Chatterbox Silkies

08/21/2024

I was worried all day because hubby and I both work in the office on Wednesday. I had meetings all day. He went and bought bags of ice and more watermelon and deep trays to hold ice. He took care of everyone at lunch and got all the broody ones wet🩷.

He was hands on last night and even tried performing CPR on Dahlia.

My hobby is not a solo endeavor. It takes a village sometimes.

08/21/2024

I’m so sad and absolutely heartbroken. I checked on everyone multiple times today. I went outside and one of my broody girls was having a heat stroke. She was so hot. We spent 30 minutes trying to save her. 😢😢😢

RIP Dahlia. My beautiful girl from Becky at DivaSilkies. I didn’t even have any of her babies yet.

It’s just so hot this week. 109 today 🥵 without the heat index.

08/20/2024

We go visit my neighbor most nights with our dogs and often some silkies. He’s a widower.

He is enjoying some snuggles from Meadow and Theia (our blind girl). 🩷

08/17/2024

So happy with her so far. Crest is flat from her coconut oil scalp treatment lol 🩷. Her feet are pretty perfect with all those feathers and great spacing 🩷

Her mom is a mottled split and her daddy is lavender. She appears to have picked up both genes given she has a few specks of mottling and was mottled as a baby. She looks just like her mom.

She will be paired to my boy who is mottled split to lavender.

08/12/2024

It’s amazing how much they change. Little Rue in the yellow chair as a grow out.

Rue is from Dawn at Storybook. She’s sitting next to her twin Amelia from Bella Nera. I can barely tell them apart now. They are both molting but looking fabulous.

08/11/2024

Gorgeous lavender cuckoo boy. Fantastic feet. (Crest is oily from his coconut oil crest treatment).

Can ✈️ when weather is not 🥵 or bring from TX to Nashville TN end of September.

08/11/2024

This beautiful pullet is looking for a new home. I can transport from TX to Nashville and meet along the route end of September or ✈️ when it’s not so 🥵.

08/11/2024

This gorgeous cuckoo boy has the lavender gene. Looking for his own flock. Can ✈️ once the weather is cool on both ends. His crest is flat from coconut oil which I use to help with all the feathers coming in.

I’ll be driving from Texas to Nashville on 9/27. Leaving Nashville 10/2. Happy to bring with me or meet along my route.

08/10/2024

When you are selecting your hens for show and getting them in condition do you want the breast muscle even with their keel bone or does the keel bone slightly protrude? Sorry, if this is a silly question.

I have a few 1-2 year old hens and I’m concerned they are chubby. They seem thick. When I pick them up I feel like they have fat on their keel bones 😬….the breast muscles are definitely even with the keel bone.

I’m used to my silkies being a tan thinner, but I think that’s because they go broody all the time. The ones in question don’t seem to go broody often (yet)!

(They eat Kalmbach 22% mixed with some Chickhouse Reserve and get veggies and some occasional berries, watermelon and salmon skin).

08/10/2024

Enjoying some time with the grow outs. 🩷

Dottie “Dot” is definitely my favorite one. She has pigment holes, but skin is pretty decent for a mottled. She has nice feet.

08/07/2024

Meet Theia - god of sight. This is a cool story if you have a moment 🩷

Owning chickens keeps you on your toes. I feel like I’m pretty attentive. But we have had so much non chicken things going on the last couple months. I totally missed something.

Theia had been doing great. She had plenty of movie nights inside. Her weight was normal. She followed her besties around. But She always screamed when I picked her up. Like screamed and screamed. But I saw nothing wrong. We thought she was just weird and jokingly said we would need to fix that otherwise no one would want her.

The chickens moved from the garage to the shed. Some chickens moved to new homes.
Theia (who was nameless at the time) started going downhill. Sitting in the corner. Got super skinny. I tried vitamins, deworming, etc.

A couple weeks ago I finally decided to euthanize her. But I had a work call so I decided to put her in my bathroom on a puppy pad with food on the ground and in a bowl. We watched her as she was scratching the ground and eating but also running into the wall and pecking the air.

I soon determined she is blind 😢. And honestly her hearing seems to be diminished to almost absent. Her besties had moved to new homes and the new shed was a scary new place for her that she couldn’t navigate. Her besties had been her “eyes” and had showed her how to find food and water.

I’m Happy to report that after pairing her with one of my keepers in a small pen she has gained weight and is thriving.

I guess my point of this story is that any reputable chicken loving person is trying their best and we are constantly learning. I always try to have grace for others, but I often don’t have it for myself.

Sending a little grace your way 💛

08/04/2024

This boy is going to be handsome! Nice feet, wings and comb. And of course a beard 😍

08/04/2024

I want to keep every girl, but this one is pending pickup 😢. She looks like her mom Autumn, but with more beard and more mottling. She’s so pretty and has great feet and wings and I love her little beard.

This chicken breeding thing is hard. There is literally nothing wrong with her. I just don’t “need” her because I’m trying to keep my pens small.

Check my stories- the raffle winner is being announced next.

07/30/2024

Don’t forget the give away. Ends tomorrow 🩷💛

Alright chicken lovers! Life can be tough and I feel like it’s been one thing after another, but in the big scheme of things there is so much beauty, kindness and love.

I’m not in to $ waffles or selling eggs. Just not my thing. I try to give eggs away to anyone local picking up birds.

So instead, I’m doing a give away. Please read carefully 😊

Once the weather cools The W I N N E R will receive

🌸1 dozen+ eggs (mottled/lavender)
🌻Drinking with chickens cocktail book
🌸Self care items (Epsom salt, bath bombs)
🍀Chocolate (not pictured)

How to play:

🪻1 entry if you like this post
🌺1 entry if you tag others
🌸1 entry if you share this post
🍀2 entries if you leave me a Facebook review (for those who have personally worked with me).

