Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

[LadiesAndJane]

Kinoko, my Polkie in all her feathered glory! She is just stunning when the sun hits her black feathers. She’s been paying for her keep by my selling her hatching eggs as Polkies are becoming more popular.
I have one of her eggs in the batch I just set today. Had room in the incubator for the last egg she laid before she went broody, along with the eggs from my paint and black Silkie pullets.

 

[SilkieFamily]

Kinoko, my Polkie in all her feathered glory! She is just stunning when the sun hits her black feathers. She’s been paying for her keep by my selling her hatching eggs as Polkies are becoming more popular.
I have one of her eggs in the batch I just set today. Had room in the incubator for the last egg she laid before she went broody, along with the eggs from my paint and black Silkie pullets.
View attachment 3256761

What a stunning hen! If you want to share fertilized eggs lmk

 

[LadiesAndJane]

These 3 hatched in the past 24 hours.
Had 15 Silkie and Polkie eggs to start with, sold 7 half way through incubation to a customer that wanted to put them under a broody (3 of these have hatched so far), several were early quitters, so just have these 3 Silkie nuggets left. One blue, one blue paint and one black paint. Pretty sure all the eggs came from Kana.
Same photo on the hatch-a-long.

 

[LynnaePB]

Okay, here goes... Its 7 photos.
LoL
I asked because I know sometimes people get too sensitive about certain things...
No way I could ever, stand and watch, either of these guys hurt one another. I love them like I love my kids.
They are video captures.
My video is a whole 9 seconds.
Shaemus (little guy) is 100% the instigator and he dont run straight to Cash Money (big guy) and jump on him.
Shaemus waits until Cash is preoccupied and bum rushes him, catching Cash off guard, everytime.

This time, I was in Cash coop and was videoing some of his bigger chicks. I was sitting on a upright cinder block.
I could see Cash to my left.
The coop door was open all the way. Shaemus and his hens WERE all the way across my backyard. Were..
I then noticed Shaemus (to my right) standing in Cash coop doorway, looking in opposite direction of Cash.
Cash leaned back to belt out one of his amazing crows. All of a sudden, Shaemus ran into Cash so hard, he fell over on the ground...
On like a chicken bone...
It too me a few seconds to put together what just happened...
LoL..
I wasnt laughing while I caught it on video...
I laughed so hard when i played it back in slow motion..
Im almost 52, and some of us women dont like laughing way too hard... . (yall know)...

Anyway...
Shaemus is a gangster.View attachment 3256387View attachment 3256388View attachment 3256389View attachment 3256390View attachment 3256391View attachment 3256392View attachment 3256393

Wow those are some amazing shots!

Hey folks, got a quick question. What do you do with your spare roos?

All four of the Silkies I purchased in June appear to be male, and I really don't want any more roosters running around. Is it cost-effective to raise them to slaughter weight? Or am I better off trying to give them away free of charge? I live in a very rural area and most people aren't looking for roosters - even free ones.

It can be really hit and miss but I've had some luck selling extra boys on craigslist.

Kinoko, my Polkie in all her feathered glory! She is just stunning when the sun hits her black feathers. She’s been paying for her keep by my selling her hatching eggs as Polkies are becoming more popular.
I have one of her eggs in the batch I just set today. Had room in the incubator for the last egg she laid before she went broody, along with the eggs from my paint and black Silkie pullets.
View attachment 3256761

She is just gorgeous! Looking like that I can see why the Polkies are gaining popularity!

These 3 hatched in the past 24 hours.
Had 15 Silkie and Polkie eggs to start with, sold 7 half way through incubation to a customer that wanted to put them under a broody (3 of these have hatched so far), several were early quitters, so just have these 3 Silkie nuggets left. One blue, one blue paint and one black paint. Pretty sure all the eggs came from Kana.
Same photo on the hatch-a-long.
View attachment 3257011

Aww congratulations on the new babies! Kana sure makes adorable little fluffballs with Eko!

