The Dusty Feather

12/04/2023

02/12/2023

Hawk (ameruacana/Brahma mix)

02/12/2023

The guys of our yard at this time

02/12/2023

Beavis and butthead

02/12/2023

A snow and Goosie baby. Sadly didn’t make it long.

02/12/2023

2.5 months

02/12/2023

Couple of my Silkie grow outs

01/25/2023

Copied from another breeder

🥚❓️ Low Egg Production ❓️🥚

There are a lot of rumors going around general poultry keeping groups about lack of egg production over the last 6-8 months, and it being the result of feed quality taking a dive. This is not the case.

Though any feed production facility can have a crappy batch that slips through quality control on occasion, feeds have not changed. However, the number of new keepers that lack a lot of poultry keeping experience and knowledge has tripled over the last couple of years.

So, here's is what you need to know. 😊.

*The nutrition numbers in the below image pertain to typical laying breed parameters and not silkies.*

01/25/2023

01/25/2023

Welcome to my page!
I am a small hobby chicken breeder. I don’t always have chickens, chicks, or hatching eggs available.
When I do, I will post them on this page.
If you want to claim then payment will be required in full at the time of being claimed. If no payment is received then they remain available for the next person.
I love the different docile breeds! Ameruacana, silkies, Brahmas, candy corn Polish, olive and Easter eggers. Ocasionally I may have other breeds along the way♥️

01/21/2023

https://backyardfarmlife.com/do-chickens-have-hair/

To set the record straight, no chickens do not have hair. But, they do have a handful of different types of feathers, some of which do look like hair which is why the question is raised in the first place.

11/15/2022

Snow laid her first egg today!

11/15/2022

Just some I for for the possible “aggressive rooster”

, if he starts pecking, flaring neck feathers or jumping at you, you'll need to do some training. Here's my rooster training advice copy & pasted. I have 8 roosters and it has worked with every single one of them ♡

Rooster training 101 ❤️
Hormones play a big role in rooster behavior, as well as pecking order. Believe it or not, the top hen is usually the boss, but roo is the leader, protector and finder of food & shelter. When he takes his role seriously, anything and everything becomes a threat to his flock, especially when he's trying to prove himself to the hens. Unless you can show him (in his own language) that you are not one of those threats, his behavior can easily escalate into aggression. Unfortunately because of this, roosters are one of the most abused and misunderstood animals in the world. They are hormonally and genetically predisposed to show aggression to protect their flock, and being flight/prey animals, the bigger and scarier they can be, the better the flocks survival. All he has is his wits, his beak, his spurs and his hackles to fight with and intimidate. A good roo will die fighting for his ladies, and he shouldn't be punished for it.

It's simple animal behavioral science. Pressure and release. The pressure is you asking him to submit, and the release is his reward for doing so. Poultry have a hierarchy of who is the most dominant like many other prey/flight animals. Horses for example.

Make him squat like a rooster does to a hen. Push his back down with one hand, and with the other hold his head toward the ground and gently pull the feathers on the back of his neck. If he's struggling alot, you can even give him a tap on the butt to mimic mating (as odd as that sounds). As SOON as he stops struggling and submits, release him. Every person in your family needs to do this separately if he is showing aggression towards them. It may take a few times, but it absolutely does work. The most important part is the timing of the release. As soon as he submits, let him go and walk away. That is his reward for submitting to you. You are now the top rooster in his eyes, and no longer a threat to the flock because you've taken the alpha position.
Suble signs of aggression (beyond obvious flogging) is when he does his little sideways rooster shuffle, he starts pecking hard. The dance by itself is fine, but hard pecking is not. I allow my one Serama roo little gentle pecks because it's part of his little dance, but as soon as they get aggressively placed, he gets a tune-in. Flaring neck feathers, running at you, trying to peck or bite, and flogging is when they come at you full force with spurs. Chasing little kids is also aggressive. If you watch rooster behavior it's easy to start seeing the difference between flirting and getting aggressive.

Also, holding him while feeding the hens will solidify that top dog position youve just earned. It's the roosters job to feed and take care of the hens, so you are now the boss by taking care of them instead of him.
There is no need to be violent and aggressive with a rooster. It only escalates the problem and you'll never earn his trust or respect. They are programmed to defend their flock. You need to prove to him you're not a threat. Lots of them will grow out of that hormonal aggression after the 1st year, and unfortunately there will be some where this training technique may not work because of all the genetic modifications done to certain breeds. But, more often than most, especially starting young, this will guarantee that you keep the sweet boy you started with before he turned into a dingus ♡ Oftten it will also work on older aggressive roosters too, just glove and Jean up to catch him 😉

Good luck, and I hope that upon reading this, a few roosters will be saved from freezer camp because they got taught how to respect their humans properly, and their humans learned how to respect them.

10/02/2022

Beavis and Butthead

10/02/2022

Miss Pepper

09/28/2022

Copied from another breeder:
Hello everyone!
I have noticed a lot of people struggle with terminology in silkies. One term that’s important when breeding silkies is the “true-or pure-black” term.
Black is one of the original colors recognized by poultry associations for exhibition. Years ago there were just a handful, being black, white, buff, and blue/splash.
Everything beyond or in between was a “mixed color/mutt”
All that prior to paint, lavender, mottled, chocolates, and cuckoo, black was all alone and untouched except for when some folks crossed with white (improve whites pigment or add type to black) or to breed with splash to create blues.
Black used to be so beautiful and untouched. They were great quality, with beautiful color and type, and they bred completely true. Meaning, no oopsie colors were produced. You didn’t get anything except black offspring, and you still won’t if you breed true black.
There are now so few people with actual true black pens. There are black silkies everywhere, but they are poor specimens, and produce all different colors. It has been bad for this variety. And people aren’t understanding why.
So many people are intentionally creating more and more “splits” to all the various project colors, using solely black.
The cost of a true black has now risen, as they are in high demand, they are hard to find, and the breeders of this variety are becoming quite protective of their variety. Since it is now elusive, and so few people are attempting to preserve it.
So if you wonder why some breeders do not want to sell to a project breeder, that is why. If you wonder why some breeders want $10 for a black silkie, while others want $200, that is why.
I hope I have helped some of you understand that term a little better today!