Tag: baby chicks
Silkie Starter Kit – What You Need Before the Chicks Arrive
As with any pet, it is important to plan ahead and purchase any equipment and supplies you will need before you bring home the actual animal. This is especially important with baby chicks.
If you plan on purchasing newborns or one week olds, you will first of all need to have a heat lamp and a heat lamp bulb to go with it. The heat lamp should be up and running before you bring the chicks home so that they can immediately warm to the right temperature after their car ride. When setting the heat lamp up, do not rely on just the clamp that comes with the fixture. Use mechanics wire to hang and secure the lamp over the brooder. The lamp should be able to be raised or lowered as needed to keep the chicks at the right temperature. This temp should be around 85-90 degrees when they are very young. Use their behavior as a guide. If they are too cold they will huddle under the lamp and cry. If they are too warm they will try and get as far away from the bulb as possible. You want them comfortably moving to all parts of the brooder.
I bulb should be a red infrared variety. I think those are the best so that the chicks can experience a night time cycle. It can also keep down the pecking of each other that can occur when there is the stress of constant daylight.
Any type of a tub can become a brooder. You will need to line the brooder with animal bedding to absorb moisture. I use pine shavings. I change the bedding about once a week and throw the used bedding on my garden to act as a mulch and fertilizer.
Your silkie chicks will also need a feeder and a waterer. Quart size is best when they are small chicks. Later you can get the gallon sized. I like to add a couple of things to the water for the silkie chicks. Vitamins with electrolytes can be added to give them a good start. I also add a splash of apple cider vinegar to help with digestion and general health.
Young chicks should be given chick starter until they are at least 10 weeks old. They can eat it longer than that, but you may want to switch to a grower feed. Chick starter is high in protein. Use medicated until they are around six weeks old and then switch to regular chick starter. Medicated can help their developing immune system to fight coccidiosis.
On my website near the top, there is a page called Silkie Supplies. There are some suggested products there to guide you in deciding what you need to start in silkie chickens. Good luck with your new pets!
For tips and tricks for raising outstanding silkies check out our Chicken Learning Center at VJPPoultry.com . VJP Poultry is an NPIP and state inspected hatchery located 30 miles north of St. Paul. We hatch out silkies all year long so we always have stock available. Like us on Facebook to get weekly updates on what we currently have for sale.
Victoria J. Peterson
Silkies For Sale – 8/30/17
How To Choose Silkie Chicks for 4-H Poultry Showing- 2/7/17
There are many things to consider when choosing chicks. You will ultimately want a chick that grows out to be a show quality winning bird, but it is difficult to know how a chick will feather out as it matures. If you follow a few simple guidelines when choosing, you should be on your way to a great 4-H poultry showing.
One obvious trait would be color. If you are showing a trio (one male, 2 females) they should all three match in color. Black or white birds are easy because they match up the best. If , however, you see leakage in the coloring of the chick – choose another chick. Black should be solid black with no other colors coming through the wings or toes. Same with white. Buff and blue will be harder colors to match. Their colors are on a spectrum. There are many different shades of buff and blue. When you are picking out chicks in these colors, make sure that the chicks are matching each other. The colors should be pure without any leakage of other colors.
The next thing to look at would be their toes. Silkies should have five toes. Sometimes a chick will be born with only four toes. This is a disqualification for silkies. They may also be born with extra claws coming out of their last toe. Again, a disqualification. No extra claws or toenails.
Toe placement is also important. Their toes should have adequate spacing between them, especially between the 4th and 5th toe. You want those two toes to have as much separation as possible. Not fused together. The 5th toe should be pointing back towards the tail. Not towards the front.
When purchasing a new chick look for one that is healthy and full of vitality . Watch it walk and make sure it is not presenting any leg issues. Make sure its behind looks clean.
Because you need two females and one male that all match, my advice is to buy as many as you can afford or have room for. Not all chicks will grow up to have the same body type. You will want to be able to choose which is the best among many others. You will also want back-up birds in case something happens at the last minute to the bird you picked out.
You should choose one color of chick and stick with it. It will not help you to buy black chicks if you are really planning on showing white. Buy as many as you can in one color so that you will have more choice later when you are ready to show. I think that black and white are the easiest to show.
