Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

[TJAnonymous]

One of my hens did well hatching chicks and caring for them.. then did the jump on roost thing away from chicks a week old (I took roost away and seperated her and chicks in coop with run so no access to get away roosting from them again) and ended up a week later jumping on top of chicks trying to kill them randomly in the run. One moment she's caring for them, next minute she's trampling them! She never will have the chance to be a mother again... So just watch her carefully and if possible seperate her with chicks so she can't roost away from them.

I don't really have anywhere to separate her at the moment. The 2x4 brooder cage I had them in is probably too small at this point and is currently occupied by one of my Silkie roosters who was beat up by the dominant Silkie roo.

I checked in on them tonight after dusk. Elsa is up on the roost again. She had 1 baby snuggled up next to her on the roost. Another was standing in the poop board trying pathetically to snuggle next to my hen, Blossom (who trampled her chicks about a month ago and killed them all). The other 5 were huddled on the ground between a nesting box and the MHP. I shifted everything around so they can all stay under the MHP. I moved the other 2 chicks under the MHP with their siblings.

On a side note, I've got a serious mouse problem in that coop. I bought a large live trap (Viktor Tin Cat) which is capable of holding up to 30 mice. On the first night I put it out (Saturday), I caught over a DOZEN mice in the Silkie coop! Mind boggling... Since then, the mice are avoiding the trap...

These are ordinary field mice. I was worried that they might attack the chicks but they haven't so far. The chicks are over 3 weeks now so they are bigger than the mice. Anyway, after putting the chicks under the MHP and walking out, I peeked back in the window with my headlamp on. My Splash rooster had jumped off the roost and laid down on the floor in front of the MHP. Hoping he helps keep the chicks under the MHP and deters any mice from bothering them....

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

Oh gosh! I don't know what I'll do if I go out and find dead babies! Or lots of mice!
Sounds you are handling it well!
My Granny was awesome at handling all that stuff on the farm. I can remember her opening the feed barrels in the barn and just popping the heads off the mice as she caught em. Yuck!
But the one that really gets us is when a possum was eating her cat food in patio...she went out there to shew it off and it sulled so she wacked it on the patio concrete and killed it and all these possum babies went running out.
Oh Granny!

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

any pics? I would like to see silkies from all over the world.

broody Milli

Vanilli

Mango

One of Vanilli n Mango babies (rehomed)

 

[chickengr]

From Australia, some of mine..
...I love the extra fluffy crests but clean faced is better for seeing to forage and look out for predators, some of mine I really need to trim crests or they walk into walls!
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my 2 smart crested ladies pushed the plastic barrier and jumped into to neighboring plot when my 2 german shepherds got into their run and killed my beautiful roo.

 

[AngBantamLuv]

I don't really have anywhere to separate her at the moment. The 2x4 brooder cage I had them in is probably too small at this point and is currently occupied by one of my Silkie roosters who was beat up by the dominant Silkie roo.

I checked in on them tonight after dusk. Elsa is up on the roost again. She had 1 baby snuggled up next to her on the roost. Another was standing in the poop board trying pathetically to snuggle next to my hen, Blossom (who trampled her chicks about a month ago and killed them all). The other 5 were huddled on the ground between a nesting box and the MHP. I shifted everything around so they can all stay under the MHP. I moved the other 2 chicks under the MHP with their siblings.

On a side note, I've got a serious mouse problem in that coop. I bought a large live trap (Viktor Tin Cat) which is capable of holding up to 30 mice. On the first night I put it out (Saturday), I caught over a DOZEN mice in the Silkie coop! Mind boggling... Since then, the mice are avoiding the trap...

These are ordinary field mice. I was worried that they might attack the chicks but they haven't so far. The chicks are over 3 weeks now so they are bigger than the mice. Anyway, after putting the chicks under the MHP and walking out, I peeked back in the window with my headlamp on. My Splash rooster had jumped off the roost and laid down on the floor in front of the MHP. Hoping he helps keep the chicks under the MHP and deters any mice from bothering them....

What if you get a cat? If you raise it as a kitten around the chickens.. well it will probably think its a chicken too!

 

[HipMystic]

What if you get a cat? If you raise it as a kitten around the chickens.. well it will probably think its a chicken too!

My barn cat gets along great with my chickens! She doesn’t really go in the barn around my Silkie and Polish, but she hangs out in the big chicken run all the time with no issues. I must admit she’s not much of a hunter though

 

[AngBantamLuv]

My barn cat gets along great with my chickens! She doesn’t really go in the barn around my Silkie and Polish, but she hangs out in the big chicken run all the time with no issues. I must admit she’s not much of a hunter though

Sometimes even the smell of cat urine will keep them away! One upside to not hunting, she isn't bringing you presents!

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Gorgeous!!! Kiwi was stunning!
Did u not rename Ginger when you learned she was a roo?
I may be in similar predicament with Gracie!

Nah, his name suits him and I think he recognises it

 

[Silkie Princess]

Ok.. these are the craziest bunch of chicks I've had yet.. flying all around and doing zoomies.. so here are my horrible update pics. Pretty much the silkies hide in the corner when everyone gets crazy.. im going to relocate the big girls soon (i hope), so that will give me an extra brooder to separate the silkies from the polish. The polish are just too big at this point in comparison.

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The good news is, no observable pink on anyone. The polish w the biggest cap looks most similar to how Esmeraldas cap looked.. but the others.. i can't say they look like how the wcb boys looked. Its like only the black cap feathers are growing in (one was hiding w the silkies).

STUNNING

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Ok.. these are the craziest bunch of chicks I've had yet.. flying all around and doing zoomies.. so here are my horrible update pics. Pretty much the silkies hide in the corner when everyone gets crazy.. im going to relocate the big girls soon (i hope), so that will give me an extra brooder to separate the silkies from the polish. The polish are just too big at this point in comparison.

View attachment 2950113View attachment 2950114View attachment 2950115View attachment 2950116View attachment 2950117

The good news is, no observable pink on anyone. The polish w the biggest cap looks most similar to how Esmeraldas cap looked.. but the others.. i can't say they look like how the wcb boys looked. Its like only the black cap feathers are growing in (one was hiding w the silkies).

Omg they are so cute!!!