show quality silkies – Page 4

Silkies For Sale – 10/2/17

October 2, 2017October 2, 2017 by vjppoultry, posted in New Silkies

Does a Silkie Need a Christmas Gift? 12/05/16

December 5, 2016June 27, 2020 by vjppoultry, posted in New Silkies

I have always loved this video – VJP Poultry’s- Ballet of the Unhatched Chick- because it shows chicken’s somewhat playful side. Some people refer to this as “Chicken Football” because they are all chasing after the one meal worm that someone has in its beak. Do chickens play? Do they get bored? Do they require a gift at Christmas? These are all questions people have asked about their birds.

Well, Cyber Monday is over, but there is still time to order your chickens a few treats online before December 25th. Most of the customers at VJP Poultry consider their chickens to be family pets. They lavish love and attention on their silkies and I would bet that some of them are planning a few Christmas surprises in their chicken’s stockings.

Most gifts are the kind that silkies can eat or the kind that silkies can play with. Let’s start with the chicken toys. Most of the chicken playthings are balls that can be filled with treats. The chicken pushes the ball around and treats fall out. Some of the balls are more complicated and the chicken needs to work at it to get the treats out. An example would be Lixit Chicken Toy or Peck and Play Ball .

The toy that I liked the best was the Chicken Veggie Ball .It is described as “an entertaining way to provide nutritious treats to a backyard flock”. You can put a head of lettuce or cabbage inside it and watch your flock kick it around like a soccer ball. This idea has been around for a long time. Oldsters used to tie a rope around a head of cabbage and hang it on a hook inside of the coop for the same effect. All of these toys are good boredom busters for your birds in the wintertime.

The most unusual toy was the Chicken Swing. The chicken hops on and is able to pump the swing back and forth. Probably not the best gift for a silkie as they may have a hard time jumping on , but other breeds seem to swing just fine on it.

Silkies always like special food treats. There is the Flock Block which lets them peck away and find treats of corn and seed. They are manufactured by many different companies and you should find it at your local feed store.

The treat my flock loves the best are meal worms. Real or freeze dried, they go crazy for them. I have, in the past, kept a meal worm farm going in my house. The live worms are a great source of protein and a wonderful way for you to bond with your bird. They will come running every time they see you if they think that you have worms for them in your apron pockets. You can also purchase freeze dried worms from Happy Hen Treats .

There has been a craze of late for putting chickens in sweaters and other kinds of outfits. You are not doing your chickens any favors by doing this. It will compromise their ability to self – regulate their body temperature. Best to leave the clothes off the birds unless it is Chicken Diapers for inside of the house. You can give them a little jewelry by giving them leg bands that have charms on them. If you are looking for a gift for a guy, check out Gifts For Guys Who Like Chickens. We also have Gifts For Silkie Chicken Lovers for anyone who likes silkies.

If you are interested in gifts for the Chicken Lady or for chicken loving kids or gifts for the home for chicken lovers check out our weekly silkie blog at VJPPoultry.com. We also have silkie basics at Silkie Supplies.

So, do chickens play? I think so. All animals play. I know that the chest bumping I see among juvenile silkies seems to have a very playful nature to it. Do Chickens get bored? Yes, often this will result in pecking to the extreme. Do they need Christmas gifts? That’s up to you. I know that my little silkies will be getting some nice meal worms come Christmas Eve.

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

How to Keep a Flock History 11/07/16

November 7, 2016December 1, 2018 by vjppoultry, posted in New Silkies

A flock history is basically a written record or diary of anything and everything pertaining to your flock. I use school notebooks and my computer to keep records of everything I do with my chickens. If you start it right away, you can keep a very accurate account of facts about your flock.

Start by noting the date of hatch, the source – who you got it from, the breed and anything the seller tells you about the bird’s past history, and any medical certificates that came with the birds.

I have a pedigree file on my computer where I list all of the birds I presently have. It is a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. I list the breed, what color it is, what band number it has, date of hatch, where I purchased it, and if it is male or female. If I know for sure who the father was I will include that as well. I can then sort according to the information I need. Usually , that would be sorting by age or by color. If I lose or sell a bird, I simply delete it from the list.

I have a different spreadsheet for managing the business end of things. I found a nice spreadsheet on Backyardchickens.com that someone created specifically for chickens. If you search on that site for “chicken spreadsheet”, you should be able to locate it. It keeps track of everything – customers, how much you sell, what your expenses were that month, etc and you have a summary page for the end of the year where you can compare each month. It is nice to know if your chickens are paying for their upkeep.

I keep medical records in a paper notebook. If any birds are sick, I will note symptoms and remedies tried. You could also document your feeding a management practices and any changes you make. Sometimes I need to keep track of a new breeding program. Who was mated with who.

It is important to write things down as you go along. It may seem like extra work at the time, but later it will be easier to look back than just relying on your memory, especially if you are trying to trace a health problem. When you experience a problem, it is hard to remember all the little details you thought you’d never forget.

Each week I keep track in my Chick Notebook how many chicks I have in each pen and what color. I use markers in different colors to make it easy to see what color birds I have at a glance. As chicks are sold, I adjust the numbers so I always have an accurate account of what I have for sale. If I notice any abnormalities in the pens, I will mark those down. Sometimes I will guess on ages. I will record those guesses as well. Then the next week, I will check back and see if I still feel the same way about its gender. I keep track of the ages in the pens so I always know how old the chicks are. Sometimes colors can look very similar. A black and a dark blue can almost look the same. I will keep those colors separate and write down which is in each pen.

One other system I have tried is to keep a notebook with a page for each bird. This is an easy way to keep track of the age, what problems it experienced, when it was sold or died. You can look back over the years and see if there are any patterns developing with your flock.

Keeping an up to date flock history is an important part of my job at VJP Poultry. In the long run it makes for a valuable document that can improve your chick’s health and well-being.

Victoria J. Peterson