Meet the Flock ~ Our Wonderful Blue & Splash Silkies
It's been awhile since I've introduced you'll to the chickens that make it all happen here at The Egg Basket. We've really been moving things around, adding new Exhibition birds to our flock, hatching a TON of chicks, and making decisions on where we want to go with our lines. I think we're finally where we want to be (for now ;)) with our breeders, layers, and lines.
One of the runs we've made quite a few additions to is our Blue & Splash Silkie flocks. Chance made the impressively responsible decision to focus on his Blue/Splash variety Silkies and sold his Golden Lakenvelders (we are no longer carrying that breed) to make room. It was a difficult but important decision in ensuring he has the room to continuously improve on his line. We added some gorgeous new birds and we can't wait to introduce you to our new and complete Blue & Splash Silkie flocks.
The Strong Handsome Roosters~
Now, you'll know I'm a fan of roosters. I've been known to stand up for them time and time again and I truly dislike the way they're treated amongst many who raise chickens. I'm for the humane treatment of ALL animals but I also think roosters, in general, get a "bad rap." I digress, here meet two of the sweetest roos you'll ever see. Our two Splash Silkie boys are true gentlemen!
Meet Jordan!
Jordan (in an awkward angle and with a fresh crest cut above) was our first Splash Silkie rooster. He's been with us since he was just a few days old. Jordan was named Seleena for many months, but don't tell him that! He's grow into such a handsome rooster!
He's friendly and caring to his ladies. How in the world would we know a rooster is friendly to his ladies? Well, whenever we provide treats or he finds food while free ranging, Jordan calls to his ladies and alerts them to it. A lot of roos do this, but Jordan will not ever eat it until his girls have all had some first! Whenever they're out free ranging, if one of the other roosters back in the coops make too much noise while his women are trying to enjoy some grazing time, Jordan runs (in his chubby legged funny little way) right back over to the coops to huff and puff at them!
As I mentioned, Jordan's crest looks light right now because we gave him a well-meaning "haircut" after housing him in his breeder's coop/run. Sometimes this is necessary for Silkies so they can see better to, "get the job done" when breeding. In his prime, pre-crest cut, (below) Jordan was an excellent show cockerel. He most recently placed 1st Cockerel at the State Show here in Virginia, the VPBA Fall 2012 Poultry Show. He may head back into some later Fall shows this year after he grows that glorious full crest back out but we'll see. He may be a "made man" these days!
Meet Toby!
I knew from his first day here that Toby was the perfect fit! Right out of his shipping box from a long Two day trip from North Carolina, rather than being high strung or frazzled, he let Chance hold him and he even fell asleep in his arms as Chance rubbed his crest! Not all roosters are so docile! This was Toby's first day- first HOUR with us after we picked them up from the post office. You can tell because he still has watermelon in his beard from the fruit his other kind mama put in the box to keep him well during his journey to us!
Toby and Jordan could have been twins with their gentle personalities! I couldn't have chosen more perfect roos for these pens. I, in fact, did not choose Toby but a dear, caring friend did. She said she knew in her heart that he and Chance were perfect for each other! It doesn't get better than that, now does it? Toby has proven himself to be better and better with each day he's been with us. He's also gentle and kind with his hens and Toby and Jordan even free range their ladies together now without any issues. They are probably the ONLY two roosters we can do this with and not be on guard for any trouble!
Not only is Toby a complete gem as far as personality but...WOWSA! Look at this man! He's an incredibly good looking Silkie rooster. Chance absolutely can NOT wait to show Toby at the next show he can! Toby has already been shown successfully by his previous owner and won in Three different states!!! It doesn't get much better than that, except he's also an amazing breeder! We're so blessed to have Toby running our second Blue/Splash pen and VERY grateful to have him as part of our flock for so many reasons!
The Pretty Caring Ladies ~
Meet Sassy!
Sassy is the sweet, gentle mama hen of the Blue/Splash pens. She's 2 1/2 years old and has the maturity and kindness of an older woman but still blesses us with gorgeous chicks. Sassy has been a successful show champion and is a prime example of beauty & grace.
Meet Luna!
