Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

Thank you both, from me and the chicks! It doesn't look half as hard as I was picturing it, now that I can visualize it. Also, it makes them look remarkably cute! The new silkie fashion!

I have no pic but I did experiment with bow elastics and ow it look so cute!! ..till rooster pulled it off!

 

[GingerAndHerChicks]

All my silkie chicks are shy, frightened easily, & hate being picked up. 4 of them are 3 weeks old, 2 of them are 5 weeks old. When will they start to be more docile, calm? I’ve seen others struggle bonding with their silkies as chicks too.

 

[Hinotori]

All my silkie chicks are shy, frightened easily, & hate being picked up. 4 of them are 3 weeks old, 2 of them are 5 weeks old. When will they start to be more docile, calm? I’ve seen others struggle bonding with their silkies as chicks too.

I handle from hatch if I want them friendly. Shredded chedder cheese wins any chicken over. Just a bit so they don't get too much salt. Most treats work very well once they can eat them.

Some just are friendlier than others. I have one that walks up and demands I pick her up. Even she only likes it for a short while, then she has other things to do.

 

[Texasclucker]

Helllloooo i have been summoned after seeing this thread forever and never joining!

 

[GingerAndHerChicks]

I handle from hatch if I want them friendly. Shredded chedder cheese wins any chicken over. Just a bit so they don't get too much salt. Most treats work very well once they can eat them.

Some just are friendlier than others. I have one that walks up and demands I pick her up. Even she only likes it for a short while, then she has other things to do.

so they won’t get better with age.

 

[Hinotori]

so they won’t get better with age.

They start getting out of the "I'm a chicken nugget! Everything is going to eat me!" somewhere around 10 weeks in my experience.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

The hair ties are so cute!
Pickles likes to dip his hair in the water and I smooth it back. He looks hilarious

 

[PippinTheChicken]

All my silkie chicks are shy, frightened easily, & hate being picked up. 4 of them are 3 weeks old, 2 of them are 5 weeks old. When will they start to be more docile, calm? I’ve seen others struggle bonding with their silkies as chicks too.

When my chicks first hatched, I couldn't keep my hands off of them! I guess that helped us bond. We played lots of games together and had snuggle time at least twice a day! Even now (10wks old) they still are up for cuddles and naps together. It's not as much as they cuddled as hatchlings- but hatchlings are so weak they have to nap all the time, the chicks have much more energy now. In the afternoon, they are quite tired and want hugs!

My tips for tame chickens are:
-hold them up to your heart so they hear it beating (it sounds weird but it makes them calm and sleepy)
-lots of cuddles
-spend lots of time just watching them or hand feeding

Once they are tame, they will be like little clingy dogs!

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Boxes with high sides are bad for brooding chicks. Your hands coming in from above looks like an eagle taking them away! Low sided boxes, dog cages or puppy play pens (with gates) work the best since you are less scary from the side. Hope that helped @GingerAndHerChicks !

 

[LynnaePB]

I picked up a new Silkie at the weekend, she's such a sweet looking girl. Now the weather is getting chillier I think my other chicks are quite pleased I added a big fluffy hot water bottle to the flock in the form of Miss Shirley

Aww what a cutie, so adorable how the others are already snuggling with her!

So many gorgeous babies, how do you decide which ones to keep?
The first three look like they could be Amai’s siblings!
I love the Red Pyles, too. Well all of them, really!

Thank you!

I keep too many of them since I'm so bad at choosing which to keep early on. I'm keeping all these ones until at least 6 months since I'm really curious how they'll all develop.

First time silkie owner here…. Started with 5, one white one died a day after we got hit…. Two gray ones ended up being cockerels and we had to give them away, and so now I’m down to 2!!!! my black silkie is named Fluffy, she truly IS SPECTACULAR!!! So sweet and freaking adorable!! My other splash partridge (questioning color?) is also amazing, however crowed this week for the first time….. “sigh”….. however we are going to attempt to keep him as long as the neighbors don’t complain name was Dottie, now called Puff Daddy!!!!

Fluffy is such a pretty girl! Puff Daddy is a cutie too! His color is really interesting, I haven't seen many splash partridge before in silkies, definitely neat! Good luck with the neighbors, I hope you are able to keep your little guy!

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Aww what cute little ones!

They are all such beautiful babies
Precious cuties!
That's really interesting to see what one week can make for a difference.
What color does the little mother have and do you know which are her babies?

Thank you!

Mom is a little red partridge from a red pyle breeding program. She's the mom of all three silver partridge babies, the two red pyles, and the little red partridge looking one (looks most like she did as a chick). They aren't all little like her (probably since dad is on the big side) but about half are smaller than I'd expect for their age. It'll be interesting to see if they end up smaller when full grown like she did or not.

Gorgeous!!
It will be interesting to see the colours on the red pyle as they grow! What are the parents colours to get red pyle?
My rooster isn't quite red pyle is he?
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Thanks!

Technically you need a black breasted red over dominant white to get red pyle. In silkies there aren't any black breasted reds so red partridge is being used in its place. There are some other ways to get a similar look (I think in Brahmas red pyle is actually splash partridge with lots of red leakage). Your beautiful boy does look similar to a red pyle but I really don't think he has the dominant white most pyles do given how the distribution of darker feathers is not very random looking. My best guess is still a light grey columbian with red leakage (maybe with blue or splash as well given how his tail feathers look). In that case he would actually be somewhat close to the genetic makeup of the red pyle in brahmas. I think he is absolutely gorgeous! I actually like that look better than regular red pyle, the dark tail with the white and the red is such a pretty combo!



My two "red pyles" are probably going to turn out pretty far from what a red pyle is supposed to look like but it's still very much a project color in silkies. If you'd like a look at what red pyle is supposed to look like I think old english game bantams have the pattern down as they have the correct black breasted red over dominant white genetic makeup.

I actually want to work towards getting larger spots on my red pyle like chicks. Kind of the opposite of what you should do if working towards a correct pyle but I really like the calico like effect of the darker spots with the red and the white (if that is possible to achieve, I'm still not sure).

I still know it's still too early!.. But, any thoughts on Easter the chick, boy or girl?
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This is a tough one given the size of the parents combs......I don't know which way to lean!

All my silkie chicks are shy, frightened easily, & hate being picked up. 4 of them are 3 weeks old, 2 of them are 5 weeks old. When will they start to be more docile, calm? I’ve seen others struggle bonding with their silkies as chicks too.

I find silkie chicks can really vary in how friendly they are when young. I've had plenty of skittish chicks too. It varies a lot for me when they start to come out of their shell more. My girls who hold out the longest usually become a lot easier going/friendlier once they start laying. Occasionally I'll have some girls that stay shy but not often. The males are a lot more variable from what I've seen even as adults.

If I'm trying to work with chicks to make them more friendly sooner I've found something as simple as giving a bit of chick feed from my hand daily often makes a big difference within a few weeks.

Helllloooo i have been summoned after seeing this thread forever and never joining!

Hello, and welcome!