Silkie thread!

[loraangel]

Thank you so much! Your silkie is so pretty! This is the first time I have had and hatched my own birds. I just love silkies I'm definitely hooked for life! Lol

 

[Jennifer74]

I am in the process of building a coop. I really want to start with silkies. I live in the Hudson, Wi area and Ive heard silkies cant tolerate winters well. What can I do in building my coop to keep it warm enough for them that wouldnt be a fire hazard

 

[emvickrey]

It was suggested that I post this question here on my thread. Any chance you lovely folks can guess the gender of this Silkie? 8 months old and I haven't caught him/her laying or crowing. Ignore the chicken poop in the pics - I cleaned it out after I took them.

Congratulations! You have a BOY

 

[Sylvester017]

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Does my 12 week old silkie look nice enough so far that in the future I might be able to show

Silkies are so cute. Also very popular. Which also means a lot of competition from other entrants. And judging is subjective. All you can do is your best to follow the SOP standards and the rest is up to the judge(s)! GL! Your Silkies are adorable!!!!

 

[Sylvester017]

I am in the process of building a coop. I really want to start with silkies. I live in the Hudson, Wi area and Ive heard silkies cant tolerate winters well. What can I do in building my coop to keep it warm enough for them that wouldnt be a fire hazard

For all their maintenance, we found Silkies one of our easiest breeds to have. My 2 Silkies have outlasted every other breed we've owned. I think you have made a good choice of breed once you have accumulated research and had on-hand experience with them. If you encounter concerns this thread will be happy to assist you. I have one little Black Silkie with CRD issues and once a year like clockwork have to take her to the vet for treatment whether it's for meds, quick nasal surgery, or just to have her checked over and the little bugger keeps living a quality life! True, Silkies don't do well in slushy mud or snow so keeping those tootsies of theirs dry is important - not to mention the rest of their fluff. Double insulated walls is good, even in winter have plenty of cross-air/ventilation near the roof line but not drafty, at least a couple double-pane windows (double pane good for added insulation) for light, lots of entertainment if they're confined like seed toys/tree stumps/chairs/etc, roosting poles at 1', 2', and 3' heights, no steep-incline ladder ramps, ladder cleats no more than 3" apart (we built with 4" cleats and Silkies need closer cleats on the ramp), a ramp at least 12-in wide is better than narrow ramps, a kiddie pool for dust-baths, lots of space (it's a myth that Silkies require less room than large fowl - they can't fly well so as a result need a coop floor with just as much space to run, flap, jump, and forage as much as the large fowl), and a lot of Silkies are pile-up sleepers on floors so provide large enough covered cat litter boxes or similar design for them to pile inside to sleep in case they are floor sleepers. Mine have been nestbox sleepers for 5-yrs no matter what coop design we've had so we upkeep the nestboxes with fresh straw on a regular basis. For a walk-in coop you'll want an overhanging roof so you aren't standing in rain before walking it, and a roof over the egg-collection box to keep rain or snow from blowing into the box as you collect eggs. We built a patio slab and a roof over our newest coop so we have the rain thing solved. We used tarps and a pop-up canopy over our first little coop during rainy weather:

BEFORE - NO RAIN PROTECTION & HAD TO USE TARPS AND/OR POP-UP CANOPY OVER COOP


AFTER - NO MORE RAIN WORRIES IN SAME COOP LOCATION - WITH NEWEST COOP



SILKIE NEST BOX SLEEPERS

 

[darkbluespace]

My babies are getting bigger! I just LOVE my little lavender babies. The color is so beautiful, prettier than I even imagined. I love that I can mix ages with my Silkie chicks, I don't have other breeds that easily do that.

I just hatched another paint chick and lavender showgirl and a few to be determined.

 

[MuscovyMadness]

My babies are getting bigger! I just LOVE my little lavender babies. The color is so beautiful, prettier than I even imagined. I love that I can mix ages with my Silkie chicks, I don't have other breeds that easily do that.

I just hatched another paint chick and lavender showgirl and a few to be determined.

PICTURES!!!! Please. I am having the worst luck finding Showgirls. ......

 

[MuscovyMadness]

My babies are getting bigger! I just LOVE my little lavender babies. The color is so beautiful, prettier than I even imagined. I love that I can mix ages with my Silkie chicks, I don't have other breeds that easily do that.

I just hatched another paint chick and lavender showgirl and a few to be determined.

Duh.....nevermind....server was slow withbthe pics. LoL
Beautiful babies!

 

[darkbluespace]

PICTURES!!!! Please. I am having the worst luck finding Showgirls. ......

Here are some of my showgirl chicks... I have been hatching a lot of black and a few lavender! I am hoping for a paint showgirl as soon as my paint pullets feel like laying!

 

[MuscovyMadness]

Here are some of my showgirl chicks... I have been hatching a lot of black and a few lavender! I am hoping for a paint showgirl as soon as my paint pullets feel like laying!

Sigh.... wonder how long the drive from Northern Virginia to Oregon is. LoL