Silkie thread!

[vjwilmoth]

Brand new Silkies

AHHHH those are so cute!!!!

 

[Tikkijane]

I have horrible news. A coon got in my silkie coop last night. I lost all of my silkies except my roo roger... the one that got scalped by a hawk a month or so ago, and 3 wyandotte chicks that Leila was fostering. It managed to get in by going in between the dog run and the coop, pulling the fencing off on that side of the coop tractor. I put that side against the dog run cuz I knew it was a weak side until I could buy the last of my trim wood to sandwiche the last section of fencing. I am so mad at myself. I just ran out of money and still needed about $30 in wood, and was getting that on tuesday when I get paid again. I can see on the fencing where it tried to get in at other places as couldn't, so I know I did a good job there, but I thought that putting the tractor up against the dog run on its weak spot wouldnt give room for anything to get through.


Lesson learned. I am so mad I am in tears.

 

[Tikkijane]

Wish I could still find those larger bags; best I can find is a 3-pack of 1 lb cans. And most places don;t even have those.

Ya, same here. Maybe it has something to do with desert SW?

 

[Tikkijane]

I'm so sorry, but you really can't add just one.

Just kidding!! Silkies are wonderful with children. They become like limp puppies with lots of handling. Hatchery silkies and feed store silkies don't have the beautiful crests that breeders raise and don't often have the very fluffy feet that makes them so charming. Silkies don't develop much crest until 10 to 12 weeks.

I would have to agree to not getting just one (although, I confess to being a pusher.

) since they are social. Also, because you can't sex silkie chicks, you might end up with boys. Plus, because they are bantams, they really only count as 1/2 a chicken.

That means, imo, you should get at least 6 to begin with, especially if you need to get rid of the boys.

Yes, I am an expert at chicken math.

 

[SilverSilkie]

I love how easily you are able to make your point and with the great pictures! Each time you do this, I copy it all and add it to a file I started a while back where you have explained so many things that are very straight forward. I am going to have a book of your explainations! LOL (or more like a handbook for quick reference for myself) By the way, I have a silver laced Wyandotte that ended up being 'reversed' in color-- exactly like your last two pictures! I was wondering how that had happened, so that is really neat. Thank you!

I knew it, one day I would end up in a file ;-)

Silver laced is a complex to inherit genotype ! Everything MUST be in place or the "clean" single lacing will be disturbed.
The wyandottes have the black-tails on the genotype eb/eb Co/Co (db+PgMl//db+PgMl) S/S*S/- this In contrast to the Sebright with laced-tails on the genotype ER/ER Co/Co (DbPgMl//DbPgMl) S/S*S/-
The genes between ( // ) inherit by linking on crossing over because they are positioned very close on the chromosome. Just 1 allel not in homozygous and the "clean" single lacing is disturbed.
Since several other patterns are close related (made by a combination of the same color-genes) it not is surprising you can become a different phenotype.
Several of these "combinations" I described in the basic-color-genetic-guide : https://sites.google.com/site/colorgenesandfeathers/ go to : Combinazioni tra geni

 

[Tikkijane]

I just had to tell you guys, my newbies went into the coop with the big girls last night. All is well....and my silkie cockerel "crowed" for the first time. My hubby said "what was that?" We laughed....first attempts at a crow. Too funny.

Today is lockdown day! Yay! Babies are on the way.

I LOVE the rusty barn door crow! Two of mine (the sultans) are crowing, and Blossom is definitely more practiced that Snowball. When they get a duet going, it is a total riot. Dot (the silkie) has yet to crow, but he has a lovely comb and wattles. And he rumbles with them, so he's definitely a he. I don't mind that he's quiet right now, though. It's going to be a symphony when he starts! LOL.

 

[Debbi]

I LOVE the rusty barn door crow! Two of mine (the sultans) are crowing, and Blossom is definitely more practiced that Snowball. When they get a duet going, it is a total riot. Dot (the silkie) has yet to crow, but he has a lovely comb and wattles. And he rumbles with them, so he's definitely a he. I don't mind that he's quiet right now, though. It's going to be a symphony when he starts! LOL.

Or, the strangled kitten crow!

I have a young cockerel that has two different crows. One is so loud and long, his neck is stretched to capacity, and at the end he is completely out of breath. The other one is abbreviated, like a "Er, er, ooo". Just guess he has little to say when he does that one?

 

[Sanna]

I am scared to death to let mine free range! Too many hawks, cats, and dogs that do and don't recognize them as chickens! So, I go and pick them their greenage every night. Right now the blackberries are starting to ripen, and my White male, Bossy, (my avatar), let's me know it, as they are right outside of his run. So, tonight I picked a bunch of ripe blackberries for him and his women and chicks. OMG, you should've seen the scramble!! I sure hope poor Bossy got at least one. He is such a gentleman, he calls the girls and chicks over to the treats, and stands back and let's them have it all. He is the proud Papa, and when the 6 chicks get cold or scared, they all huddle in between his legs! That's getting kind of crazy now, as they are about 2 1/2 weeks and growing like weeds; not enough room for all of them at once, but there he stands and shelters them all. It is so nice to be able to finally watch, learn, and enjoy chicken behavior! I have never had that luxury before, nor have I ever had broodies! They have a very close family dynamic going on there, it's amazing to me...

Isn't it funny how nice some roosters are? We have two roosters with 8 hens and 7 chicks. All in the same pen. The smaller rooster literally feeds the chicks. He'll go and pick a piece of food off the ground, call the chicks and drop it right infront of their face. lol The bigger rooster is like "the Daddy Day Care"...and night care too.

The chicks all sleep with him at night. Still, at month and a half. During the day, if they get scared, some of them go running to this rooster. I swear, he loves it! Moms are done with these chicks. They'd like to sit on more eggs now.

They are such funny creatures.

 

[ThaiChick]

So, I have a smarty pants on my hands.

I didn't think about weight the trap down, and the coon just rolled the trap over and over and ate the bait through the trap... Going to try again tonight, with a different trick I just read about. I hope it works. Put the bait in a hole under the trap, weight the trap down, and make sure it can't be tipped/rolled... Going to use more left over turkey, and maybe some peanut butter...

I've had that same problem in the past. I staked down my trap with a peice of rebar.

 

[chisNchickens]

I think this thread talks more about color genetics than any other thread. I learn a lot when I just sit here and lurk.

Noooo...try the black copper marans thread. Gives me a headache!