This goes until the end of July.

You can also dedicate your w I n to someone you think is deserving.

If you are still reading, I will be doing something soon for a f r e e lavender boy and girl (includes personal transport from TX to along my route to TN in Sept. or can ✈️ at your expense).

Have a great weekend 💛

07/29/2024

My friend Holly posted about chickens getting in condition before show season.

I’m attending my first show in October and I told my hubby I was behind on getting the silkies in condition. He jokingly thought I meant they needed to start some kind of exercise regimen.

80s neon, sweat bands and resistance bands 😂

07/28/2024

This is how we quarantine at Chatterbox Silkies. Inside with lots of pampering and relaxing.

07/24/2024

Meet Nova and Meadow 🩷🩷🩷!

I’ll be honest, I’ve had a lot of chicken transactions. On a few occasions, breeders have offered to make it right. The intention is good, but the reality is people are human. They forget. They often don’t come through. I move on. It’s not a big deal in the big scheme of things.

Fast forward to a tragic situation that was in no way the breeder’s fault. Blossom and Poppy were lost in the hands of USPS/Fedex. Sarah Hidden Pines Silkies owed me nothing! I expected nothing. Yet here we are. She sent me two beautiful babies. My beautiful new girls (black split to lav and mottled) made it home safely today. I’m in love.

If you don’t know Sarah I encourage you to follow her page. She’s a gem, someone I’ve become great friends with and one of the few breeders I trust.

07/23/2024

I was outside doing coop chores and enjoying this fantastic weather (80s versus 100+).

I then had to admire baby Hella because she has some b***y 🍑! My first keeper is looking nice.

07/22/2024

This one was a favorite early on. Then those little wattles. And then what appears to be streamers (I’m still a little in denial and had to ask a friend lol). 💔 I think he is going to be a pretty girly boy🩷.

07/21/2024

I can ✈️ single birds if your temps are good. We have record highs of only 83 and Memphis looks good too. I have a few mottled girls and a suspected lavender NN girl. And mottled and lavender boys.

Look at my pinned post regarding $✈️ first.

07/20/2024

These 2 girls are ready to have their own flock. Local pickup or can ✈️ when the weather is safe on both ends.

07/17/2024

My sister just sent me this. My brother in law is an airplane mechanic at FedEx and he just saved a baby chick. I thought he was really taking it home, but that is not protocol.

She responded soon after that the chick was placed back in a box… they hope it was the right box and tried to choose the right one 😊

07/16/2024

The great thing about my new shed is I have a place to hang with the babies and teens.

No hubby, no dogs. No cat or pig. My own music! 🥳😍

07/13/2024

Alright chicken lovers! Life can be tough and I feel like it’s been one thing after another, but in the big scheme of things there is so much beauty, kindness and love.

I’m not in to $ waffles or selling eggs. Just not my thing. I try to give eggs away to anyone local picking up birds.

So instead, I’m doing a give away. Please read carefully 😊

Once the weather cools The W I N N E R will receive

🌸1 dozen+ eggs (mottled/lavender)
🌻Drinking with chickens cocktail book
🌸Self care items (Epsom salt, bath bombs)
🍀Chocolate (not pictured)

How to play:

🪻1 entry if you like this post
🌺1 entry if you tag others
🌸1 entry if you share this post
🍀2 entries if you leave me a Facebook review (for those who have personally worked with me).

This goes until the end of July.

You can also dedicate your w I n to someone you think is deserving.

If you are still reading, I will be doing something soon for a f r e e lavender boy and girl (includes personal transport from TX to along my route to TN in Sept. or can ✈️ at your expense).

Have a great weekend 💛

07/11/2024

What a week!

Chicks and juvies made it safely today 💛! They all need baths but they were well fed.

My beautiful bearded boy went to his new home and will hopefully make nice pretty babies. Fortunately, he’s not too far in case I need to take him back.

And another breeder drove in today so she can pick up her babies and head back tomorrow!
I was taking goodbye pics of this silly boy. He looks so much like his daddy Cornbread. He has nice taste in art 😂! (Local artist, obvious conversation piece).

07/07/2024

If you have a big space this makes no sense, but for a small operation I love my new shed.

The inside of the shed has chickens moving in.
We will install the light this week. (Permanent power outlet for the AC is next).

The lattice pens attach via a hook on each side so are easily removed. I still need to get pine flakes. And still need to figure out a good way to contain the flakes/bedding.

I may put the brooder/table back in the middle but honestly this gave me more space and overall works out nicely.

07/07/2024

Edit: boy is gone.

Beautiful mottled pair (suspected). Choice of girls. The non bearded is a confirmed girl. The bearded silkie is a girl.

The satin bearded (look at that amazing beard 😍) has wattles coming in and looks like a boy. He has white on feet and wings. Assuming my additional boxes arrive today, they can ✈️ tomorrow if your temps are good. Otherwise, they will be available in the fall or local.

07/06/2024

It’s a rare event that Texas is 85 degrees in July. Monday will be 85 degrees. If your temps are low 80s or under mid next week and you are interested in mottled or lavender send me a DM.

I have mottled pullets, some need to go with a boy. I have mottled boys (frizzle and silkie).

I have lavender juveniles. Lovely Lavender boys.

I also have some mottled juveniles.

My boxes should arrive tomorrow.

07/04/2024

I may have shed some tears but the tile is almost finished.

Before the tile, my smart girl Finn from Holly at H and M laid an egg in the AC. Her new bestie Hella follows her like a puppy dog.

Happy 4th of July everyone!!