Amber Waves Silkies
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Transcript of Amber Waves Silkies
Amber Waves is proud to offer exquisite bearded bantam
silkie chickens for sale. Committed to continuing its long-
standing tradition of breeding beautiful, conformationally
correct chickens, these silkies are perfect as pets and for
show. Whether you are interested in raising silkies to enjoy
their fresh eggs, welcoming silkies into your life as pets,
showing silkies, or perhaps a combination of the above,
Amber Waves can provide you with top quality birds to get
you started .Once you decide to purchase silkie chickens your
relationship with Amber Waves is only beginning because
your birds come with Lifetime Support. Amber Waves
provides silkie chicken enthusiasts with the information they
need to successfully raise their birds. In addition to having
access to the plethora of articles hosted on their site, silkie
chicken support can always be obtained by contacting
Amber Waves directly.
Silkie Chickens
Silkies are a very old breed, thought to have originated
in Southeast Asia sometime before 1200 AD. The Silkie
(sometimes spelled Silky) is a breed of chicken named for
its unique, fluffy plumage, which is said to feel like silk.
Since Silkies don’t have usual feathers, they cannot fly, so
they are easily contained, and won’t venture very far if
kept in the yard.
They come in bearded and non-beaded varieties. The
American Bantam Association accepts six standard colors
for Silkies. They are black, blue, buff, white, partridge,
splash and gray. There are also some other non-standard,
but, popular colors. They include red, lavender, porcelain
and cuckoo. Silkies are one of the most broody breeds of
chicken and are frequently used to raise other varieties of
small birds. They make wonderful mothers and adapt well
to both cold and hot environments.
In addition to their distinctive physical characteristics,
Silkies are well known for their calm, friendly temperament.
Among the most docile of poultry, Silkies are considered an
ideal pet. Silkies are quite affectionate towards their owner,
and realize that we will not harm them. They will talk to
you with their little, chicken clucks, and can be made so
tame, that they will fly up into your lap if given the chance.
Silkies are great layers of fairly large sized bantam eggs,
and will lay well in winter, when other breeds of chickens
have quit. In fact, winters don’t bother Silkies, because their
fluffy down “coats,” keep them warm.
Silkies can anticipate a life span of about nine years and
they tend to maintain their beautiful appearance throughout
their maturity.
Bantams were formerly known strictly as a fancier’s delight,
for pleasure and pets, but they are now proving their
commercial value and are adaptable as a backyard flock.
ABOUT SILKIES
Introducing New Birds to a Flock
An established flock considers their present housing to be
THEIR home. They will fight to maintain dominance over
the “intruders”. Existing flocks have an agreed “pecking
order.” The chicken “society” has been established and
each bird “knows” where they fit in this pecking order. The
dominant hen gets the first food, the best grass, the best
spot on the roost, her favorite nest box, etc. The lowest
hen on the pecking order usually gets picked on by all the
others. This sound mean, but it’s the way chicken society
functions. Roosters consider the hens in the flock to be “his”
and he will protect them from new roosters. To minimize
conflict when introducing new birds:
1. Put them ALL in a new enclosure,
2. Partition an existing enclosure,
3. Use a temporary cage within the main enclosure,
4. Maintain the age and physical size of birds in a flock as
close as possible,
5. Avoid combining cockerels/roosters,
6. Keep them busy or distract them,
7. Do it in the dark
Chickens in The City
Join the “urban chicken movement” and raise your own
backyard flock. Chickens are both fun and useful to keep.
Don’t expect to keep a breeding flock with noisy roosters,
but your hens will earn their keep and provide enjoyment by
laying eggs for you. Chickens can provide you with healthy,
home grown eggs and meat, quality nitrogen-rich fertilizer,
pest control and companionship. Perhaps surprisingly, a
reasonable number of chickens can adapt very well to the
constraints of an urban environment. It is even possible to
keep chickens indoors through the use of diapers.
Check local laws and regulations. Some municipalities
enforce restrictions on the type and/or number of birds that
can be housed within their boarders. Some cities limit the
number of chickens you can have on specified acreage.
