what age should i get

[bellasSILKIES]

for Christmas im getting 2 silkie chickens/chicks and i want to leave them at home for a max of 10 hours what age should i get ?

 

[sunflour]

for Christmas im getting 2 silkie chickens/chicks and i want to leave them at home for a max of 10 hours what age should i get ?

so glad you have joined us.
You should post an intro in the New Members forum to get a proper welcoming.

Could you expand on the " leave home for max 10 hours" - are these to be house chickens? Do you have coop plans yet?

 

[SueT]

Welcome to BYC....you might have to take whatever age is available....do you know people who have Silkies?
If you're getting them at Christmas, you have time to study BYC articles on raising baby chicks, and well, on everything you need to know. If you have chicks that need a heat source, you can set it all up prior to getting them and make sure it's not too hot or cold, so you feel comfortable leaving them all day.
Good luck, let us know how it goes!

 

[IslaBean]

I think 2 weeks is a good age. You want to get them at a younger age because they will be more friendly when they're older if you hold them a lot. I left my 2 week old chicks in a safe spot for 10 hours at a time. Just make sure they are somewhere warm and away from predators.

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC. I agree with @SueT , you may very well have to take what is available. For birds that are set up properly, 10 hours on their own should not be any problem. I always recommend 3 rather than 2 - that way if one dies, there are still 2 to form a 'flock'.

 

[N F C]

Whatever age of silkies you end up getting, enjoy them!

And

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to Backyardchickens.com aka BYC!
We are glad you joined our flock.
Jump right in and make yourself at home.
Get chicks...day old ones.

This video will help you learn how to navigate this site:

A good read:
http://articles.extension.org/pages/69065/feeding-chickens-for-egg-production
Current contest:Official BYC Coop Page Contest - Fall-Winter 2017

 

[rjohns39]

Hi and welcome to BYC We're so happy you've decided to join us

 

[drumstick diva]

Silkies are very difficult to sex before 4-5 mos. of age and sometimes NOT till they crow or lay eggs. Please take this into consideration if you absolutely CANNOT have males where you live.

 

[Teila]

G’Day from down under bellasSilkies Welcome!

I bet you are counting down the days to Christmas and it can not get here fast enough!

You might be interested in checking out this Silkie Thread if you have not already and downloading this free e-book My First Year With Chickens

I agree with sourland that you might want to consider getting 3. Sadly we do lose chickens along the way and if you only have two, one will be very lonely if you do experience a loss.

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

You might want to also Find Your State Thread and pop in and say hello.

Personally, I have found the Topic of the Week articles a great resource and a one stop shop for questions which may have already been discussed within the BYC membership group.

If you would like to share pictures and stories of your Silkies when they arrive, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out