Now, a group wouldn't be a group of any kind without at least one Drama Queen! Luna is the "Bad Girl" of the bunch. She's feisty and likes to have things her way among the other hens. Luna insists on having her fair share of "personal space." She adores Chance and enjoys his company so long as the other hens don't crowd in! Luna is 1 1/2 years old and also has her fair share of wins in her show belt.
Meet Blueberry!
Blueberry is a working beauty! If there's dirt, compost, pine chips around, this girl is going to dig it. She's the miner and housekeeper for the pen, constantly scratching and moving the soil around. When the runs need to be raked, Blueberry's is always the easiest because she's composted it all for us! Between her mining and her eating habits, she keeps a messy face, Chance stays busy keeping her beard clean! Another Show Winner, Blueberry isn't your typical beauty queen, she likes to roll her crest back and get scratching and unearthing wiggly treats as much as any LF farm bird.
Meet Jade!
One look at Jade and you see type and crest! Chance has nicknamed Jade, "Pom Pom" because of the perfectly fluffy, round crest she sports. On other days we call her the Tornado Jade because of the fast pecks she can hand out to the younger juveniles that try to face her. Most of our seasoned juveniles know Jade has no patience for them and doesn't want to bother with having her place in the pecking order challenged. She saves all of her lovely attention for us and Jordan! She's known to fall asleep in our laps once she's completed her grazing and wants a nap.
Meet Jackie!
I'm sure you see a theme here, I think ALL of our chickens are sweet and amazing! I guess that's how all Farm Moms feel! Jackie is another snuggler, and she loves to talk to us. If I make the mistake of approaching the runs or coming to let Miss Jackie out with ANY type of food in my hand, Jackie baby lets me know! She's a chatterbox always talking to us and letting us know her thoughts! She wanted me to let her fans know that she just finished hatching and brooding a chick for the first time so she's a little light in the cushion and crest right now, it will fill back nicely and she'll be back entering the show arena by Fall!
Meet Lilac!
Ah! The lovely Lilac. I've been a fan of this girl since we hatched her 6 1/2 months ago. Lilac is a Blue split to Lavender Silkie pullet. She's absolutely stunning (and kind of course!) I'm in love with her wings, her cushion, her look! Lilac is quiet compared to Miss Jackie but just as loveable. She's been laying for just a couple of weeks now and we'll begin setting her eggs in a couple more. Lilac is currently housed with Jordan and I can't wait to see the beauties they produce!
Jordan with his girls.
The Younger Blues~
Meet Meaty!
Meaty is quickly becoming one of my favorite juveniles. Meaty was the very first offspring of Jordan and Jackie hatched 1/29/13. He's a talker like his mom and a gentle snuggler like his Dad. This boy is for sale - most days! I continue to hang on to him because I've fallen in love with the young cockerel but he will eventually need to go to a home with his own ladies. Meaty has exceeded our expectations and we're very proud to have hatched him. As the first of Chance's "line" he proves there are great things to come from our Blue/Splashes!
Love what you see? We do occasionally have chicks and/or Fertile Hatching eggs available from our Blue/Splash Silkie lines. Visit our website here for what we currently have available or to be added to our waiting list.
Feeling Lucky?
We're giving away 12 FREE Fertile Hatching Eggs over at our community blog, Farm Chit Chat. Hope over to enter the Giveaway, there's plenty of other prizes involved too!
Disclaimer~First, I am not a vet. Let's just get that out of the way. I do not have a degree in veterinary medicine. I am a enthusiastic chicken breeder, keeper, exhibitioner, mama, and lover. I write about my own personal experiences, trials, and triumphs. I'll be honest and always share the very best knowledge I have. What I write is what has worked or not worked for us and what I believe to be the best for the birds. Then you take it for what you will. I don't take credit for all of this information either. I only share what I've experienced and things I've gleaned at some point from my mentors, other reputable breeders, friends and avian docs.
I started this post with all of that rambling because wry neck is not always simple, not always treatable, and IMHO not something you want in your breeding stock. I know a sweet woman who lost her beloved Silkie to it just last night as I happened to be completing this post.