 

[chickengr]

I just picked Shaemus up.
They have never gotten blood and I do check them out when they do this. Cash pulls Shaemus feathers out a little, but not much.
Shaemus only goes for Cash, and there are several roosters, all in separate coops of their own, that he could choose from..

Funny thing..
I have 2 Brahma, 2 Polish and 1 Black Game rooster. All have separate coops with their own hens and each coop is not attached to any other coop. They are about 3 feet apart from the next coop. They are closer to Shaemus than Cash is.

Shaemus only goes for Cash..
Crazy little roo

do you mind posting pics of your coops? I am going to need separate coops for different breeds and looking for ideas.

 

[GingerRose]

do you mind posting pics of your coops? I am going to need separate coops for different breeds and looking for ideas.

I sure will.
As soon as I get back home.
I love our coops being separated.
I don't like putting up blinders/barriers so the roosters wont fight through the fence.
I like to be able to see my flocks from my kitchen window..

 

[GingerRose]

Wow those are some amazing shots!



It can be really hit and miss but I've had some luck selling extra boys on craigslist.



She is just gorgeous! Looking like that I can see why the Polkies are gaining popularity!


Aww congratulations on the new babies! Kana sure makes adorable little fluffballs with Eko!

My "shots" are actually taken out of the 9 second video.
I could not have gotten these otherwise...
Thank you

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

Okay, here goes... Its 7 photos.
LoL
I asked because I know sometimes people get too sensitive about certain things...
No way I could ever, stand and watch, either of these guys hurt one another. I love them like I love my kids.
They are video captures.
My video is a whole 9 seconds.
Shaemus (little guy) is 100% the instigator and he dont run straight to Cash Money (big guy) and jump on him.
Shaemus waits until Cash is preoccupied and bum rushes him, catching Cash off guard, everytime.

This time, I was in Cash coop and was videoing some of his bigger chicks. I was sitting on a upright cinder block.
I could see Cash to my left.
The coop door was open all the way. Shaemus and his hens WERE all the way across my backyard. Were..
I then noticed Shaemus (to my right) standing in Cash coop doorway, looking in opposite direction of Cash.
Cash leaned back to belt out one of his amazing crows. All of a sudden, Shaemus ran into Cash so hard, he fell over on the ground...
On like a chicken bone...
It too me a few seconds to put together what just happened...
LoL..
I wasnt laughing while I caught it on video...
I laughed so hard when i played it back in slow motion..
Im almost 52, and some of us women dont like laughing way too hard... . (yall know)...

Anyway...
Shaemus is a gangster.View attachment 3256387View attachment 3256388View attachment 3256389View attachment 3256390View attachment 3256391View attachment 3256392View attachment 3256393

That 5th photo is awesome

Hey folks, got a quick question. What do you do with your spare roos?

All four of the Silkies I purchased in June appear to be male, and I really don't want any more roosters running around. Is it cost-effective to raise them to slaughter weight? Or am I better off trying to give them away free of charge? I live in a very rural area and most people aren't looking for roosters - even free ones.

I took mine to a feed store swap and the same person bought all 3. We also butchered one but idk if I will do that again it had feathers growing out of it's muscles and was extremely hard to skin which makes me think the plucker wouldn't cut it and we would still have to skin and pull them out ourselves

 

[Hinotori]

Pliers are sometimes needed for wing primaries. The hot water scald normally makes everything slip right off. I've dry plucked silkies many times as well because I can control the fluff better into bags.

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

do you mind posting pics of your coops? I am going to need separate coops for different breeds and looking for ideas.

Mine is made mostly from pallets / recycled timber.. and tarps...
About 3.5 X 3.5 metres
I do need to upgrade it though, tarps don't last long enough so I need to replace them with roofing sheets.
I have up to 23 Silkies in here with left over roosting space - just in case of extras in the future