Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

[Chickeria]

Guess what.... FINALLLLLLYYYYY... got my coop and run setup and leveled and ready to go! Girls moved in last night!!

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They look so tiny in all of that space!

I had to take Elsa out.. because she was just totally attacking Esmeralda. I put her back in her old coop until evening, then she seemed calmer. Still chasing, but not feet in the air hawk attack style.

They were all so funny, no one wanted to go into the coop. So i had to wait til it was almost dark, then put each one up on the roost. Not only that, they wouldn't get down in the morning either So i carried each one down again. I could see Minnie and Daisy exploring in there this morning after breakfast, so maybe they'll get it. Curious where they are going to lay eggs. Probably in the run instead of one of the 8 nest boxes

Wow congrats! This looks great And a roofed run is awesome! (Especially when it does rain a lot )

I'm glad your tiny Silkie is feeling better

I know some of you here were wondering about the vaults lately. If you have access to facebook I just found a great compilation with details about the vaults. It was in a silkie group but looks like it may have been taken down. It's still on the original farm page "Fluffy Silkies - Sedosas Fofas". The compilation is in a pinned post at the top of that page. There is some graphic content (showing autopsies etc.) It is very informative for those wondering about vaults though. Just thought I should throw that out there in case anyone is still curious.

It's also been a while since I've posted any pictures so here's a couple recent ones.

Here are a couple younger grow outs just shy of 5 weeks old. A paint and a surprise red pyle-ish baby that popped up from the paint pen.

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Here's probably my nicest marked paint so far of my recent hatches (biggest spots) she/he is about 7 weeks old.

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And here is my group of 4 I hatched mid August that are 5 months now.

Group shot

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And one of just the girl who was hiding in the back in the above photo.

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And I'm excited about eggs from this pair. Quarantine is over and now I've broken the girl from being broody and she is laying again I'll be collecting some eggs to hatch. I can't wait to see if any of the chicks will be mottled and it'll be fun hatching some Nn silkie babies for the first time too!

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Oh it looks fantastic! I'm sure they'll love it in no time.


Aww such a pretty little cochin! I'd love to get some satins in this color at some point, I know some breeders are working on it.

They are all gorgeous And so beautiful! Oooh baby Nns

I finally got my first silkie egg!! There is only 1 problem, I don't know if it was from Poppy or the new girl Chiquita. Chiquita is so wild and would try to escape the isolation coop that I broke over and introduced her to Poppy. If she had gotten out on her own their would have been no way I could have caught her. In 4 days she and Poppy have bonded and are best friends already. Whatever 1 is doing, the other is there joining in. Poppy is also making it easier for me to build trust with her. Before if I went in to try and even hand feed her she ran around like a crazy thing, now with Poppy she will come up and eat out of my hand. I've taken these opportunities to stroke her back which she is starting to like, but I'm not picking her up yet. I found the egg yesterday evening in the little nest both were sitting in. When I picked up Chiquita I was told she had not started back up laying yet but was housed with 2 silkie boys, another Buff and a white boy. If I knew for sure it was Chiquita's and I could get at least 3 more from her I would incubate those. If it is Poppy's first egg I need to wait a month before I even think about turning on the incubator. Whichever girl it came from I'm honestly shocked at the size of the egg, while it is small compared to what my big girls lay, considering how tiny both girls are its a big egg.
This little gem was definitely worth the 7 month wait.
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Congrats on your first Silkie egg
Yeah, I always think, too: what big eggs for such small chickens!
How wonderful Poppy and Chiquita are such great friends, I love this.

You may die of cuteness overload...

Spoiler: Wet Thor

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...Do you want to KILL us?!?

Char hasn't been off the nest since I put her on it 3.5 days ago .. no poop no eating no drinking.. as a first timer maybe she doesn't realise she needs to get off! .. I'll have to encourage her to get off today if she won't do it herself. Good committed broody though I'm happy with her so far unlike some other hens that are half on the eggs or constantly off the nest or half committed.

Sounds like she is extremely determined!

 

[fin-dachickmasta]

it has been a long while like a whole year since the last comment! I guess i will give it! I love my silkies! I have 8 right now and will hatch more this spring. I have 1 splash 1 blue 1 buff 1 white roo 3 white hens and 1 mix of my buff and white roo. I hope to add some photos! My silkies have adopted 3 regular chickens 1 polish 1 olive egger and 1 bcm.

 

[AngBantamLuv]

Little silkie girl's vent looks much better today, not enflamed and swollen like yesterday. Still some dried on milky pasty butt, but not too bad. So she is clean again, and way more energetic than yesterday. Checked the other silkie and he is just fine.