Wry Neck, or Crook Neck as it's sometimes called, is an unfortunate SYMPTOM in chickens that causes their necks to become twisted. Often times they start with the appearance of a "crook" or a hook shape in their neck, hence the name. It can then advance to them tucking their heads to the point it is actually between their legs. At that point, they often back up and tumble over. In our most severe case, Eleanor seen above, she also spun in circles and walked backwards in the beginning. Now she's to the point that after tumbling over, she flails and flaps and becomes quite distressed until my daughter holds her head and talks gently to her.
The causes of wry neck vary. Remember, it's not a disease in itself but rather a symptom/condition that occurs due to an injury, deficiency, disease, or toxin. This can vary from case to case. Out of my own 4 cases, I believe there to be 3 different causes.
One of the main causes seems to be good old genetics. In, The Chicken Health Handbook by Gail Damerow, she writes, "Two common hereditary defects, wry neck and wry tail, are caused by recessive genes, meaning they show up only when two birds are mated and carry the same gene."
I've seen this as 2 of our 4 chickens came from the same line. You might say 2 doesn't "prove" a genetic flaw and I agree. However, when you think of it as 2 out of only 8 that hatched from a dozen, that changes the picture. Add to that a cross beak and a one eyed chick to those same 8 and I felt there was enough evidence for me to believe there were some genetic flaws in the line at work. Needless to say, of the chicks from that line, it was enough for me decide to chalk up the fertile egg expense to a loss and those chicks of that 8 that survived were to be kept strictly as egg (consumption) layers and pets either here or re homed at a friend's house for the same purposes. They were not and would not be used for breeding here.
Another cause is a vitamin deficiency. We've had one such case of this and in terms of treatment and recovery times, this has been our most successful. Some breeds are more prone to vitamin deficiencies than others. Silkies, for example, are known to have a more difficult time with the absorption of Vitamin E, thus resulting in deficiencies. Birds that are on poor diets or fed too much scratch and/or corn are more likely to develop the Vitamin E deficiency for the same reason any human would. If we were to stuff ourselves with chips and junk food and cut out our healthy foods then we too would, obviously, develop vitamin and mineral deficiencies and with that health problems of our own. No chicken should ever be fed a diet of corn or scratch grains alone!
Neurological damage or some type of brain injury is another cause for wry neck. I believe our poor Eleanor suffers from this cause of her wry neck. Injuries occur from all kinds of incidents. Silkies and Polish are more susceptible because of their vaulted skulls. Their brains protrude from the holes in their skulls and therefore are not protected as in other breeds. A simple but well placed peck to the head that would merely irritate another chicken can easily cause neurological damage resulting in wry neck (or worse) in a Silkie or Polish chicken. With chickens in general, it's important to avoid overcrowding but with Silkies and Polish in particular, one needs to be especially careful. You'll also want to avoid housing these breeds with other more aggressive chickens. Their long and fluffy crests seem to make them targets for picking anyway. We do not house or even brood our Silkies with any other breeds as a basic rule.
Disease and toxin exposure are two other possible causes of wry neck. Chicks are especially sensitive to toxins.
Before going into treatment options, let's talk about expectations. While some cases are mild and you can be blessed with an almost miraculous recovery in as little as 48 hours with vitamin treatment, most are not. I've talked to breeders who have been treating this condition for almost a year before seeing any marked improvement. I had one very young chick die on me within 48 hours even with treatment. I had one recover easily in about a week only to lose her a few months later to a mild respiratory infection that caused barely a sneeze in the rest of the flock. I have one who's recovered and leads a happy, healthy life here although he will never be a breeder and we will never be able to show him because he maintains a crook like curve to the very top of his neck. Then, of course, we have sweet Eleanor who I'm two months into treating. As with just about anything else, the faster you catch it and start treatment the better you may fare.
The Moral Dilemma and Time Commitment
More than likely, if you're still reading this post it's because you have a chicken with wry neck and you searched for treatment options. You're probably waiting for me to "get to the jist." You need to understand its a time commitment with no guaranteed results. At our farm, we always choose life when possible. That doesn't make us right and someone else wrong. It also doesn't make it easy by any means. It's a personal decision with no right or wrong answers.
