Adorable! They're some of the cleanest chicks I've ever seen. You're a good mommy, Toni.

Chelle - Thanks. After breeding canaries for a few years, you understand the fact that cleanliness = healthy when it comes to birds (and everything else!). I feel guilty that they're in such a small tote but they don't seem to mind it too much. Next week they'll be moved into a 55gal aquarium (4'x12") where they can get sunlight rather than just incandescent & heatlamp. But they'll still have their heatlamp to make sure they don't get cold.

Do you think they can be OK in 65-70deg temps now or do I need them to be fully fledged before they can handle temps that cold?

I usually leave mine available until I notice that they're trying to stay away from it on a fairly regular basis, especially during nap time. I figure that if they still want to sleep under it, they must still need it.

mine are in 80's . in our basement. Usually the younger ones need warmer . first week is 90's. i usually wait until they are full feathered before i go to those temps. But that is just me . How old are yours ?
mine also act like wild phycotic birds. LOL its just in there nature they think " run away ,,,, run away warn the others . "

I honestly have no idea on how old they were. The sales lady at the feed store wasn't 100% sure when they were hatched, but they were complete little fuzzballs w/no pin feathers. I've had them now almost 3 weeks (Friday will be week 3). They've doubled in size. I have a 200watt heatlamp right above their tote & it's on 24/7. There's a box on it's side that they're using as a coop & that's where they sleep at night. They seem to be very healthy & fat.. you cannot feel their breastbone at all & I know that in canaries & psittacins that's what was important. But it's not like I'm planning on eating them!!

They definitely still need their heat lamp. Chicks at that age will spend most of their time under their warm mother. They self regulate by moving in and out of the heat. Once they're feathered out they should be good. And when they are adults they can handle very cold temperatures.

OK, on Sunday, the chicks went outside finally. I hobbled together a nice little area (will build them something more substantial this weekend probably), but for now, they've tripled their size of an area to roam around in. No longer inside in their 55gal aquarium, but rather in a 5'x2' doghouse with a 4'x2' chickenwire pen that abuts the doghouse so they can have "outside" time and still be protected (I *do* have hawks in the neighborhood & one of the neighbors watched a squirrel get caught by an owl just 2 weeks ago). They've grown up!

Here's some pictures of them! :)



The New Hampshires are kinda mean birds. The buff orpington I couldn't get a picture of (she's a little shyer), and the little black silkie.. well, everyone kinda picks on him/her. Can't tell yet what their genders are as far as the silkies.. the New Hampshires & Buff are all supposed to be hens. There's one teeny little white silkie.. kind of a runt.

Cute!

Murdocks has chicks right now, including all sorts of silkies. My spouse steered me away from that area of the store but I managed to look anyway.

I miss my little black silkies.

Really? I need to go there tonight then. Two weeks ago the Murdocks in Parker didn't have Silkies. I'd love to get a couple of more whites.

The one in Longmont and the one in Westminster had silkies this past weekend.

Toni!

They look great! They've grown so much.

We had a nice thunderstorm last night, the chickens made it through just fine (they're now outside & I was kinda worried about them being too cold). Temps are supposed to drop to the mid 20s on Sunday.. kinda worried about that being too cold so I'm going to get a bale of hay & make sure that their home is really full so they can snuggle in. I think I have 3 white hens & 1 white roo. The tallest of the white silkies is developing a little more prominent comb. No wattles yet. And that one is not afraid to take on the two red New Hampshires (they're more aggressive.. I don't know if I want to do those kinds again. They always peck at me when I have to reach in the pen for anything.) I think the little black is also a hen. They're all much much shorter than the "roo" is and none of them have the comb like he does! I read that their "ear lobes" predict the color of their eggs.. does that mean they lay black eggs?

My silkies, including the black ones, had blue ears, but they always laid off white eggs. My red and partridge cochin chickens laid brown eggs.

I kept a few of the very first eggs (I dried them out). They were so very very tiny. Some looked like marbles. As the birds got older, the eggs got bigger until they almost were the size of small grocery store eggs.

My head rooster was my black silkie. He was a good rooster. He was also very good with the chicks. But I ended up with a lot of silkie/cochin mixes.

Yesterday afternoon I got some good pictures. I don't spray my weeds in my yard.. I just hand pull. So everyone got fresh dandelions & grass. Nom!


I think that the little white in the center is a male. He's the only one developing any kind of comb. What does everyone think?

It's been a very long time since I had silkies that young, but I think you're right.

You'll soon know!

Skiekitty, just listened to your canaries singing.... That was so awesome!! I could listen to them singing for hours and not tire of it...