squiffs Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 (edited) I got my 2 beautiful gold bearded silkies from a breeder on 31st July this year - when I bought them there were three caught in a cat carrier (as they run around freely otherwise, and she caught them the night before in anticipation of me coming to collect). The breeder said to me they are point of lay, and one of them laid an egg in the cat carrier overnight! Just my luck, I got the two who evidently DIDN'T lay that egg - I've had them 3 and a half months almost and not a single egg or sign of one - are my girls too posh to push? They're fed on marriage's layers pellets, the same as the rest of my flock, and only fed treats (mealworms, greens etc) occasionally. They were wormed about 2 weeks ago too. I heard that purebreeds can sometimes take a while to come into lay, but if one from the same hatch laid an egg the day we collected them, wouldn't they all be about the same stage? I also heard that silkies lay at christmas time, anyone got any ideas how likely that is? Edited October 13, 2011 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squiffs Posted October 13, 2011 Author Share Posted October 13, 2011 No one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 For hybrids POL is probably 18 weeks plus, some sellers will stretch that back as far as 16 weeks a pure breed is another kettle of fish entirely and cannot really be described as POL as early as the hybrids so it could be that your seller has been rather optimistic and quoted what they believe to be 'standard' I think you can only really give them the benefit of the doubt. I had a chook here for some weeks on its way to somewhere else, it laid an egg the first day here but has not laid a single one since - its been about 4 months and as they are blue eggs I know I wasnt mistaken about that first egg Do you have any recent pics that would give us an idea of the size they are now Also asking the obvious question are you happy they arent males? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squiffs Posted October 14, 2011 Author Share Posted October 14, 2011 For hybrids POL is probably 18 weeks plus, some sellers will stretch that back as far as 16 weeks a pure breed is another kettle of fish entirely and cannot really be described as POL as early as the hybrids so it could be that your seller has been rather optimistic and quoted what they believe to be 'standard I think you can only really give them the benefit of the doubt. I had a chook here for some weeks on its way to somewhere else, it laid an egg the first day here but has not laid a single one since - its been about 4 months and as they are blue eggs I know I wasnt mistaken about that first egg Do you have any recent pics that would give us an idea of the size they are now Also asking the obvious question are you happy they arent males? They're definitely girls, they've got the massive pom poms and no sign of the comb that male silkies have... I'll post a picture I have of them, they've gotten a bit bigger since July for sure. I have given the breeder the benefit of the doubt as another forum member, Wendy, has silkies from the same breeder (and she's a small breeder, specialising in Welsummers and Silkies). This picture was taken at the end of August, so, a little under 2 months ago, I'll post a more recent one when I get home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 They do look reasonably mature for sure I have a black Silkie here that has just come in to lay and her comb started growing really fast just before she started to lay so I dont know if thats maybe a sign that they are ready or not...?? Could they be laying then eating their eggs? a long shot I know.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squiffs Posted October 14, 2011 Author Share Posted October 14, 2011 They do look reasonably mature for sure I have a black Silkie here that has just come in to lay and her comb started growing really fast just before she started to lay so I dont know if thats maybe a sign that they are ready or not...?? Could they be laying then eating their eggs? a long shot I know.. Looking at the mums of this hatch, I'm not sure they get combs, if they do they're near invisible... Here's a link with some of her laying stock. http://www.alisoningram.co.uk/Silkies.htm I can't see any combs on the mummies, and the ones that were pottering about when I was there didn't have them either to my knowledge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 hmm thats out as a clue My black silkie doesnt have much of a comb but what she does have plumped out dramatically just before she started to lay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squiffs Posted October 14, 2011 Author Share Posted October 14, 2011 How old was she when she came into lay? Mine were about 18 weeks apparently when I bought them, and that would make them around 29 weeks now, which seems quite young, but then I've got 24 week old hybrids that still aren't laying yet, and some that have since they first arrived! Strange. Perhaps I just got two that don't feel like laying eggs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 I assume that you wormed them with Flubenvet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squiffs Posted October 14, 2011 Author Share Posted October 14, 2011 Oh yes of course, I must of mixed up around 8kilos of the damned stuff! They are well and truly wormed haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squiffs Posted October 15, 2011 Author Share Posted October 15, 2011 must HAVE - ooh dear, terrible grammar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