I know breeders that I respect and admire who believe it's best to cull any chickens with signs of wry neck. You need to know none of the treatments are guaranteed to work; you'll need to commit to medicating twice a day for at least two weeks; many will come out of wry neck only to have it reoccur; even if recovered many will be left weaker and more susceptible to other illnesses; you really SHOULD NOT USE THEM FOR BREEDING; be ready for extra bedding, feeding and care.
Still here? Let's get to treatments.
Separate- First & foremost, move the affected bird from their run/brooder and separate into their own brooder. Make them as comfortable and STRESS FREE as possible. You'll notice the head and neck twisting, backing up, and if they're at the point of flapping and having seizure-like symptoms, those will also present upon any stress. Allow them to rest comfortably in a dim, warm area. I put mine under heat lamps that are raised high. I don't want the brooder at the temperature it is for babies but I do want them nice and cozy. If you've not done this before, watch for signs of overheating if you put them under heat because you don't want them to dehydrate! The other benefit of isolation is that if it IS caused by a disease or an illness, you have quarantined this bird from the rest of your flock and hopefully stopped an outbreak.
What about massaging? I realize many websites, forums, pages, blogs, etc. all say to massage the neck for wry neck to treat it. I heard first hand from two avian vets and several breeders this is NOT the way to go. I tried it (before talking to the vets) on two of ours myself with absolutely no success. Once it was put in proper perspective for me, I understand why. If you look at the causes of wry neck, injury, deficiencies, etc., there's nothing about a massage that would treat or cure those conditions. Not only does it not improve the bird's health, but as we discussed, stress exacerbates the symptoms and so the least handling you can do the better.
Nourish- That brings me to my next step. Make certain they are getting plenty of food and water. Many times they will struggle with eating and drinking. This is often the cause of death for birds with wry neck. They dehydrate making it even more difficult for them to drink and eat and they quickly wither away. If they are unable to eat or drink on their own, you may have to feed them. You don't want to hand feed them and risk aspiration unless you have to so at first just try to gently dip the END (not too far) of their beaks in water with electrolytes (Chick Saver) every hour or so. You need to keep them hydrated and fed! Scrambled eggs are a great way to keep up their protein levels and their energy.
Vitamins- One of the reasons I wanted to go into such detail about the causes of wry neck is so you could understand the benefits of the different treatment options. Vitamins can play a major role in treatment and recovery, especially if caught early and if the vitamin deficiency is the cause for your bird's symptoms.
You'll need to understand that Vitamin E is only absorbed in combination with Selenium. All of the posts online about just giving your chicken Vitamin E capsules without the addition of Selenium are wasting time and money and breaking hearts with the owner doesn't understand what went wrong. You MUST give Selenium in combination with the Vitamin E. You also must be careful because high doses of Selenium can be toxic. Just follow the directions carefully.
You can usually find Vitamin E with Selenium already added in the liquid capsules at many pharmacies, online vitamin shops, and health food stores. Here are a few links from Amazon. I keep these items on hand.
Any treatment you see online for wry neck will usually contain a mixture of multi-vitamins, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, and Selenium. I personally follow the guidelines that were given to me by two chicken doctors that I trust. My regiment is as follows:
Vitamin E with Selenium- Squirt one capsule of Vitamin E with Selenium into your chickens mouth (under the tongue! so as not to aspirate your bird) for 3+ weeks.
Water Soluble Multi Vitamins- an easy to find one is Poly Vi Sol (yes what you give babies) without the Iron. Please be sure it does NOT have any Iron. Give this for 2-3 weeks.
Probiotics & Electrolytes- You can find these at any Tractor Supply Store. I prefer to buy all of my vitamins and health products from Doc Brown at 1st State Veterinary Supply. I always know he has what I need on hand. Or like with the others, I'm providing an Amazon link. Provide this for 2-3 weeks.
**Rather than using the Poly Vi Sol and separate Probiotic, Doc Brown suggests the Vita-Pro-B & Replamin for your daily Vitamin and Probiotic treatment. I'll leave that to you. I use Doc Brown's suggestion for my breeder flock on a daily basis. When we developed the wry neck, I had not been so it was easier for me to grab the Poly Vi Sol at a local store. If you're prepared ahead of time, like we are now, I'd go with the Doc. You'll still need to add your Vitamin E & Selenium, this is just the Multi Vitamin and Probiotics**
That's my first line of defense. The Vitamin E & Selenium will assist with any deficiencies, the electrolytes will give them energy to get drinking then eating again,
If the wry neck was caused by an injury. You may also want to try something to reduce any swelling or inflammation.
