South Carolina

[RedBugPoultry]

Color Help: Can I get some help with color on these silkies? I think the first one is a silver(or is it blue, grey?) and the bottom picture I believe is a buff? Do you think the little one in the middle picture could be a splash?

I am just guessing from looking at other peoples pictures.

Yes, my babies are hot today!

I went out and found the splash out of the pen--not sure how it did that....

 

[WestKnollAmy]

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Oh, I am so sorry to hear that!

My neighbor loses hers all the time to raccoons. She traps them, kills them and more come in. Fort Knox is about the only way to go. Or chain a big dog out there. They often go around a dog but it does alert you to get your gun.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

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I think the first one is blue but it is hard to tell from the photos. It may be a dark gray but they usually have a bit different coloring. Your other one is not buff, it looks Isabel.

Terribly hot! I am so tired of taking frozen jugs and bags of ice out to the waterers, then realizing they need more water (I just filled them this morning!) and by the time I finally get it all done I am about give out! Surely they don't want to eat too?!

 

[tink]

Susanne...Sorry about the sting. When I was a kid I always thought everyone swelled up like a balloon. It wasn't til I was an adult that I realized my swelling wasnt normal. I probably should carry some kind of anti swell thing...but I don't. Never had trouble breathing.....just blow up like a balloon.

Hope you feel better soon
Tink

 

[Lroach711]

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That is SO cute!! You did a great job!

 

[WestKnollAmy]

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I would have caught it for ya~ well on second thought yours deserved death since it ate your eggs! I found a snake outside one day and caught it with a pair of tongs until I found out whether it was poisonous or not

I have never seen one that big around here though

I don't know how I'd react!! I'm really sorry about your eggs though~ and did he eat any of the chicks or just the eggs alone?

Hey Tiffany - this snake has been getting 5 or 6 eggs every other day for a couple of weeks now. I'm missing a few baby ducklings that just disappeared so I'm not sure if he got them or not. In the past, snakes have taken a toll on my birds, eggs and finances (not to mention nerves). I have them get inside the house, can't tolerate that. Last year one 8 footer took out 12 guinea keets, 5 peachicks and who knows how many eggs in just one week. That's a huge financial loss as guineas sell from $4 - $12 each and peafowl sells from $35 - $200 each depending on age. And the eggs....$3 - $50 per doz, snakes don't care if they eat "eating" eggs or "hatching" eggs. Sorry if I've offended anyone about the snake, but for me they are a terrible predator, second only to coyotes in the number of birds they kill. I have a bird and egg farm, snakes eat both and in my personal experience they prefer them to mice. But if any of you would like to rehome my snakes, PM me your phone number and I'll call you when I find the next one (or 12). I'd be glad for you to come and get it and remove it. I'd really prefer not to kill any animal. Also, for those of you building pens and coops, hardware cloth is the safest wire to use but snakes can still squeeze in it too sometimes. My dear friend had a snake squeeze in 1/2 x 1/2 hardware cloth on a homemade canary cage (in his basement) and the snake ate 17 canaries and then couldn't get back out. This was in just one day. What a huge loss that was, they were recessive white canaries and very expensive ($100 each or better). So be careful with your baby chicks. This is why I don't put mine out as early as others do.

Well, I am glad you took care of that old snake. I have been looking in my nest boxes before I put my hand in just in case! I am hoping the sulfer is keeping them away but with the rain every day I am having to buy a lot of it and I just can't work all that into my budget.

If one gets into my barn, I take it out. I know they are useful but my chicks are too important to me. Some people think that is the way the world works but to me they are a predator that has to be dealt with, same as a fox or raccoon. I have some nice stock growing up and they slither in and take out my future.

Now maybe you will get more eggs every week. I know it is such a struggle to fill orders when those snakes come up and get the eggs. Food out of your mouths! My problem has always been losing chicks to them instead of eggs though.

 

[RedBugPoultry]

I will try to get a better picture of my grey/blue/silver silkie. I am hoping she is a she. I was sitting with my silkies yesterday trying to get them to tell me who was a rooster and who wasn't and I noticed that the two I know are roosters have little longer spikes growing out of their crests. Are these just new feathers that will make their crest fuller or is it like the polish and they get spikes like the roos do in that breed? Can anyone shed some light on this? I notice that several others, that I think might be rooster, are doing the same thing but 3 I am hoping are hens are not getting these, at least not yet.

On another note~My DH dropped a snag last night near my silkie pen and must have scared them pretty good because I had to pick them up last night and put them in their enclosure where they spend the night. Usually they go in on their own and I close the door. I was not out there when DH dropped the tree, nor did he tell me how close he came to their pen. Looking at how he had to drop it with a cable on his tractor to avoid hitting the pen I am glad he did what he did! If it had fallen on its own it would have been on my little chicken hutch!

 

[gvilledh]

Is there anywhere close to the Greenville area to buy DE without having to order it? I was going to go to TR Feed and Seed today, but thought I would ask on here before running in all directions.
Also, Lou Ann and I are off Friday and next week and thinking of visiting one of the farms nearby. We have visited Huckleberry last week. It is great to see all the different breeds of chickens and see what we have to look forward to. Does anyone want visitors for a couple of hours one day?
Gave the chicks oatmeal last night. I haven't had that much fun in a long time!

 

[Jackie B.]

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Brown Feed and Seed across the street hass 3lb-50 lb bags of it.

 

[RedBugPoultry]

Here are some more pics of the blue/silver silkie. As you can see she has the silvering around her neck.

The upper picture is a better one of her as this one makes her look darker than she is.

This is what I think is a partridge roo.

What do people think of the colors? All of these birds are from the same hatch except the little chick I posted yesterday that I was wondering if it was a dark splash. All but two of this hatch has single combs--bummer. They have great feet--toe wise, but not a lot of feathering. All roos from this hatch will probably have to find new homes and probably hens later. They all have wonderful personalities!