Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

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

  • ME! - I like silkies!

    Votes: 781 95.9%
  • ^

    Votes: 94 11.5%

  • Total voters
    814
:celebrate

First and foremost - ABSOLUTELY NO HATING ON SILKIES ALLOWED!!! If you aren’t here to support our fuzzy friends, don’t respond. :)

Silkies get a bad rap for the following:
"Looks like a dust mop"
"Too hard to maintain"
"Poor immune system"
"Dumber than rocks"
"0 predator awareness"
And oh, so much more.

Well my friends - I thought so too, until I actually got silkies for myself. These are some of the most wonderful birds out there.

I’ve found them to be highly heat tolerant, wonderful mothers, having the strongest immune systems in my Bantam flock, GREAT LAYERS (that’s right folks), adorable as all get out, and more. :D

I currently have 9 silkies - and my rooster has been nothing but a gentleman to his ladies. They free range daily and I’ve not had a silkie get killed by a predator yet. My hens average 5 eggs a week - not too bad for a silkie, eh? :)


Most of the time, these silkie haters haven’t even owned the breed, but rather pretend they know everything. :lol:


So... let the fun begin! Support our silkies! :woot

Pictures always welcome. :)

Be mindful, and respect others...

Off-topic discussions are allowed, though try to maintain the subject of silkies.

-Kayla-
Opal, my splash sweetheart napping in my hat. Not sure what's more gross, her feet or my hat
20221024_192622.jpg
 
Our chances of getting rain through the summer were like winning the lottery...but now we can't catch a break! Flooding, nastiness everywhere!
I have a trench dug bout 2' out from the run to help slow the runoff of rain but the ground is saturated! The run, even covered, is gross. I've got pine bark, pine shavings, leaves, wood chips and straw but it is just awful still.
I keep raking it around to try and let it dry out somewhat but I'm sinking in places that have never even been soft much less muddy!
Yall getting all this rain?
What do yall do?



something like this:

how-to-install-a-stepping-stone-path-179x300.jpg
 
Tootsie is their name, guessing what color they are is the game!
79A0418B-67AB-4D5F-8B83-2DDA85A99A8D.jpeg



What color is Tootsie ?

I know the sire is a recessive white. Only have the one rooster in this group. I’m 90% sure the sire(the recessive white silkie), is partridge underneath the recessive white,(five of the sire’s 13 offspring are some form of partridge). There are only 3 possible mothers.
Possible mothers are:
1. A blue silkie hen. She is definitely the mother of a blue partridge chick so she is carrying partridge. Making her Genotypically (E/e^b), black carrying partridge.
2. A black showgirl hen(black showgirl’s mother was black patterned gold birchen showgirl and her father was blue silkie).
3. A dark brown,(near black) silkie hen with with a small amount of silver and gold leaks mostly on her neck, but some throughout her body’s plumage as well. I suspect her to be the mother.
AB1C8796-22CF-40B7-9007-DB530CCF504E.jpeg

834FFC5B-41A9-4692-B8E2-CC53E682ED2D.jpeg

Tootsie doesn’t have the black “eyeliner” like a partridge, no black and brown chipmunk stripe either so they’re not partridge.



so cute!

my lucky guess: her mother might be either show girl or brown hen. his/her colour is a pretty mix.
 
:celebrate

First and foremost - ABSOLUTELY NO HATING ON SILKIES ALLOWED!!! If you aren’t here to support our fuzzy friends, don’t respond. :)

Silkies get a bad rap for the following:
"Looks like a dust mop"
"Too hard to maintain"
"Poor immune system"
"Dumber than rocks"
"0 predator awareness"
And oh, so much more.

Well my friends - I thought so too, until I actually got silkies for myself. These are some of the most wonderful birds out there.

