Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

[gothicpicasso]

I agree the satin looks like a pullet to me as well! She’s so pretty! I had a splash satin cockerel but I gave him to a friend of mine who is working on a satin project with his silkies.
Recent photo of him at seven months of age.
Regret giving him away!View attachment 2506379

That is one handsome lad!

 

[EverV]

Silkie girls are doing their best to keep up with the demand for chicks!View attachment 2506371

The award for world's most adorable incubators goes to... silkies!

 

[ChloeSilkie08]

The award for world's most adorable incubators goes to... silkies!

TOTALLY! I think they should make an incubator that looks like a silkie!

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

Silkie girls are doing their best to keep up with the demand for chicks!View attachment 2506371

So gorgeous!! I have 3 broody at the moment but no fertile eggs! my rooster is not doing his job!! I would gladly hand over the eggs to the broodies but they aren't fertile! ..I might try 8 under one of them anyway and check devlopment but all the ones I cracked are not fertile. I see rooster attempt to mate but only half gets on the hen. I have a cockerel in other coop I could let out but I'm worried they'll fight since they try to fight between the fence

 

[LadiesAndJane]

So gorgeous!! I have 3 broody at the moment but no fertile eggs! my rooster is not doing his job!! I would gladly hand over the eggs to the broodies but they aren't fertile! ..I might try 8 under one of them anyway and check devlopment but all the ones I cracked are not fertile. I see rooster attempt to mate but only half gets on the hen. I have a cockerel in other coop I could let out but I'm worried they'll fight since they try to fight between the fence

Seems only one of my girls' eggs are fertile as well. Seems that Jane ( my cockerel) has been playing favorites.

 

[gothicpicasso]

Anyone have any experience with giving a day old chick to a broody silkie? My black hen has been broody for awhile and I don’t have a rooster so the egg she is sitting on will never hatch. My local feed store should get chicks in next week and, while I don’t really want to get anymore chickens right now, I’m tempted to just buy her a single chick and see if she will accept it as having hatched from her egg. I’ve read up on doing this and people saying it works, just wondered if anyone had any first hand knowledge with silkies. If not this then I’ll have to figure out how to break her. Worst part is she refuses to nest in the boxes. She has always laid her eggs in the corner by the pop door and right under one of the roost bars. She wouldn’t let me move her either. She freaked out and would go right back to her corner, this was attempted at night. I’ve left her for a couple of weeks and she seems determined so now I either give her a baby or I break her. I don’t want more than one more chicken and I’d prefer not to have to deal with any roosters, so hatching an egg is out. Any thoughts, as always, are appreciated.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Anyone have any experience with giving a day old chick to a broody silkie? My black hen has been broody for awhile and I don’t have a rooster so the egg she is sitting on will never hatch. My local feed store should get chicks in next week and, while I don’t really want to get anymore chickens right now, I’m tempted to just buy her a single chick and see if she will accept it as having hatched from her egg. I’ve read up on doing this and people saying it works, just wondered if anyone had any first hand knowledge with silkies. If not this then I’ll have to figure out how to break her. Worst part is she refuses to nest in the boxes. She has always laid her eggs in the corner by the pop door and right under one of the roost bars. She wouldn’t let me move her either. She freaked out and would go right back to her corner, this was attempted at night. I’ve left her for a couple of weeks and she seems determined so now I either give her a baby or I break her. I don’t want more than one more chicken and I’d prefer not to have to deal with any roosters, so hatching an egg is out. Any thoughts, as always, are appreciated.

I do not have any personal experience though I do have thoughts! If you try it and it may very well be successful, I would recommend getting three chicks. The reason being if it does not work out and you have to brood the chicks yourself, you don’t want a single chick by itself. Good luck with your efforts, I’ve had friends do this successfully many times.

 

[ChloeSilkie08]

So, I'm sure everyone has seen that my hens are not laying at the moment. I was out with them yesterday and did some observing. I have 2 roos over 8 hens. I'm now realizing maybe this is my problem. The hens don't seemed to be stressed. They are just doing happy, normal chirps. But I'm wondering if the roos are my problem.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

If you don’t want to keep the chicks in the long run or three is too many, you can buy sexed pullets and you can sell them at six weeks of age when mama is done with them!

 

[gothicpicasso]

If you don’t want to keep the chicks in the long run or three is too many, you can buy sexed pullets and you can sell them at six weeks of age when mama is done with them!

Thank you. I didn’t think about just getting extra and then finding new homes for the pullets I didn’t want. It’s not that I don’t want more chickens, I just have specific breeds I’d want and none of them are gonna be found at the local feed store. Plus I was waiting a few years to add more larger hens, once production drops on my four barred rocks. But this is a great idea I could just keep the best pullet. Of course I’ll fall in love with all of them. I know myself. I’ll have to be strong.