An NPIP breeder is one whose flock has been pullorum tested. If you buy from an NPIP breeder you will not have to go through the trouble of having your birds tested for pullorum at show time. The rules state that all birds entered for 4-H showing need to be tested unless they have a “statement of origin ” sheet which will state the breeder’s hatchery number.
Hopefully these suggestions will help you to pick out some truly wonderful chicks for showing. VJP Poultry is a great place to start looking and I would be happy to answer any questions you might have on showing birds. Good luck in all your shows!
For tips and tricks for raising outstanding silkies check out our Chicken Learning Center at VJPPoultry.com . VJP Poultry is an NPIP and state inspected hatchery located 30 miles north of St. Paul. We hatch out silkies all year long so we always have stock available. Like us on Facebook to get weekly updates on what we currently have for sale.
Victoria J. Peterson
Heat Lamp Use at VJP Poultry – 12/20/16
Now that the weather is getting colder, I have a lot of VJP Poultry customers asking me about using heat lamps in their coops. People are concerned that their silkies will not be able to stand the cold of a Minnesota winter.
My use of heat lamps has changed dramatically since I started raising silkies seven years ago. I used to worry that my silkies would die from exposure. I had 250 Watt heat lamp bulbs hanging in every color pen the entire winter. Some even had two hanging in them. My electric bill was crazy. I kept the windows open only a crack and tried to raise the temps as high as I could inside.
After seven years of experience , I now rarely turn on the heat lamps in my outside coops. The silkies are fine. They actually are very winter hardy. They have a small comb so you don’t need to deal with frostbite issues. They aren’t fond of snow but they do love to go out into their runs no matter what the temperature. What is cold for a human is not cold for them. Think about all of the woodland birds. They do just fine in the cold Minnesota winter.
I have one 250 Watt heat lamp above each waterer just in case it gets really cold. I did have them all on during the spell of -40 windchill. They shouldn’t be thought of as a way to heat an entire room. They only heat what is directly below them. If it gets to be around -10 I will flip the heat lamps on. My waterers are heated a different way (from below) so I don’t need the heat lamps unless it is super cold and the water is staying frozen.
I do use heat lamps in my baby chick room. I like to use the lower 125 watt bulbs. They are not as hot and not as expensive to run. I will use a heat lamp over the newborns and the one week olds I don’t always use it over the two week old, but I could if I needed to. The chicks are in a small room off of my garage. The room is not heated with central air, so I also use a standing space heater to keep the entire room warm during January.
I am very aware that heat lamps must be hung securely. I use chains and wire so I can adjust the distance down to the brooder. I do not rely on the clamps that come with them. Heat lamps that are not secure and fall can easily start a fire. Make sure that the hoods are wiped clean of dust and that you also blow out the outlets with an air hose.
Heat lamp bulbs gradually become less strong the longer you have used them. You are still paying for the same amount of electricity from the 250 Watt bulb, but you are not receiving the same amount of heat the longer you continue to use it. When I feel that its not as strong anymore, I generally switch it out for a new bulb. I don’t want the surprise of it burning out when I really need it over newborn chicks. The 125 Watt bulbs are harder to find so we order ours online.
Remember, it is not the lack of heat that can cause issues with silkies in the winter. It is the moisture present in the coop. If you are seeing frost on your doors or walls, it is a sign that there is too much moisture and not enough ventilation. Open the windows, but keep the drafts off of the sleeping birds. I use pillow cases stuffed with old T-shirts and place them in front of the pop holes to block the drafts on the floor.
Electricity from heat lamps can be costly. One 250 Watt heat lamp costs about 90 cents a day to run. Add a space heater and that would be an additional $1.80 a day to run.
At VJP Poultry, we use heat lamps as sparingly as possible. They are necessary for young chicks in the first few weeks of life. Make sure they are hanging securely and change out the bulbs when they start losing their heat. They can be a useful part of your breeding program.
An alternative to heat lamps brooder heat plates. There is less of a chance of fire with these. You can also use the sweeter heaters that are hung from a chain above the chicks. This would be a more secure way of doing it.
For tips and tricks for raising outstanding silkies check out our Chicken Learning Center at VJPPoultry.com . VJP Poultry is an NPIP and state inspected hatchery located 30 miles north of St. Paul. We hatch out silkies all year long so we always have stock available. Like us on Facebook to get weekly updates on what we currently have for sale.
Victoria J. Peterson
VJP Poultry 