I have been thinking about getting a few Silkie hens. They are very interesting looking. Sporting feathers that have a pouf to them….kind of downy like, fluffy… I guess is what you would call it.
A friend had this Silkie. They named her Sophia, but several months later, she went cock-a-doodle-do. YEP….so, the owners had to move her/him to another home. They already had a rooster and the two boys started to not get along. One barnyard is just not big enough for two roosters!
So, just like that….Sophia…..became Sylvester!
Sexing a chicken is tricky business when they are young. A lot of times you don’t know what you have until it lays an egg or crows!
I received a text message the other day, asking if I would like a rooster.
I have turned down several rooster offers in the last few months. If you remember our old rooster, started backing me up on the front porch of the coop. He really began to scare me. I don’t know if you have ever been around roosters or not, but they have BIG ole spurs on their feet, unlike the hens. They will not hesitate to use them when they feel threatened.
Little did he know…..I had a really big stick…and I would have used it, if I had gotten attacked. Just kidding..(I think)…I NEVER had to use it…..but I did carry one to let him know who was boss.
Another friend of mine has had a few encounters with her rooster and has ended up with bloody scratches on her arms.
I don’t want any animal I have to fear. I like things to be nice and calm….everybody happy, happy, happy.
Anyway….the thing that intrigued me about this rooster offer was the fact that he was a Silkie. They seem to be small built birds and have a great disposition. However, a rooster is a rooster, protecting the girls is what they do. So we will see how it goes.
Their fluffy feathers are even on their little legs and feet. Silkies are also known to have five toes instead of four, and they have black/blue like skin.
They usually like to be held, so they easily become pets for a lot of people.
The owners brought him to his new home. My hens were a little bossy…showing their pecking order. But, it didn’t take long before they left him alone and decided that it was kinda nice to have a man around the house.
Last night I saw Sylvester and two of the hens all nestled together in one corner of the coop. He was making a little purring sound when he slept. The three of them were really cute. Until I got hens a couple years ago, I had know idea that they cooed, and sometimes even down right snore, when they sleep. If you ever get a chance to go in a coop after they all settle down for bedtime…I encourage you to do that. They sound so sweet, I know….crazy…right?!?!? Billy and I have just stood quietly in the coop, watching and listening to them on several occasions.
Sylvester just came to live with the girls a week ago…..BUT…..
Maggie Mae which is one of our surviving Buff Orphington’s, has decided to go broody. She was acting weird two days ago….but I just thought she wanted extra food, so while she was eating, I took her egg. Yesterday, she was in her box sitting on another egg. She got up to eat…and went right back to sit on it again. I guess Sylvester just might be a daddy in three weeks. I’m very surprised….but she hatched two during the early summer…so maybe she will have us some more chicks.
Sometimes, they just want to be a Mama and the eggs they are sitting on aren’t fertile. Of course that means that the eggs will not hatch and she will just be grouchy for three weeks…with no good ending! I imagine she will lay more eggs with this one and sit on all of them…I’m not sure….but it will be fun to watch the process.
When Maggie Mae went broody last time it was after the rooster had been attacked and died. I was surprised to read that she could lay fertile eggs up to 10 days after being with a rooster. She started laying about 2 days after he died…and ended up with two eggs that hatched.
Well….. I just did what we call chasing rabbits….back to Sylvester. The previous owner said she would help me find a Silkie hen for him. You know…cause birds of a feather flock together. I think he would like at least one hen to be from his own breed.
The morning after we got Sylvester, Billy and I were outside when he heard a noise. He said…do you hear that? Is it a cat…up in a tree? Once I heard it again, I knew what it was. It was SYLVESTER! He crows a little differently. We laughed…it is unique and very different from what we have heard in the past.
All in all….it worked out that Sophia….was really SYLVESTER……
He is cock-a-doodle-doing, or something that sounds similar, and protecting the girls. He seems to like his new surroundings, and is letting me hold him. I’m hoping that will help him to trust me and not feel threatened.
Meanwhile…..I think he fits in VERY nicely.
Welcome to your new home Sylvester.
I've Gone Country 