The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Scott H]

Quote:
Yes, that was going to be my last ditch effort!
We do have a free standing gas stove and a gas cook top oven so we are warm and full.

 

[Scott H]

Power back off. .. :-(

 

[delisha]

Sexing my silkie:

My silkie is about 10 weeks old now. I need to look it up to be sure. I really do not see a comb..but i will try to get another picture. Hatched Aug 30th. So it is 12 weeks old.

OK hope these comb pictures help.

 

[Scott H]

Sexing my silkie:

My silkie is about 10 weeks old now. I need to look it up to be sure. I really do not see a comb..but i will try to get another picture. Hatched Aug 30th. So it is 12 weeks old.

That's gotta be tough! It's all you can go by is the comb? No hackle feathers on a silkie, is there?

 

[delisha]

Quote: When silkies mature..males have *streamers* in the crest. This chick is too young to have streamers I think.

 

[Nickeyo]

In my experience silkies are very hard to sex until a lot later than most breeds, my friend had a silkie that was hen like for weeks but then became very rooster ish, and I have a silkie cross that was like a hen until quite late and then suddenly boomed into a rooster, if I was u I would put a strange hen in with it and see how it reacts

 

[Scott H]

Girls got out today finally but seemed out of sorts with the snow. I think Juanita, Silver Laced is molting.Her head is looking really ragged.


From left to right....Oprah (Blue Laced Red Black), Juanita (Silver Laced) and Tina (Partridge)

Appetites were a bit off as well. Right now they are just standing in a bare spot out of the snow looking sorta miserable.







In the top photo notice the lack of re in Juanita's comb and wattles. She has yet to lay and she was hatched the end of last January! Slacker. Really noticeable in the bottom picture, too. The other two have been laying since July. Same age.

 

[Pozees]

Delisha it looks girlish to me - has it ever pecked at your fingers? Someone once tipped me off to only male youngsters pecking at my hands, and so far that's been dead on. Any chick that has pecked at my hands has been male.

 

[Mrs Hutcherson]

I have a chicken that was hurt by a dog, I had to cut the feathers off of her head to stitch her up. How long should I wait to reintroduce her back to the flock? Should I wait until her feathers grow back? Ive taken her out to visit through a fence, but they try to peck/hurt her. What should I do? This is my first injured chicken....

 

[Scott H]

Do you have any Blue Kote you could put on her? Sorry about you girl....seems dogs are one of the most common chicken attackers.