Silkies Straight Run

Hi all, this is my first post ever on the site.

I have never had chickens before, but decided I wanted some for eggs. So I spent several days looking at chicken pictures and reading. Had no idea there were that many different kinds of chickens in the world. This was no easy task. The silkies were so adorable, and they don't fly, which I thought was good, because they won't be flying over the fence. Their eggs are small, but no biggie, you just eat two instead of one.

Ok, so I called Ideal a few days ago and ordered 25 silkies, of 5 different colors. However, now I am wondering if I made a mistake.

I have been reading your posts, and you all sound like nice people. I am hoping you can give me good advice here.

I have a house in town with a backyard and am allowed to have 35 chickens, but no roosters. I also have a lot outside of town where I have a donkey and a OLD dog. The old chicken house on this lot has an area fenced in, but the posts will need to be replaced, as they are rotten, and also boards on the house itself need to be replaced. The area where the lot is, also has some big problems. One of my neighbors out there have had goats and a pig stolen, and there has also been even the shooting of a few horses, about 10 years ago, we also suspect some serious drug dealing as well. In the 1950's or so it was a place sectioned off for people who had moved into town but still wanted a place to raise animals or have a large garden. Now some of the lots are just used to store junk. Some of the lots are ok, but many are not. So, there are issues with safety from humans, and also there are coyotes, fox, and possums in the area as well. The donkey has really helped with keeping the weeds down, but I know there are snakes there too. Um.. I can just hear you telling me... Karen, go buy the Storey's Chicken book.. yes I planned to do that. Last week I put up some signs that say "Warning Neighborhood Watch Area" even though I only have one neighbor that I know. :)

Anyway, I was really only interested in a few chickens to lay eggs. Now I have these 25 silkies that are supposed to arrive in a month. My question is... on the straight run... how many will be roosters? This woman in a chat room told me yesterday that she ordered 100 straight run chickens and that 95 of them are roosters... so I am having BIG SECOND thoughts about this. What do you think? Will Ideal let me cancel the order? If I decide I still just want 5 silkies, where can I get them, and not get the extra roosters? or maybe I should be looking at a different breed. These silkies sure don't look very rugged.

Another question, I was wanting to start growing vegetables in my backyard, will the chickens be a problem? or do I need to have it fenced off well to keep them out of it?

Karen

I ordered straight run silkies last year from them, 3 roos one pullet with my silkies and four pullets with my silver sebrights, its the luck of the draw nothing more nothing less. If I were you and could not have roos just order some pullets. And if you are going to do it do it now so they don't charge you a fee. Roos can be very difficult to rehome unless its to someone that wants to eat them and no one wants to bother processing a bantam.
Then find a local club or person who has silkies and buy yourself just hens. And they will destroy your garden so you have to fence it. In fact I think there is silkie people from Texas.

I think you can put wiring under the ground to keep the snakes, mice, and rats out. Maybe you should of ordered less chickens and just pullets. I`ve ordered from Ideal before. I think they`ll let you cancel your order. When did you order them? You may have to pay a fee or something. Silkies aren`t a very good laying breed from what I`ve read but they are pretty. If you want to keep the chickens out of the garden, I suggest that you keep the in a fairly big run with a nice sized coop. It sounds like it would be better for your inviroment too. Just keep their pen in good condition to prevent preditors out. Chickens are wonderful pets and I`m sure you`ll enjoy them! Good Luck on the progress! Hope this helped a little!

I really like your name. Maybe you can find someone who will buy the roos. Again, Good Luck!

Karen-

I am fairly new here to but will try and help as much as possible. On a straight run you are taking your chances. Straight Run means the chicks have not had their sex determined. If you are only wanting the have eggs, you probably want pullets (female chicks). If you want to incubate your eggs for more chicks later. You will need a rooster to fertilize the eggs. Usually 1 rooster to 4 - 6 hens. Usually a hatchery of ideal's size will let you cancel up to a point. I would explain your newness and I think they would work with you. Sometimes you can find smaller amounts of chicks locally at the farm store. There are also many people here that have contacts and know so much more about hatcheries that ship small amounts or even breeders that do.

I honsetly don't know much about silkies hardiness, but I do know they make great brooders (mama's) in hatching eggs. Again, there are many here that could answer that question.

Yes, you will want a coop for the chickens to keep them out of the garden. Or plant your garden inside Fort Knox. Chickens will tear it up in a heart beat. They love the little plants and love to scratch in the dirt.

Well, I hope this helps and good luck on your first chicken venture.

