😉 Very much looking forward to the day I have 20+ yrs under my own belt 🤔

Anyways - I really wasn't trying to offend anyone. It was just a general observation and legitimate question.
 

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