Silkie thread!

[kabhyper1]

I love the hens and babies in the dog kennel! That is the cutest. Here is the cochin I was referring to last night, I put 3 silkie eggs under her today. I' home all the time, so in an emergency, I can bring them into the incubator.

 

[califarmgirl]

That was so cute. Thanks for sharing!

 

[BuckNBark Farm]

How sweet!

Pam

 

[Suzierd]

Loved the video! She looks so big in that nest box lol! And very happy to get those eggs

 

[Fancychooklady]

Sweet.

 

[workinnanie]

What a great idea for a video. She took those eggs so willingly! How cute. She should make a good mama!

 

[kabhyper1]

She has 9 silkie eggs under her and a few she stole. Most of the silkie eggs probably won't hatch, but I forgot to label them when I gathered so Im not sure which ones are older. So Ill let her have a go. She is now in a larger "nest" until I figure out if I want to move her out of the coop or not. She is pretty comfortable there. I marked all the eggs she has under her so I know if she is stealing them or not.

 

[atrueb00]

The green sheen is desirable on black feathers.  It is caused by feather structure, not pigment.  It is not sex-linked, and it has nothing to do with breed purity.

Thanks! That is really interesting to hear it is the feather structure.

 

[ChickNmamma]

Quote: Calcium is only needed once the girls start laying. Medicated starter feed is fine when they are small. Just don't switch to layer pellets when they get older - they need more protein - and less calcium.

Hi, can anyone tell me how old silkies are when they start laying? I have 4 silkie hens... Definately girls. The oldest is now 11 months old, the other 3 are 9 months old and we still haven't had any eggs. Its getting to winter here now so should I just assume I'm not getting any eggs until next spring now? I've had all these since they were 5weeks old so the eggs are a long time coming. X

I think they are supposed to start around 6-7 months. Your 11 month old may just be a slow starter. Are you SURE its a girl? That seems an awfully long time - unless they are hiding them somewhere.

I have a quick question which may or may not have been asked before. I'm getting 20 chicks shipped to me next week and I have 3 20 week old silkies who are extremely docile. I was wondering if I can put the babies in there with the silkies. Will they want to be moms to these new babies? My silkies were too docile to move to the laying pen with the big girls and roosters so I kept them in the baby pen. Two of the silkies are girls and one is a rooster. Do I have any chance of letting the babies stay with the silkies or will something horrible happen? All 3 are so docile... what do you think?

I have put babies in with the bigger ones - but not until the babies were 3 weeks old. Your Silkies are still in your brooder? I would put them together and see what they do. If they make a warning noise or attack the babies then put the babies in a separate area. Who knows - it might trigger the mommy button... My rooster likes three of the chicks - but he picks on the 4th one. Some boys will also "mother" babies. You just have to try it and see - but stick around because they will tell you yes or no in the first few minutes.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
I don;t like the lower protein of flock raiser or layer. I use starter and gamebird, depending on age and what I have available. Neither adds calcium, so you may need to free feed oyster shell. You can pay the $$ for DNA testing, but at something like $30 per bird last time I checked....not gonna happen here.