Bayer Brand Baby Aspirin- You can give your chicken 1 of these 3 times per day to help relieve any inflammation or swelling.
You can also try administering a general, broad spectrum antibiotic along with your treatment if you feel the cause is from an illness. My experience has not included this because none of ours seemed to be caused by any bacteria or infection.
If you've tried all of the above and find no improvement within two weeks you need to make a decision.
Prednisone- You can try Prednisone next or decide it's not a fitting life for your chicken. Prednisone is a little on the controversial side, you must be very careful with it. It does wipe out the bird's immune system leaving it susceptible to secondary infections and illnesses. You don't want to overdo it but more importantly, you can't just start it and then stop it abruptly- that's not healthy or safe for your bird.
While giving the Prednisone, you'll want to continue your vitamins (multi & Vitamin E & Selenium), probiotics, and electrolytes. Prednisone would be administered for ten days, tapering it off at the end. You'll have to call your local veterinarian for the Prednisone or you can try the First State Vet Supply.
Keep in mind, relieving your bird of wry neck can be a prolonged process. We find that their bedding needs to be changed frequently because they often spill feed and waterers in their attempts at getting food and water or from the flailing around. We've also spent a great deal of time drying their face and heads from it getting dipped in water in order for them to drink. My hopes are that should you have the unfortunate luck of experiencing wry neck that you can make the decision that is best for you and your flock and things turn out for the best!
I pray this information helps you along your way of taking care of your flock and keeping them healthy!
Welcome Spring! We welcomed Spring here at The Egg Basket with some new arrivals yesterday! We're still staggering hatches indoors using our incubators and hatchers but we also had a great Spring surprise outdoors!
Amy and Autumn have been brooding (sitting) on eggs in their nest box together for just about 3 weeks. The timing couldn't have been more perfect for a new Spring baby chick! As you can see from the photo to the left, we spotted a pipped egg on Tuesday morning when Autumn hopped up for her morning food and water. The hens rarely leave the nests and Autumn and Amy take turns with their once a day meals. I hopped in quickly to check on them since I knew I wouldn't have long to peek and managed to snap this photo. We were excited and worried because these two ladies were our first broody pair of hens to successfully sit so long. The fact that they were sitting together added to me nervousness for the safety and health of the chick.
As you can see from THIS photo, we had nothing to worry about. Little Ver (Latin for Spring) hatched just fine with his mamas and was moving around and on them in their nest box yesterday. Once again, I timed it to hop in their run and peek while Autumn was out and found the little guy (after trying several times throughout the day and not being able to see him between BOTH hens). When they're both in the nest box and we try to look they somehow move him between them and back behind Amy's right wing so we can't see him. With Autumn out of the box I could just spot him, I gently lifted Amy's wing and his curious little head popped right up! He's just beautiful!
As Ver ran around the front of Amy she gave me a nice warning growl that let me know I had overstayed my welcome. I noticed that Autumn started heading back towards the coop at the sound of Amy's growl also and I wanted to ensure she ate and drank all she needed so I quickly shut the nesting box and left their run. I don't want to disturb or upset the hens too much, we still have 6-7 other eggs under them. I'm trying to time it perfect today to head out during the afternoon snack time when hopefully one or the other of the ladies will be off the nest again. I need to see if any of the other eggs have pipped or hatched by now. It's always excited to hatch eggs but there's something special about watching these hens do it all themselves with no intervention or help from us, just the way God intended. I think Ver might be our prettiest chick yet...but don't tell the others!
The Egg Basket is published in Erin Kelly's book, "Must Love Chickens" available at Amazon.com!
It's official! We're published! The Egg Basket is pleased to announce Erin Kelly's book, "Must Love Chickens" has been released. We're a contributing author and photographer to the book and very excited about it! It's inexpensive ($2.99) and full of ideas and information from us and other knowledgeable chicken keepers from different perspectives. Go download yours today!