I did however notice my big girls have super watery poops today, so they are on corid too. It is a new yard for everyone, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if there's something in it they need to develop immunity to. Everyone is acting normally though, lots of energy, eating and drinking.

Andddd... little red wattles starting on the biggest assumed male tolbunt. I figured as much!!

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

it has been a long while like a whole year since the last comment! I guess i will give it! I love my silkies! I have 8 right now and will hatch more this spring. I have 1 splash 1 blue 1 buff 1 white roo 3 white hens and 1 mix of my buff and white roo. I hope to add some photos! My silkies have adopted 3 regular chickens 1 polish 1 olive egger and 1 bcm.

Welcome back! Can't wait to see pics?! What ages are they?

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

Here is a picture of the 2 new BFFs. I thought Poppy was tiny, Chiquita while she feels like she weighs slightly more is actually slightly shorter then Poppy. One of their new favorite games is dumping their food on the ground before they eat it. Actually, it is Chiquita's, Poppy never spills her food.

 

[chickengr]

Char hasn't been off the nest since I put her on it 3.5 days ago .. no poop no eating no drinking.. as a first timer maybe she doesn't realise she needs to get off! .. I'll have to encourage her to get off today if she won't do it herself. Good committed broody though I'm happy with her so far unlike some other hens that are half on the eggs or constantly off the nest or half committed.

take her off immediately. some broodies starve to death.

 

[chickengr]

Sadly I do not have a camera. If it is Chiquita's and she holds to her pattern I was told about I should know in a week. Apparently she likes to lay 5 or 6 eggs then go broody. I'm storing the egg separately and will rotate it incase it is her laying. Honestly though, I do not know if I'll incubate, or if she goes broody let her. This winter is already been colder and we've had more snow then last year and it's just getting started.

you can easily find out who is laying. if pelvic bones are wide open hen is laying. if pelvic bones are tight around vent hen is not laying.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

You may die of cuteness overload...

Spoiler: Wet Thor

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Oh and btw yeah I know she's a bit red in the last pic... She was just excited. but Thor, Wanda and Vision are all girls

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Raven is broody, so I've been taking Thor out to the flock for an hour everyday (supervised) because Raven isn't there to peck her

 

[Chickeria]

Char hasn't been off the nest since I put her on it 3.5 days ago .. no poop no eating no drinking.. as a first timer maybe she doesn't realise she needs to get off! .. I'll have to encourage her to get off today if she won't do it herself. Good committed broody though I'm happy with her so far unlike some other hens that are half on the eggs or constantly off the nest or half committed.

I'm not very experienced, but I would encourage her to get off/take her off and supervise if she eats and drinks and poops and go on with this for two days always observing closely if those following two days she starts coming off to eat, drink (and dustbath) and to dump somewhere those epic broody poops by her own motivation. As a first time broody perhaps she still needs to figure out about her own needs. If after two days she still decides to sit like nailed down I would break her broodiness this first time, because I figure not drinking and not pooping could lead to big problems fast.

take her off immediately. some broodies starve to death.

Yeah sadly it is possible. A friend of mine lost a very sweet hen (bantam Brahma mix) I loved very much because of this

Little silkie girl's vent looks much better today, not enflamed and swollen like yesterday. Still some dried on milky pasty butt, but not too bad. So she is clean again, and way more energetic than yesterday. Checked the other silkie and he is just fine.

I did however notice my big girls have super watery poops today, so they are on corid too. It is a new yard for everyone, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if there's something in it they need to develop immunity to. Everyone is acting normally though, lots of energy, eating and drinking.

Andddd... little red wattles starting on the biggest assumed male tolbunt. I figured as much!!

That's great news that your little girl is so much better
Hopefully it is just the excitement of exploring their new home and the new situation that causes the watery poops
How cute - are the little red wattles a clear sign?

it has been a long while like a whole year since the last comment! I guess i will give it! I love my silkies! I have 8 right now and will hatch more this spring. I have 1 splash 1 blue 1 buff 1 white roo 3 white hens and 1 mix of my buff and white roo. I hope to add some photos! My silkies have adopted 3 regular chickens 1 polish 1 olive egger and 1 bcm.

Hi! Yes - pictures please!

Here is a picture of the 2 new BFFs. I thought Poppy was tiny, Chiquita while she feels like she weighs slightly more is actually slightly shorter then Poppy. One of their new favorite games is dumping their food on the ground before they eat it. Actually, it is Chiquita's, Poppy never spills her food.
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Such cute girls

Raven is broody, so I've been taking Thor out to the flock for an hour everyday (supervised) because Raven isn't there to peck her

What - sweet little Raven is a bully
How does precious Thor like being outside with the flock? Does she play with her siblings?