Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

Thanks for this!
So sad to see these perfectly formed chicks pass right before they hatched!

Yes and if pullet eggs do hatch then chick often fails to thrive, like my past one I thought was cocci but nothing worked after a week she just kept going downhill and wouldn't move at all, I kept trying to hand feed/water but nothing worked..so I had to end it's suffering myself .. other people probably have better pullet egg experiences but mine are not good and I won't hatch from them again.

 

[gothicpicasso]

@LynnaePB or anyone else who wants to chime in! Photos of two different chicks who look very similar. Chick one is one week old today, chick two is four days old today deciding between these two which one to keep. Can you tell me what kind of comb they each have? They look like normal Silkie combs to me but they are so small, I am not sure. Please let me know if you need better photos if you cannot tell from what I have supplied.
Thanks
Chick 1
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Chick 2
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Chick two looks like a normal walnut comb to me. But I’m no expert. Not sure about chick one. The silkie in my avatar pic has a single comb, but I don’t think I have any good pictures of her as a chick that would show it off. Of course she’s as far from a breed standard specimen as one can get. Still love her. She just a cute little odd ball.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Thanks!
Decided to keep chick 2.
She has better feet as well. 5 toes on each foot, clear space in between the fourth and fifth toe and good feathering on the second toe.

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

Chick two looks like a normal walnut comb to me. But I’m no expert. Not sure about chick one. The silkie in my avatar pic has a single comb, but I don’t think I have any good pictures of her as a chick that would show it off. Of course she’s as far from a breed standard specimen as one can get. Still love her. She just a cute little odd ball.

One of my 14 week old chicks has a single comb, sold him. Hard to tell in pics.. but it is pretty obvious when they are only a week or so old.
I am just breeding my closest to quality I have, 2 have red combs so they are in a seperate coop keeping my cockerel company for now not for breeding. .. Also not going breed with characteristics I don't like, bad mothering for example. Nugget will be going in with the cockerel!

 

[LynnaePB]

Thank you for this! Thank you for your excellent descriptions and all the photos. I am a visual learner so this really helps!
I had never heard of slipped wing, but it makes a lot of sense!
Going back and looking at my adult bird photos (it is not quite 400 am here and they have the good sense to be asleep ), I do not see that my birds have it except maybe Zelda? What do you think? I have noticed it in other's birds, but did not know what it was.
I have noticed some chicks have better 4th and 5th toe spacing than others.
How do you tell if the chicks have a single comb this young? I do not think any of these do, but I am not 100% sure. Is it just the small ridge that you look for? Do you happen to have any photo examples?
Thank you so much, I so appreciate all this information!View attachment 2536413

You're very welcome, I'm glad the pictures were helpful!

Zelda does look like she might have slipped wing there although she might just be holding it loosely. When you get the chance to examine it closely you should be able to confirm or not. The primaries should fold/tuck under the secondaries. If they are sitting on top of them instead she has a slipped wing. From what I've seen it is a very common issue. I did not hatch out eggs from a single breeder where there wasn't at least one chick with it and a lot of the time more chicks had it than not.

I'm working on breeding it out of my line. I try to pair the ones with slipped wings with a mate with nice wings and only keep offspring that have nice wings to put back into my breeding program.

I'm afraid I don't have any photo examples of young chicks with single combs. Usually the combs look similar to a chick of a breed that has single combs although maybe a bit smaller. You'll see the comb with the ridge in the center with notable serrated edges. Sometimes they'll have a sort of modified single or single/pea looking comb that can be hard to see at hatch although it usually does look a little off.

The two little ones you posted do look like they probably have regular silkie combs to me. Maybe with a bit of a rough modifier though it's hard to tell. I don't think the standard really calls for the smoother combs I just prefer keeping them as chicks as they seem to be a little less likely to get large thorns on the comb later on which I don't think is as desirable? A lot of my rough combed chicks do end up with combs that look just fine though. I definitely wouldn't hesitate to keep either of those chicks based on the combs.

 

[BleuSaphir]

One of my 14 week old chicks has a single comb, sold him. Hard to tell in pics.. but it is pretty obvious when they are only a week or so old.
I am just breeding my closest to quality I have, 2 have red combs so they are in a seperate coop keeping my cockerel company for now not for breeding. .. Also not going breed with characteristics I don't like, bad mothering for example. Nugget will be going in with the cockerel!
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They are so precious!

 

[TJAnonymous]

OK, I have a question for you Silkie owners. I am thinking about building a new coop just for my Silkies (currently incubating). I know the nesting box has to be low to the ground. I thought about using old kitty litter tubs to make nesting boxes. Like this...

Would Silkies use this?

Also, since Silkies sleep on the ground, what kind of coop litter/bedding do you use? I use a sand/screenings mixture in my regular coop which works wonderfully but those birds don't sleep on the floor! Is anyone using sand bedding with their Silkies?

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Thank you @LynnaePB for your help. I will take a proper look at Zelda!
I appreciate all your input. I love all the detail!
I just want to do the best I can in my very minimal way to improve the birds I have. The market for silkies here is limited, we are a small, mostly rural population on this island, but I would like to offer silkies that are sweet tempered and as close to the breed standard as possible.

 

[PioneerChicks]

OK, I have a question for you Silkie owners. I am thinking about building a new coop just for my Silkies (currently incubating). I know the nesting box has to be low to the ground. I thought about using old kitty litter tubs to make nesting boxes. Like this...

View attachment 2537874

Would Silkies use this?

Also, since Silkies sleep on the ground, what kind of coop litter/bedding do you use? I use a sand/screenings mixture in my regular coop which works wonderfully but those birds don't sleep on the floor! Is anyone using sand bedding with their Silkies?

They'll accept just about anything! Mine often go in a corner of the coop, so I just set up boards around it to give them more privacy. Those buckets should work fine!

 

[LadiesAndJane]

OK, I have a question for you Silkie owners. I am thinking about building a new coop just for my Silkies (currently incubating). I know the nesting box has to be low to the ground. I thought about using old kitty litter tubs to make nesting boxes. Like this...

View attachment 2537874

Would Silkies use this?

Also, since Silkies sleep on the ground, what kind of coop litter/bedding do you use? I use a sand/screenings mixture in my regular coop which works wonderfully but those birds don't sleep on the floor! Is anyone using sand bedding with their Silkies?

My silkies are in a mixed flock, so both types of birds need to be accomodated.
We have low shelves in our coop, about 2 and half feet off the ground. There is a ramp up that the silkies have no problem navigating. The standard birds of course just fly up and do not need the ramp. The shelves have a 2 inch lip, so that the bedding on them does not fall out.
The silkies sleep on these shelves, usually piled up. We have a low roost bar over the shelves, but they do not use them. The nest boxes are 5 gallon buckets from the local home improvement store. These are also at the same height as the sleeping shelves.
The kitty litter buckets you plan to use will work fine. I use pine shavings in the entire coop. I get these is bales via the local hardware store. I have no experience with sand.