Hiya, Naomi! Welcome to BYC! 
I raise/breed silkies and wouldn't trade them for anything.
We started going on 9 years ago with three. I ordered eggs from eBay to get more genes in the pool. I then found a few sellers in my local poultry groups on Facebook. I wanted fancier ones, so sought out exhibition and show breeders. Here's a list of some. I've used one of the ones on that list, and about three others I found myself.
Silkies can tend to suffer from vitamin deficiencies more so than other chickens. I feed Kalmbach's Flock Maker crumbles to every chick and chicken here. Laying hens get a dish of oyster shell on the side. I also add Rooster Booster granules to their feed, and occasionally, give them Poultry Cell in their water (chicks twice a week, older ones twice a month.) I keep treats to a minimum, albeit scrambled eggs occasionally are a hit and are very nutritious.
For scratch, we use Kalmbach's Henhouse Reserve. That is actually a gourmet-type feed they wasted when I used it as their feed, so they were put back to the crumbles. Now, this is their scratch/treat.
If ever you have questions, just ask as we're here to help, and glad you are here!
I raise/breed silkies and wouldn't trade them for anything.
We started going on 9 years ago with three. I ordered eggs from eBay to get more genes in the pool. I then found a few sellers in my local poultry groups on Facebook. I wanted fancier ones, so sought out exhibition and show breeders. Here's a list of some. I've used one of the ones on that list, and about three others I found myself.
Silkies can tend to suffer from vitamin deficiencies more so than other chickens. I feed Kalmbach's Flock Maker crumbles to every chick and chicken here. Laying hens get a dish of oyster shell on the side. I also add Rooster Booster granules to their feed, and occasionally, give them Poultry Cell in their water (chicks twice a week, older ones twice a month.) I keep treats to a minimum, albeit scrambled eggs occasionally are a hit and are very nutritious.
For scratch, we use Kalmbach's Henhouse Reserve. That is actually a gourmet-type feed they wasted when I used it as their feed, so they were put back to the crumbles. Now, this is their scratch/treat.
If ever you have questions, just ask as we're here to help, and glad you are here!
to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!