In my first incubating post I talked about setting up your incubator properly and starting your eggs. Around Day 7 for white or light eggs and Day 10 for brown and darker eggs you'll want to candle the eggs to check for fertility.
There are many quality candlers on the market in a wide price range.
Many breeders and backyard hatchers, including us, also build their own egg candlers. There are several great plans online for building simple candlers. Here are a few I've found.
Mother Earth News (one of my favorite sites by the way) has a great post on building a candler from a coffee can here.
Instructables has a simple candler you can build from a small light, paper towel tube, and some electrical tape here.
Urban Chicken Coops has a video on how to make a wooden box candler (a bit more on the handyman side but really nice) here.
Candling your eggs early from the 7-10 day mark can help you determine growth and fertility in your eggs. It's also important so that you can make more room in your incubator or hatcher if you're incubating staggered hatches (post on how to stagger hatches next week), ensuring you keep bacteria down and protect the developing eggs, and to check on how well you're incubator is set up and running for proper conditions.
The picture above is of an infertile egg. You can tell because it will shine like a lightbulb, clear throughout. I was so worried and nervous about throwing ANY eggs out in the beginning that I wouldn't throw them out at the 7 day mark but would wait and candle them again in another week. This proved to be fine for us- no exploding eggs in the incubator that early. I've heard others say they will but our PERSONAL experience is they haven't. Once you get the hang of it and have fertile eggs, it becomes much easier to throw out these that are infertile because there's a significant different in them after you've practiced. The egg above was infertile and we did throw it out. Sometimes on the darker eggs - our blues and dark browns it can be harder to tell, especially if this is your first hatch so you can wait for your next candling.
This picture shows what's called a "blood ring" unfortunately. A blood ring forms after an embryo has begun to grow, so the egg WAS fertile, but for some reason it dies. Oftentimes, a bacteria has somehow entered the egg, or it could be caused from rough handling or a defect in the embryo. It's a sign that the embryo is no longer alive and best to remove these from the incubator to prevent any contamination to the other eggs.
Here is an example of a "good" egg. It's a typical fertile, living embryo with normal development. If you look closely you can see the veins appearing on the large part of the egg. You can also see the dark space at the small end of the egg. Hopefully, this is what you will mostly see at this point.
Be gentle with your eggs. You do not want to shake them or keep them out of the incubator too long. You also do not want to keep your incubator open very long or continue to open and shut it. The most successful eggs are those that are left alone! Candle them carefully and quickly and place them back into your incubator. Keep in mind what we discussed in the first post about losing humidity and reducing your temperature from opening the incubator. If any water needs to be added for low humidity, now is the time to do it while you have the incubator already opened. I like to gather everything together before I even touch the incubator. I get warm water (if needed), my candler, and a washcloth (in case I spill because I'm a klutz!) all set on my table by my incubator before I lift the lid.
Place your fertile eggs and those you're unsure of and want to keep incubating back into your incubator and once again, leave it alone. Keep an eye on your temperature and humidity as before. For circulated air incubators keep a constant temperature of 99.5 and 102 for still air incubators. For the first 1-17 days, remember, you'll want to keep your humidity between 40-55%.
Many breeders will candle their eggs again around Day 14. This is a good idea, especially for those eggs you were uncertain of. It will also reveal any eggs that "quit" some time between Day 7 and then. It's a good measure for beginners to assess thier incubator conditions also. If you lose several eggs between Day 7-14 then you'll know you need to make adjustments on your incubator. As with Day 7, gather your materials ahead of time and be certain to replace the eggs pointed or small end down so as not to have your chicks pipping at the wrong end of the egg.
We use an incubator for days 1-17 and then transfer our eggs to a hatcher. I gently and quickly candle my eggs again at this point because of my limited hatcher space. Generally, this is not necessary if you are hatching and incubating in the same incubator. The egg you see above is a fertile egg on Day 17 right before I moved it into our hatcher.
On Day 18, remove your eggs from the egg turner if you're using one. If you're manually turning, stop turning them. Add water as needed to increase your humidity to 65-70% for hatching. You've now entered the Lockdown phase. Check out our next post, Incubating & Hatching Eggs Part 3 for more information and tips on humidity and hatching. Happy incubating!
