The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[aoxa]

Mumsy,

Here are some of my young cockerels with pink in their legs.




Younger.


One of the only recent picture showing his feet.

 

[Mumsy]

Since you raised silkies years ago, and raise them now, did you notice a very drastic change? The crests are much bigger than the standard called for. Seems they are getting less and less chicken like.

I like my boys to see and my girls to at least see enough to get around.

Yes! Emphatically! Twenty four years ago, I saw my first Silkie at a large County fair. Everyone and the books also called them "Japanese Silkies". I had never heard of them nor seen one before. It took me a long time to find a breeder fitting the SOP. I bought books, joined the Silkie clubs. Subscribed to Silkie newsletters, joined ABA. Subscribed to their year book. Joined crested Breed clubs, and so on. I was really into this breed. I had no computer. No access to the Internet. I also attended a LOT of shows and looked at as many Silkies as I could find. There were not nearly so many shown in my region then as there are now.

Type, crest, everything is more pronounced now. The word EXTREME comes to mind. Marjorie Best sold me my little Gray pair this Fall. When I first got interested in Silkies, she was the president of the Silkie organization. It was my dream for all these decades to own her breeding. Can't remember off the top of my head what years or the name is of the club. Any hoo...She asked me what books on Silkies I owned. When I told her she said, "You need new books. Nothings the same since those books were written." She gave me a list of new publications and told me in invest on the expensive book about Silkie genetics.

A couple things really surprised me when I started researching the modern Silkie in images and at the show. The crests are no longer that nice round symetrical puff. They are huge, floppy and completely engulf the face and eyes. That is just crazy! Also, that extreme type. How on earth could there be good fertility? I'm really interested to see what happens in the breeding pens of my young stock this summer.

And the emphasis on weird color projects. That has me baffled. Not that the colors aren't pretty but it makes no sense to me. Twenty four years ago you saw White and a few Black at shows here. Good Buff and Good Blue was rare. I never saw a good Partridge Silkie example until this year. I missed a lot in the last couple decades. Breeding for color as the sole reason for a breeding program is just weird to me. I could go on and on. Don't want this to turn into a blog.

 

[rambunctious]

My chicks are marked shipped!!! So excited! I started the ff this am, about 2-3c crumbles, water to cover and a T of UACV. I'll add UNACC to water too..can I add the poulty pack of vitamins to the water w/UNACV?

 

[Pullet Surprise]

Quote: O.K. I am Sooooo gonna' go out and look at chicken legs this afternoon! And if no one has red legs, then on with the pepper!

That is most interesting!

 

[delisha]

My chicks are marked shipped!!! So excited! I started the ff this am, about 2-3c crumbles, water to cover and a T of UACV. I'll add UNACC to water too..can I add the poulty pack of vitamins to the water w/UNACV?

I mix my electrolytes in a gallon of water and use that to make the FF for the first week. you made enough FF to last a long time. How many chicks?

 

[aoxa]

Yes! Emphatically! Twenty four years ago, I saw my first Silkie at a large County fair. Everyone and the books also called them "Japanese Silkies". I had never heard of them nor seen one before. It took me a long time to find a breeder fitting the SOP. I bought books, joined the Silkie clubs. Subscribed to Silkie newsletters, joined ABA. Subscribed to their year book. Joined crested Breed clubs, and so on. I was really into this breed. I had no computer. No access to the Internet. I also attended a LOT of shows and looked at as many Silkies as I could find. There were not nearly so many shown in my region then as there are now.

Type, crest, everything is more pronounced now. The word EXTREME comes to mind. Marjorie Best sold me my little Gray pair this Fall. When I first got interested in Silkies, she was the president of the Silkie organization. It was my dream for all these decades to own her breeding. Can't remember off the top of my head what years or the name is of the club. Any hoo...She asked me what books on Silkies I owned. When I told her she said, "You need new books. Nothings the same since those books were written." She gave me a list of new publications and told me in invest on the expensive book about Silkie genetics.

A couple things really surprised me when I started researching the modern Silkie in images and at the show. The crests are no longer that nice round symetrical puff. They are huge, floppy and completely engulf the face and eyes. That is just crazy! Also, that extreme type. How on earth could there be good fertility? I'm really interested to see what happens in the breeding pens of my young stock this summer.

And the emphasis on weird color projects. That has me baffled. Not that the colors aren't pretty but it makes no sense to me. Twenty four years ago you saw White and a few Black at shows here. Good Buff and Good Blue was rare. I never saw a good Partridge Silkie example until this year. I missed a lot in the last couple decades. Breeding for color as the sole reason for a breeding program is just weird to me. I could go on and on. Don't want this to turn into a blog.

Yes definitely extreme. A few of those extreme breeders told me lots of judges still prefer the less extreme birds. Mine are less extreme. I like them that way. They can (most of them) see well enough to find their way around.

Partridge isn't a project colour, but I know what you mean about all the others. Type first, colour second.

It's the same with all breeds in the colour department. So many different projects going on.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote: Did you leave the cut grass where they lay and gather it all up after it was dried or put them in your barn to dry?

For drying, I raked mine up and put it in rows to dry. Just one afternoon did it. Sometimes I put it on the cement drive and sometimes I just left it in the grass depending on how wet/dry the grass base was.

But.... I have a 2 acre area that I've just been mowing and not using the clippings. I'd like to find out if there is someone in the area that would mow and bale it in small bales. I've never checked on that before so I don't know if 2 acres is too small and if the price to have someone do it too high. I have no idea of what to expect.

Any of you farm-experienced folks know anything about that? I just keep thinking that it's just going to waste and I'd like to use it.

 

[Mumsy]

Yes definitely extreme. A few of those extreme breeders told me lots of judges still prefer the less extreme birds. Mine are less extreme. I like them that way. They can (most of them) see well enough to find their way around.

Partridge isn't a project colour, but I know what you mean about all the others. Type first, colour second.

It's the same with all breeds in the colour department. So many different projects going on.

Yes! I agree with you! I truly want to show next year but I will not change my breeding program to suit a current preference from some judge. I will do it for fun and to compete against my peers for the experience but that's it.

About Partridge, yep. That's what I meant. I knew it was and is a standard color pattern but it was so uncommon to see a good one, people were always trying to get one back then it seemed.

I scanned an image out of one of my so called "out dated" Silkie publications. This is what people were striving to breed in 1981 and 1997 when I was first interested.



Not only are the crests on both sexes nice and moderate, look at the lack of extreme chest on the male depicted! Silkie males now can barely see the ground, their chests are so extreme and head thrown back! Don't get me wrong. I love Silkies. Then as I do now. But...I want to be careful and not breed a flock of birds for myself where form comes before function.

 

[jendodd79]

Guess I never knew that grass clippings could cause sour crop. When I had chickens in a run they would follow the mower and I aimed the discharge at them so they could get some.... BTW, I hate runs......

Now, when they are paying attention, some still follow the mower, and when I finish an area they are there! Could be clippings although I suspect it is displaced bugs that they like to introduce to the Crop Hotel!

I also hate runs, but unfortunately in our R zoning, we aren't allowed to free range chickens. Heck, we've only been allowed to have chickens for a month! Also unfortunately, I can't convince my husband to move to an A zone. He has terrible memories of being a broke college student, labouring on farms in the summer, poor baby. Lol!

 

[rambunctious]

I mix my electrolytes in a gallon of water and use that to make the FF for the first week. you made enough FF to last a long time. How many chicks?

Crap! I was wondering if I was over doing it! I just wanted to get something started this AM! I've got 16 coming..how much to they eat?!