Sheila

Ideal will let you cancel or change your order just do it NOW, they are really and I mean really busy this time of year and in light of the MMH ordeal they are even busier than usual. They also just hatch what is ordered. I emailed them yesterday to add something for April 9th and she nothing at all is available till April 14 so do it now, you will get the a good selection of pullets.
If you want just good egg layers ask them what they suggest or post a thread. I ordered pullets (hens) for someone and asked what was the best laying brown egger and she said Rocks so thats what I went with. Others may have another suggestion!

Last flock I had were Rhode Island Reds, Buff Orpingtons, Araucanas, Barred Rocks, and White Rocks. We were given some Isa Browns and Silver Spangled Wyandottes. They laid okay, but nothing spectacular.

Last year I got Black Australorps. After culling the roosters (I got 25 pullets and 25 straight run) we had 35 hens and I kept 2 roosters plus my RIR rooster from the first flock.

They have been consistent in laying since September. The least eggs I got in a day was 17. They are now laying 24 to 28 eggs a day. This breed holds the record for egg laying. One hen laid 364 eggs in 365 days! But that was some time ago. The only drawback (or as my DH says, they are on the smallish size although in MMH's catalog, they're supposed to be larger. So, I am going to introduce some Buffs into the flock sometime this year.

Silkies are pretty but with straight run you may get a lot of roosters with the amount you ordered. I read that usually in any hatch there is an 80/20 split. 80% being roosters. We hatched some eggs last summer and out of the 10 that survived we ended up with 60/40. Only 4 hens. If all 14 had survived no telling how many more roosters we would have gotten.

Get a hardier breed. I agree you need to cancel now and reorder something else. We have Rhode Island Reds that lay well and also Australorp and Barred Rock. They have all layed well for us.

Chickens all have their own personality and you will enjoy them.

granny-goody are the australorp eggs the ones that are small? If they are young birds their eggs are small first and as they get older the eggs get larger. Our Australorp lays a nice size brown egg and our hens are 2 years old. And out of the different breeds we have the Australorp was the only breed that sat on eggs and hatched chicks for us so far.

Smedgekles, no, my Australorps are fully grown, and they didn't lay small eggs at first like most pullets. They lay a nice large egg, but DH wanted a slightly larger chicken. We had Buff Orpington and Rhode Island Reds the last time and they are larger than the Australorps. He was talking meat wise, not egg size. So, I will be getting Buffs to supplement the flock and if I am able to hatch a few crosses between my Australorp roos and Buff hens, so much the better. Of course, that will be next year so I don't know if I am going to have to keep a rooster for that purpose. The roosters I have now are last years and Rocky who is going on, I believe, 5 years old.

Yep, our Australorp hens will go broody. We had one already do that, but when we set her, it was still too cold and the eggs froze. In fact, it is still too cold this year for setting a hen. It was 4 above zero this morning when I got up.

4 above zero, brrrrr We have upper 30's this morning. Years and years ago I remember we would get single digits down here, but that hasn't happened in a long time. My Dad told us a story once of my grandfather having a glass of water next to his bed that froze overnight. This was of course way back when there was no indoor heat (or indoor plumbing).

Our Australorp is about the same size as our RIR's. We have some Buffs as well, but they are just getting their feathers. There is a chicken that is mostly for meat and large. I think it may be the Cornish Cross Rock. Buffs should be good size though. I think the hens get to about 8 pounds.

We had Buffs the last time around and also RIRs. These don't seem to be quite as large. I don't necessarily want meat birds, mostly egg layers, but DH is acting like a man and wanting more meat on their bones (hehe like me). I think he is just not looking at them the same way. They do seem a little smaller than the Buffs, tho.

Yes the Australorps are smaller than the Buffs. We have a RIR that is 8-1/4 lbs, she is a big girl. The rest of our RIR's are smaller, like 4-1/2 to 6 lbs.
The more meat they have the warmer they will be in winter :)

Yep, how true.. That must be the reason I am not cold in the winter...much meat on bones. Not too much, mind you, but much.

There's my first one!

Guess what? I've always been wordy. :)

Yea Light.... re reading some of these old post make me happy.... and ps I dont think you are wordy..

Yep, and there are all the sweet people trying to help me. Honestly I didn't know anything about chickens at ALL! This opened up a whole new world for me.

The people here were so nice. As usual though, I am stubborn, and did it my own way. I really thought I would get some beautiful silkies from Ideal. lol I saw these gorgeous silkies on videos and thought I would get those. Very naive I was. Then, later I thought I could order eggs and get quality silkies. That didn't work either.

Finally, after several years, I am getting some nice birds. I can honestly say, I ENJOY these chickens. Even my Ideal chickens, they are here and laying eggs for me. They are my babies. I love them.

I have gone from a old tack box, my grandmothers quilt rack and a tri pod that housed my first babies...LOLOL that thread was a hoot...