theres a turkey thread ? hooray
i picture a silkee on an ostrich egg. that would be funny too LOL

MsDoolittle .... do both the hens and roosters of the "showgirl" have the naked neck?

What is their temperament like? Can they "free range" ?

Of course you'll need to knit them little mufflers to wear outside in the winter...

[Silkie hen on turkey egg]

Funny thing is -

When I went out to feed today I picked up that turkey egg..... and it's hot! One of those hens is definitely attempting to hatch it.

You have GOT to take pictures of her brooding it!!! OMG that would be the funniest!!

I would if I could ever catch her on it at a time when there's enough light available to use the camera! Generally, they gather at the feed trough, or cluster at the door when they hear me coming!

I picked up five silkie babies yesterday!! Four white & a single black. They had splash & blues as well but didn't want any of them. They're straight runs, so don't know exactly what I have until they start to grow. I'm keeping them in my spare bedroom next to the master bedroom & they're noisy when the lights are on.. They're so damned cute!! I'll try to remember to get pictures tonight or tomorrow.

Cool!

Can't wait to see pics!

lucy ducky
i need to find a blue splash female . i didn't realize for our fair we needed to have two hens and one male for fair. ?
so the search is on.
yes we will wait patiently here for pics....... still waiting ........

OK Ok Ok.. I hear & obey! LOLLL I just keep forgetting to take my camera down stairs and I never take my phone 'cuz my phone doesn't get reception downstairs, that's why so long on pictures.

But here's Chickies!!



one of the babies had a dirty bottom, so I had to give him a bath. S/he liked the warm water, did NOT like being held on his back!


These are straightrun chicks, so I have no idea on males/females. Any clue as to how I can sex 'em? Here's them in their box w/the heatlamp. For now they're in a large tote and I have a small box on it's side like a coop in the box for them. I will be changing out the sawdust tomorrow (Sunday/Wednesday) and they get their water & food changed daily.


And they're NOISY! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

So cute!

What are you feeding them? Medicated feed, or non-medicated?

Awww! Cute little fuzzies! As for sexing them: most pullets will grow tail feathers earlier than the little roosters so if you have both you may be able to tell as they feather out. Do Silkies even have tail feathers? As near-adults the males have hair-dos that are more swept back than the females... That's all I know about Silkies. Good luck!

porkpal said: As near-adults the males have hair-dos that are more swept back than the females...

You know, I'd never made that connection until you mentioned it! The gals do have more "bangs hanging in their eyes" than the guys. Good call!

I think I read where most males are larger ...so in a group of chicks folks might choose the largest if that's what they wanted.

Chelle - I can't remember off the top of my head right now what I'm feeding them, but I know it's a chick starter and I don't think it's medicated. I'll check it out when I feed 'em tonight. Also, I chose the most "yellow" of the batch... there was only 12 available. I think that they were a bit on the smaller side of everyone. But there is one in this bunch who's pretty tall.

PPal - I know when they get older that the males will develop their little bitty comb.. and they have the funniest crow! I'm hoping to have at least 1 female.. is aggression an indicator at all? I have one white who's pretty snarky and the little black is very upfront about food-time.

awwwww so cute.
i sex mine this way.... i wait for them to crow LOLLLLL

Toni,

We also hatched some peafowl chicks here that seemed just fine till they were about 5 months old, then one by one they died. I was told later that it was probably because we hadn't fed them medicated chick starter - we just let them eat what everybody else was eating. All of our other chicks have had medicated, and all lived. It might bear some research into the "why" of it. I just know that I'll feed medicated to our chicks for now, at least until I find out differently.

Sue! Too funny! Do yours have sorta whimpy, high-pitched crows too? Ours sounds like he runs out of breath mid-crow!

- and if no one crows, watch for eggs!

Some of my most aggressive chicks have grown up to be hens.

yes his crow is a bit .... well.... raspy like he is under water ?
i did have one roo and i just didn't or couldn't tell if it was a he or a she ? ... never crowed,,, nor any eggs ? and then he crowed i guess he was a slow bloomer.

Medicated feed is for when you are raising the chicks rather than a hen doing it. For some reason, it's not needed when the hen raises them. My first chicks were raised by me because they were my first chickens. After that, I let the hens raise them, which worked out quite well.

Silkie roosters can be quite mellow compared to other roosters, but they'll still compete for top rooster. I miss my old silkie rooster.

My little black silkie hen was very upfront about food. She would do her darndest to get my attention and then run to the food bin, stare at it, then stare at me. Then she'd toot her frustration with me. Silkies are the only hens I've had that go "toot!' Very demanding! She had a fantastic personality.

Well then, that makes perfect sense. I was wondering how we had chicks at all otherwise.

Thanks for providing the answer to that question, Tabby!