Tell me all about silkies!

[JayDee]

Quote:
The first and second replies basically said the same thing -- except the first one assumed the OP was a lazy idiot who hadn't bothered to look and was pretty condescending with the whole WOW bit.
The second one was fine.

And nobody was asking anyone to "do the work for them". I breed and raise kittens. If people ask questions that would take them quite a bit of time to find online that I know off the top of my head, I'll share. Maybe I'm a chump and I should tell them to sod off and stop wasting my precious time. But I don't. And it seems a few others here don't either.

And I replied because I thought it was pretty poop if SecretAgent felt like posting a question on this board, where we've already met some really nice, helpful people was a bad idea because she'd just get snapped at.

 

[Wendy'sChicksRock]

My silkie is broody AGAIN... she will lay everyday for me IF she is not broody. I have had her 6 months and this is the 2nd time broody for her.She tends to rule the roost. The LF hens stay away from her. she does get dirty and we wash her when she really needs it. She does lover her bath and blow dry. She is a real sweet girl who loves to be baby'd by my DD. she will snuggle with you if you let her. Her feet do tend to get mucky fast ( all the poo sticks) but with some effort to keep the coop clean and with fresh shavings I dont have a problem with it now.Mine are white so they show everything. I just got a new silkie from South side silkie Shack at O.N's and am keeping her in her own area, for now and she is fine but when its time to add her to the mix im sure i'll have some issues for a few day... We love our silkies..

 

[secretagent]

Quote:
I don't think asking someone to do some more research is "snotty". As far as "Who has that kind of time?" Well, I could do the same research, asking and searching for all the various answers, but is it really fair to ask someone to spend hours condensing info just so I don't have to? No, not in my opinion.

There are MANY threads about silkies and info all over. JayDee, I am assuming you know secretagent, since you say the OP did "extensive" research, something the OP doesn't claim?

BTW, sometimes replies are just to encourage someone to use the Search functions, and sometimes it's meant as a "bump" up on the list of posts.

JayDee, you posted in this thread - let me ask you this - "]If you've nothing to contribute, why reply?"

I did the search, have been for weeks upon weeks. I tried it over and over again thinking the search function was not working as it brought up pages of threads that rarely mentioned silkie. and yes, i did go through page after page without finding the information i was looking for.

 

[Rathbone]

The reply struck me as off-putting also. I think if someone asks a question and you don't have time to answer it or think they should just "do the research" then a more polite approach would be to simply not leave a reply.
I know that the very first post I did, someone left me a very brusque reply and I nearly walked away from BYC thinking that all people were going to be rude to me. Happily, the next person was kind and I gave BYC a second chance - and happy I did.

 

[secretagent]

Quote:
Those were not snotty replies AT ALL! Those of us who have been doing this for a long time know that the scope of your questions was HUGE and there is no quick or easy answer. Each question could be answered in several pages of information. The suggestion was for your benefit to learn the most from questions that have been asked by every newbie to silkies....including me, a couple of years ago. That way you have a knowledge base that will help you make sense of all the other stuff. The people on here are VERY nice and VERY helpful as long as you don't get defensive on them and prejudge their intentions from a few words. Please relax and go with the flow.....we'll be glad to help you as you help yourself to the wealth of knowledge already available in the archives. You can't get all you need to know instantly. Fortunately, learning about silkies is a lot of fun and I'm enjoying learning more about them all the time. Sort of like the movie: The Neverending Story.

I do understand everyones opinions are different, Rathbone and Sundown Waterfowl gave me answers to my questions without needing to deliver several pages of info. I asked for personal stories and i thought my questions were fairly direct.

We have bred cats for years and i still never get fed up talking about them and would hope that i would never reply to someone the way some did here. Chickens are new to me and i love this site but i nearly logged out or good after the first 2 replies.
Thanks to those who have shared with me.

 

[featherbaby]

Quote:
The first and second replies basically said the same thing -- except the first one assumed the OP was a lazy idiot who hadn't bothered to look and was pretty condescending with the whole WOW bit.
The second one was fine.



And I replied because I thought it was pretty poop if SecretAgent felt like posting a question on this board, where we've already met some really nice, helpful people was a bad idea because she'd just get snapped at.

Please take a step back and look at this in a more kindly tone. No one assumed anyone was a lazy idiot, etc. Those were your words. And the "WOW" you interpreted as condescending was an expression of surprise because the scope and number of your questions covered so much ground! If you read someone's answers in an angry voice it means something totally different than if read in a calm voice doesn't it?

Don't assume people are writing in an angry tone and snapping at you when the interpretation was based on how YOU heard it.....not how they meant it.

 

[SunshineSilkies]

secretagent:
I have a 12x84 pen sectioned off in to 12x4 pens and then a few of the 12x4 pens are split in half. Some of the floors of the pens are dirt and shavings and some are concrete,sand & shavings. If they have a long run outside, Sundown had a good idea. My pens are covered. When I did have other larger fowl breeds, I never kept them together with my silkies. Silkies have a vaulted skull which basically means that they have a hole in the tops of their skulls and when they are young, if they get pecked on the top of the head, it could injure them. If I had hatches that were different breeds, I always separated the silkies from the rest.... I have no roosts in my pens. They would rather lay in the corner all bunched up together, so that saved DH from having to build roosts!

Once my silkies go broody, I, like SundownWaterfowl, will put them on wire if they are laying on nothing for days..

 

[secretagent]

Quote:
Excellent thank you!

My LF are quite good. We havent seen much of bullying with them. the odd peck at the wings seems to be it.
I will have to look into a house where i can put wire down.

 

[SunshineSilkies]

I only put them in a wire pen like Sundown said to break their broodiness...my floors do not have wire...

 

[secretagent]

Wendy'sChicksRock :

My silkie is broody AGAIN... she will lay everyday for me IF she is not broody. I have had her 6 months and this is the 2nd time broody for her.She tends to rule the roost. The LF hens stay away from her. she does get dirty and we wash her when she really needs it. She does lover her bath and blow dry. She is a real sweet girl who loves to be baby'd by my DD. she will snuggle with you if you let her. Her feet do tend to get mucky fast ( all the poo sticks) but with some effort to keep the coop clean and with fresh shavings I dont have a problem with it now.Mine are white so they show everything. I just got a new silkie from South side silkie Shack at O.N's and am keeping her in her own area, for now and she is fine but when its time to add her to the mix im sure i'll have some issues for a few day... We love our silkies..

does your girl have a run or free roam in the garden? I love the fact that sh e enjoys being babied! That is brilliant! I'm trying to prepare myself for every posibilty and once i am aware i dont mind having to do the odd bath. In fairness i bathe a 10kg Maine coon regularly surely i can wash a silkie....