If you don't follow us on Facebook (which really you should :) I recently realized you're missing out on news of our latest hatches, meeting our incoming flock members, and updates.
Well, that's just not fair, is it? One of my goals for the New Year is to be more diligent in updating the blog as much as Facebook so everyone enjoys all of The Egg Basket's happenings and cuddly new hatches. I don't want to show favortism to the Facebook folks, right?
We're hatching and raising chicks like mad folks around here ramping up for Spring chick orders and all of those exciting Spring Poultry Shows! The kids and I are beating the winter blues with adorable fluff balls and sweet chirpings!
We've had a Silkie Invasion here at The Egg Basket! If you follow us on Facebook, :) you already know I'm a sucker for a silkie but if you don't, I'm a SUCKER for a Silkie! I'm completely in love with this breed! Great look, personality, temperment and prolific layers in our experience, gotta love this bird!
We've picked up several new roosters, hens, and pullets in different silkie varieties. (Remember, varieties are the different color variations in a breed.) Meet Jackie! Jackie is a 6 month old Splash Silkie pullet. She's just as sweet as can be and enjoys cuddling! We saw Jackie with her detailed splash markings and had to have her to pair up with Jordan, our Splash Silkie cockerel. They are already doing their thing and even with the cold, dark days, Jackie's chirping happily and starting to lay beautifully for us while Jordan stands guard protectively at the doorway to their run.
Welcome to one of my Christmas presents, thanks to a sweet and amazing husband! He purchased me an amazing Show Quality Porcelain Silkie quad to add to our Silkie brood here. Flossie, Edith, and Sebastian are about 18 months old and have been together for over a year now. Their bond is unmistakeable. They are all in molt currently so you'll have to excuse the hens' bad crest day! Stevie, is a 1 year old hen who's being adding in with this porcelain trio to make it a quad. Stevie just placed Best in Breed in last month's Poultry Show! I'm so excited for this gift! Flossie & Edith are laying beautifully from the first day in our home, it's interesting to watch them brood each other's eggs! As you can see from Flossie's photobomb here, she does NOT want me disturbing either of their eggs!
We've also added to our Black Silkie pen with a great looking black rooster, Blake and a stunning little pullet named Black Beauty. Miranda is happy as are the other black pullets now under Blake's watchful eye. As far as silkies go, I've never had one as wonderfully protective and careful as Blake is. Blake's tight wings, perfect toe spacing, green sheen in his black feathers, and heavily-feathered feet make him a real gem. Black Beauty still has some growing to do at only 6 months old but already has an adorable crest and a nice black sheen. Black Beauty has adjusted well and taken to Ninja and Miranda right away. The ladies spend much time preening each other and Blake and staying in a close knit group even when free ranging.
As I mentioned, we're hatching babies galore, most of which have been silkies. Our silkie lines have grown and we've included some of the best lines in the country to add to our Spring laying pullets. Here are just a few of the new darlings.
Outside of our silkies, our other breeds are growing and working hard as well!
We're hatching Bantam Salmon Faverolle chicks as well and I'm absolutely thrilled with the results. They're such a great breed for flocks with children and such a gorgeous ornamental chicken! The feathered feet on our five toed beauties are developing so nicely! We can't wait to offer these sweethearts to our readers come Spring!
Chance & Briana are working together now on some Bantam Polish and Chance added a White Crested Blue Polish Rooster named Flash and our girls surprised us all at how easy they welcomed him. Flash is a year old and our young pullets seem happy to have a man in their flock. Eleanor, our 7 1/2 month old pullet has been especially happy, snuggling up as close as she can in their coop at night with Flash.
Of course, we still have our Golden Lakenvelders, Bantam La Fleche, Silver Ameraucanas, and other Silkie varieties we're tending to and preparing to meet your Spring Chick and Fertilized egg needs. I hope you've enjoyed meeting some of our newest additions and getting caught up on the happenings here at The Egg Basket. In keeping with my New Year's resolution to update our blog readers more, I look forward to chatting with you very soon on more updates! Check back with us soon!
