What is wrong with this goofy hen?

[heatherlaw]

If its cuddly silkies you want they can be tamed fairly easily. The rooster maybe not so much if hes mature but the hen can be bribed When ive let my silkie raise babies they arent tame at first, but grab a bag of goodies and a chair and go sit with the girls each day. Hand out treats, but only if they take them from your hand or right next to you. Once they are used to it try picking her up. She will panic the first few times but set her on your lap and offer favorite treats. A little patience and she will be your cuddle buddy for life!

 

[rebrascora]

I'm also sorry. I was trying to inject a little humour into my response.... as you had in your question.
I find that broodies become much tamer once they have chicks and you are handling them and the chicks regularly. That said I appreciate they will probably never be as tame as brooder reared chicks. I just think it's sad that we place technology ahead of natural instinct and I feel bad for your broody who is obviously desperate to rear chicks. It just seems a terrible waste of a good broody to take eggs off her and put them in a machine that can only do, at best, half the job she can.

Good luck with your hatch and I hope my contribution to this thread will not cause you to abandon the site. There is much good information and advice her.... we just have different ideas and ways of expressing them.

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[silkiecuddles]

heatherlaw and silkiecuddles, your responses didn't offend me, it was rebrascora and lazy gardener that threw me through the door. Quite harsh for not knowing all the details, IMHO.
But thank you two for the advice. I really appreciate it. The hen and rooster are my first silkies and I got them in April this year. They were never handled and were free. I love them very much, but I do want some silkie cuddles!! 

With silkies, I've heard a lot of people say they grow nicer as they grow older.
Treats and patience, and they should come around

Best of luck to you with your two, and hopefully all your eggs will hatch!

 

[romien]

I'm sorry if I caused offense. Never intend to do so. But, did not have the info about Mama being on the wild side. And, please don't let disagreeable posts keep you from posting in the future. Just realize that everybody responds from their own experience, and it's hard for me to sift through all of the details, and give thoughtful responses without all of the details. I wish you the best with your incubation. And, perhaps broody hen may come around to being a friendly gal when you break her, and show her your bag of treats! ? asked about size of set up b/c many newbies start out with a tiny little doll house coop, and cram it full of chickens.

Apology accepted...I am not a newby, only on this forum. I have raised Phoenix chickens for several years and I have had the honor of raising Plymouth Rocks and Rhode Island Reds. The silkies are new to me though and I have plans for my new babies and I am excited for them to hatch. One is pipping right now. I would love to tame the female like I did the male, but she is so hard to catch and she is quite small. She is like chasing down a feral piglet and when I do finally catch her, she is just terrified and shakes and shakes. So to keep her at ease, I just don't handle her but I steal her eggs. I will let her have a couple next year when it is Spring.

 

[romien]

I'm also sorry. I was trying to inject a little humour into my response.... as you had in your question.
I find that broodies become much tamer once they have chicks and you are handling them and the chicks regularly. That said I appreciate they will probably never be as tame as brooder reared chicks. I just think it's sad that we place technology ahead of natural instinct and I feel bad for your broody who is obviously desperate to rear chicks. It just seems a terrible waste of a good broody to take eggs off her and put them in a machine that can only do, at best, half the job she can.

Good luck with your hatch and I hope my contribution to this thread will not cause you to abandon the site. There is much good information and advice her.... we just have different ideas and ways of expressing them.

Best wishes

Barbara

Thank you Barbara, I appreciate that very much!!

 

[kajira]

Silkies broodiness, is one of the reasons why we are trying to get silkies intermingled into our flocks, along with cochins. We handle our chickens enough, that i'm fairly certain any broody-raised babies would be friendly because mom's trust us.

Earn her trust, and let her raise the babies.

 

[romien]

If its cuddly silkies you want they can be tamed fairly easily. The rooster maybe not so much if hes mature but the hen can be bribed

When ive let my silkie raise babies they arent tame at first, but grab a bag of goodies and a chair and go sit with the girls each day. Hand out treats, but only if they take them from your hand or right next to you. Once they are used to it try picking her up. She will panic the first few times but set her on your lap and offer favorite treats. A little patience and she will be your cuddle buddy for life!

When I first got the silkies, I would hold them every day for about a week. The male accepted it, but never came to me and never would eat out of my hand. The female just hated it so much and never would relax in my lap. She would shake and shake and would try to get away ever chance she got. It got to the point that the whole ordeal was just stressing her out, so I just let her be. Maybe with her seeing that the babies will come to me, maybe she and I can start again.

 

[heatherlaw]

I hope so. Tame silkies are so much fun! My favorite chicken ever was my "lap rooster" Fred. He just loved cuddles. He got overheated this summer and didnt make it. Im still sad about it. Darn California vally gets up to 113 degrees sometimes.

 

[romien]

First baby silkie any minute now!!

 

[romien]

And here it is ♡♡♡♡