I’ve found them to be highly heat tolerant, wonderful mothers, having the strongest immune systems in my Bantam flock, GREAT LAYERS (that’s right folks), adorable as all get out, and more. :D

I currently have 9 silkies - and my rooster has been nothing but a gentleman to his ladies. They free range daily and I’ve not had a silkie get killed by a predator yet. My hens average 5 eggs a week - not too bad for a silkie, eh? :)


Most of the time, these silkie haters haven’t even owned the breed, but rather pretend they know everything. :lol:


So... let the fun begin! Support our silkies! :woot

Pictures always welcome. :)

Be mindful, and respect others...

Off-topic discussions are allowed, though try to maintain the subject of silkies.

-Kayla-

This thread popped up on my page again. Let's see if I can find another silke photo. 😁View attachment 3344958View attachment 3344960View attachment 3344959 Or two, or three. I sure miss them. Wish I was well enough to have

This thread popped up on my page again. Let's see if I can find another silke photo. 😁View attachment 3344958View attachment 3344960View attachment 3344959 Or two, or three. I sure miss them. Wish I was well enough to have chickens again.
If you are in Wisconsin you are welcome to visit my fluffy crew🙂
 
@CSolis @chickengr @Hinotori
It was bad here in Winter, so muddy!
In my coop it got quite muddy so I use rubber non slip mats with a few inches of dirt and sand combo on top and that worked well to help drainage. In my run I used rubber non slip floor mats but ones with holes in it so water can pass through but the chickens can walk on top so they don't get muddy feet. I try to think in advance and seed the ground in sections so more grass and less mud.
I also have weed mat with gravel on top in half of the enclosed run for my veg garden path and the chickens are completely dry walking on that, no dirt so no mud.
Should I not be raking the litter around? I rake it to try and spread the wet/dry to mix it up and help the wetter areas when I put down new shavings.
Luv the idea of stripping Christmas tree limbs and using! You don't think the needles would hurt their feet any?
Would love to do the stepping stones but cause the run is on a 30% slant and the litter gets raked around they would just end up covered I think.
Their feet aren't caked in mud...mostly just wet. I'm keeping new shavings down constantly on the worst areas then raking it each day and PRAYING the sun pops out some each day to give us a break!!!
 
So months and months ago I entered a contest for cutest duckling, and I won 18 eggs. Well they were shipped across the country and I embarked on my first ever incubation and hatch. I Iet the eggs sit while I messed with the borrowed incubator. I struggled, being a newbie, and we had ups and downs, but in the end I successfully hatched two chicks. They were from a mixed backyard flock so I had no clue what breeds they would be, but to my amazement they were partially silkie or full on crosses. It is so amazing to watch them grow. Unfortunately, they both turned out to be cockerels, but that’s alright, even if I have to make them their own mini coop and run I will. They are my first ever hatched chicks….. I can’t part with them. They are also GORGEOUS. I have no idea what other breeds they might have in them any thoughts? Oh and while they were in the brooder still (before I knew they were boys) I picked up a silkie rooster in need of rehoming. The full grown rooster is named Cosmo, the gray and brown cockerel is Zip (he pipped and zipped out of his shell extremely fast) and the white one is Dot

Also these pictures are a bit older, I need to get updated ones
 

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So months and months ago I entered a contest for cutest duckling, and I won 18 eggs. Well they were shipped across the country and I embarked on my first ever incubation and hatch. I Iet the eggs sit while I messed with the borrowed incubator. I struggled, being a newbie, and we had ups and downs, but in the end I successfully hatched two chicks. They were from a mixed backyard flock so I had no clue what breeds they would be, but to my amazement they were partially silkie or full on crosses. It is so amazing to watch them grow. Unfortunately, they both turned out to be cockerels, but that’s alright, even if I have to make them their own mini coop and run I will. They are my first ever hatched chicks….. I can’t part with them. They are also GORGEOUS. I have no idea what other breeds they might have in them any thoughts? Oh and while they were in the brooder still (before I knew they were boys) I picked up a silkie rooster in need of rehoming. The full grown rooster is named Cosmo, the gray and brown cockerel is Zip (he pipped and zipped out of his shell extremely fast) and the white one is Dot

Also these pictures are a bit older, I need to get updated ones
Here’s Cosmo
 

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