Raising Silkie chickens

 It was a really nice day today. Willow took her little one named Tux out to teach him how the scratch the ground and find things to eat.

Tux seems so small compared to the others

Willow and Tux enjoyed some time soaking up the sun's rays.

Yokie is so full of color now.

It is hard to believe he was there size not long ago. 

 Yokie was born on May 31, 2015. And now he is a dad. That was quick.

 The other 4 are growing up fast too

This is Fedora the oldest. 

The 2 white one look like puff balls, with bloomers. 

And Parker is still the runt. It kinda looks like Fedora a bit.

They are all so much fun.

Have a wonderful day and remember to laugh and play.

Willow meets her older babys (Chicks)

Oct 23, 2015 Willow hatched her egg 3 days early. She turned out to be a good mom to this black and white or grey baby, She has seen the other 4 from afar. I was afraid to let her near. Because she ran across the room and pecked the oldest (Fedora) in the head. She did not want it around.

But today she was Ok, with them outside the baby gates. I put one in she was ok. But they were not to get in her nest. So in a bit of time. I hope she will like them all.

 This is Yokie he is the one I hatched from an egg May 31, 2015. He is the dad to this last one. And maybe the white ones. He is all wet from being out in the rain today. Soon I will have to decide on what little ones to let go of. I know I can not keep the ones related to him. I know some people do. But I do not wish to do so myself.

 The tall dark one to the left is the oldest (Fedora) The other dark one (Parker)

 One of these will be called Dusty, the other?

 The new baby in the video

Have a wonderful day and remember to laugh and play.

Update on the spraddle legged chick

I am so happy to share with you that Fedora is doing well. My daughter brought over the 2 newly hatch chicks to keep Fedora company. They will be full size chickens. They are a little bigger than Fedora. But they got him/her to eat. So all is well in the outlook of this chick.

They are so much fun to watch. I have to give the 2 back soon.

 But Fedora will not be alone. Tomorrow, or any minute now. 4 eggs may hatch.
I hope they come out well and happy. The 2nd egg 2 days after, Fedora.Only peeped a hole in the shell. I thought the father to the chicks was a standard white silkie. But it is possible a larger rooster got to Willow.  That could explain why the chicks are too big for the shell.

Soon Willows eggs will contain Yokies baby's. He is a frizzle. He is so sweet. He is always near her. When she has an egg he stand by her or cuddles up like he is going to help her sit on an egg.

Willow has no interest in hatching or sitting on an egg. She is not broody.And does not want to be with the new chicks.She will look at them That is about it.
I now wonder why the person picked, Willow to be sold. All I can do is assume, she is not a mom type of bird. Or egg issues. Maybe Willows egg size is too small. I don't know.But I hope all goes well.
You may ask, Why I am hatching the eggs?
I can not bring myself to put the egg in the fridge knowing there is life inside.

Have a wonderful day and remember to laugh and play.

What I did to help the chick with Splay or spraddle leg condition

 Day one.Sept 20. This chick was a bit big for the egg. So that may be the reason for it's condition. The sibling to this one peeped on the 22 and did not make it out of the shell. It was too big for the egg. But in the video below. I will tell you other reasons this condition can happen. And show you how I helped it.

Partridge silkie chick

 I did not get photos of the first brace. It is in the video below.
This is the 22 of Sept I had him in lighter weight braces for his or her legs.

 The 23 of Sept. I had to remove the braces , It was running and tripping with them on.I named it Fedora. I gave Fedora a teddy bear and sprinkled some food on it. So It started eating a bit more. Still not using pooing but a little once a day. .

 The 24th of Sept. Fedora loves the bear. I take it outside to get sun at least 10-15 min a day. Fedora is getting stronger and has just a little issue with the right hip. But it doing very well walking.

 The 25th. 2 eggs hatch at my daughters. She brings them over. Fedora is so surprised to see them. Fedora, starts eating and scratching her feet on the ground. There is still a little slipping of the left hip. But, S/he had her first normal poo.So looks like this is going to be a normal chick. :)
I am so thrilled and happy. :)

 Here is a video of day 1

 Day 2 and 3

Have a wonderful day and remember to laugh and play.

A new adventure in raising Silkie chickens.

 It looks like my nest is not so empty anymore.

You saw a few photos in my last post. Why raise Silkie chickens? 
I did not tell you the story of how this started. But some of you know from Facebook. or YouTube. 
 My new hen is named Willow, a Partridge silkie. She is said to be about a year old. I did not plan on raising chickens. But I find it hard to put those eggs in the fridge. Because, I know they are fertile. She was with a white Silkie rooster when I bought her.

You may ask how do I know they are fertile? The first egg laid was accidentally cracked, by my grandson. In the yoke, was a white spot with white thread like veins. Kinda like a small faint look of a bulls eye around the white spot too.

I gave my daughter the next 6 eggs. The first one hatched. on September 20, 2015. It was exactly 21 days in the incubator. It is adorable, But could not get up and walk. It is slow to start eating too. But there is hope.

My next post will be on helping this chick overcome. Splay or spraddle leg condition.


Also soon to come to this blog. :)
I now have a new incubator. It has all the bells and whistles. Egg turner, Digital temperature control, it show humidity level. So you have to adjust that  by more or less water in the bottom.

I will also conduct an experiment,  Fact or fiction?

How to tell a girl egg from a boy egg?

I have read, that more pointed eggs would be roosters and the more rounded eggs would be hens. I also have heard this does not apply to all breeds of chickens but does seem to work for the large breeds but not as well on bantams. 

I have read  using all.rounded eggs for hatching and have resulted in about 75 % hens. 
I also know if this was true for all breeds. The commercial breeders would not hatch pointed eggs. So we will see, how this works on my current eggs.  

Have a wonderful day and remember to laugh and play.