Silkie thread!

[dwegg]

Ok guys...I am about to separate some of my silkies by color into breeding pens...I am going to concentrate on buff, splash and paint

My question is...how long do I wait to collect eggs to hatch to make sure they are pure colors from each pen

Because at the moment they are all in together and the boys have been having fun with everyone if you know what I mean....I have checked the eggs and they are all fertile at the moment but I do not what mixed (color) silkies....

 

[GoldBarRanch]

I dont have photos because they are so darn small! I can try to get a photo later tho. To me it sounded like mites because the silkies had build up on the base of their feathers by their scalp (it looked like mud and since the silkies play in the mud and rain it wasnt really a surprise. if they had mud on them) I really hate wild birds. How do i keep wild birds out of my pens?

Hi Swissmiss, Have you tried DE on them and inside the pens?I put this in my feed barrels so all my animals consume the DE. I also keep in dusted on all my animals ans in the pens. Kills all the pest and keeps smells down to and helps with the flys. Make sure its FOOD GRADE sold at the feed shops only NOT the kind at home depot because that kind isnt safe around amimals and humans. Here is a good link for info DE. http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/defaq.html

Hope this helps
god bless
Kat

 

[GoldBarRanch]

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.

NovaAman , This is just heart breaking, This month seems everyone has been having losses. Dont beat yourself up about not getting it done due to $$ this is just a part of life and even if you had finished it , that Coon would have broken into the coop if he wanted in bad enoungh ,they can chew through anything.

 

[Hawkeye95]

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

Yes indeed, you are filed away! LOL I'll never remember that either-- so again, copied and pasted into my file.

Ok guys...I am about to separate some of my silkies by color into breeding pens...I am going to concentrate on buff, splash and paint
My question is...how long do I wait to collect eggs to hatch to make sure they are pure colors from each pen
Because at the moment they are all in together and the boys have been having fun with everyone if you know what I mean....I have checked the eggs and they are all fertile at the moment but I do not what mixed (color) silkies....

Everyone has told me 2 weeks-- up to a month! I bet at 3 weeks you'd be fine.

Hi Swissmiss, Have you tried DE on them and inside the pens?I put this in my feed barrels so all my animals consume the DE. I also keep in dusted on all my animals ans in the pens. Kills all the pest and keeps smells down to and helps with the flys. Make sure its FOOD GRADE sold at the feed shops only NOT the kind at home depot because that kind isnt safe around amimals and humans. Here is a good link for info DE. http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/defaq.html

Hope this helps
god bless
Kat

DE won't actually kill mites on contact like Sevin will. Once you see how fast Sevin works, you'll never try anything else again. You sprinkle it on and within minutes, all mites are dead and falling off. It's immediate since it uses carbaryl. DE works as an exoskeleton abrasive which will then kill. You have to wonder if it's so abrasive-- do you want that on your skin?? Here is what DE actually says: Diatomaceous Earth kills by physical action, not chemical. The tiny diatoms scratch off the insect's waxy coating, and dehydrate it.

I think DE is better used for consumption than by sprinkling on the skin.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Ok guys...I am about to separate some of my silkies by color into breeding pens...I am going to concentrate on buff, splash and paint

My question is...how long do I wait to collect eggs to hatch to make sure they are pure colors from each pen

Because at the moment they are all in together and the boys have been having fun with everyone if you know what I mean....I have checked the eggs and they are all fertile at the moment but I do not what mixed (color) silkies....

I've been told at least a month to be sure they are clear.

 

[ThePigeonKid]

This is my partridge silkies:

Is this how they are supposed to look?

 

[Debbi]

Ok guys...I am about to separate some of my silkies by color into breeding pens...I am going to concentrate on buff, splash and paint
My question is...how long do I wait to collect eggs to hatch to make sure they are pure colors from each pen
Because at the moment they are all in together and the boys have been having fun with everyone if you know what I mean....I have checked the eggs and they are all fertile at the moment but I do not what mixed (color) silkies....

I have found here it takes a good FIVE WEEKS to make sure they are clear of all unwanted sperm. If you believe it when someone tells you it only takes 2 weeks, you will eventually find out, as I did, that they were very wrong. I did a test mating at 4 weeks, and still got some of the old roos soldiers in there. With the 5 weeks, all was good. Others will differ, this is just what I have found to be true here, and it is what I will go by from here on out.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: Well, I have been told that newer sperm tends to be stronger and thus override sperm that has been there for quite awhile. My suggestion would be to separate all the boys from the girls, after whatever number of weeks you want to try, do the fertility test (looking for several days in a row of INFERTILE eggs), then put the proper boy in the pen with that/those girls.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

This is my partridge silkies:

Is this how they are supposed to look?

Well, yes and no. You have a pet quality non-bearded partridge cockerel. So, if you are looking for a super fluffy show winning bird, you don't have it. If you are looking for a fine pet, you do.

 

[KMHunter]

I would like to know about everyones experience in adding to your silkie flock. Or putting different age chicks together. How are Silkies at that? Are they as mean as other breeds? Is there a serious pecking order?
I have 4 week olds and am hatching some, due anyday now. At what point do you think it would be ok to put them in the same x-large brooder, then into the coop.
I have a seperate brooder right now, but my end goal is to wait on putting them into the coop I have until all of them can go outside.
Any ideas?