Since roosters are perceived as noisy, they are usually
subject to your city’s noise/nuisance ordinances. While
hens are normally very quiet, they may still be subject to
nuisance ordinances. In areas that were recently rural
or have a strong farming culture, no law or license may be
required to keep chickens. All is not lost if chickens are illegal
in your area. Many towns such as such as Madison, WI and
Ann Arbor MI have managed to pass pro-chicken ordinances.
First 60 Days:A Young Chick Brooder - Can be as simple as a sturdy cardboard box or a small animal cage such as one you’d use for rabbits. A flooring of pine shavings works best and a temperature of 90 to 100 degrees is ideal for the first week. After the first week, decrease the temperature by five degrees per week. A 100 watt bulb in one corner (not the whole brooder) works well. Provide starter chick crumbles and a chick waterer.
Play with your chicks when young to get them accustomed to being around people. Section off an area in your yard where the chicks can explore and scratch. Make sure you can catch them when it’s time to come in.
After First 60 Days:Care for the silkie chicken is similar to that of other chickens, although their diminutive size and inability to fly require special attention to feeding and sheltering.
Once feathered out you’ll want to move your chickens into a chicken coop! Include a roosting house with roosts no higher than three feet from the ground. The rule of thumb is about two to three square feet per chicken inside the coop and four to five square feet per chicken in an outside run.
Provide your silkie chickens with grit in their coop if they are rarely free-range. Clean your silkie’s coop at least once a month, using fresh pine shavings on the floor. Sprinkle diatomaceous earth everywhere, except around food and water, to control fleas, lice and mites.
Check your silkie chickens every week for mites and lice. If you notice pests on your chickens, use an avian pest-control spray on the chickens. Spray again in a week. The best prevention for mites is to keep your birds in a clean environment and check them frequently.
Silkie chickens need no special diet. They eat seeds and grains, bugs and vegetation just like any other hen. Feed silkies the same food as all breeds of hen and give them a layer complete food when they are of egg laying age to ensure they get all the nutrients they need for good egg production.
If you are purchasing a commercial feed I recommend a 24% grower that you often use for starting chicks compared to 16%. Besides commercial feed and access to green grass and insects that crawl and fly during good weather I also supplement their diet.
Feed your silkie chickens layer crumbles. Often the pellets are too large for silkies to eat. You can also feed them a mash
CARE OF SILKIES
made of bran, grated apple and carrot mixed with meat meal and a little vegetable oil once or twice a week. Toss out table scraps such as vegetables and bread for your chickens.
Provide fresh water for your silkie chickens, and scrub out the water pan every week. Keeping their water supply fresh and readily available is one of the most important aspects of chicken care, because chickens can easily become dehydrated.
Silkies and MitesMites are just a fact of silkie-keeping and you need to be diligent in checking your birds for these nasty critters. A really bad mite infestation can kill a bird, or at least weaken it so that it is susceptible to any illness or infection. Silkies should be checked at least twice a month for mites, and it is automatic to check for mites every time you handle your birds. Mites look like tiny specks of dirt or pepper, and their droppings are dark as well. They are easy to see on a white bird but much harder on dark birds.
Their mouth parts pierce the skin and they live on blood. After the crest, the vent is the most popular place for mites to congregate. They will attack chicks as well as adult silkies. If you find one bird with mites, check and treat every bird in your flock. The best prevention for mites is to keep your birds
in a clean environment and check them frequently.
Sexing Silkies
Silkie chickens take longer to mature than many other
chicken breeds, often as much as eight to nine months.
Unlike sex-link chicken breeds and chickens bred to be
feather-sexed, silkie chickens show little difference before
they reach maturity. According to the American Silkie
Bantam Club, experienced silkie owners develop ways to
identify the sex of their chicks by about eight to 12 weeks,
but can be wrong as much as 50 percent of the time.
Amber Waves Offers Buyers a Warranty
We you purchase a Silkie from Amber Waves you have the
option to purchase a Hen Warranty. This ensure that you
have the one-time right to exchange your bird within six
months should it turn out to be a rooster. The buyer’s only
cost is for applicable shipping expenses.
The National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) is a
national program in collaboration with state and federal
departments of agriculture and industry representatives.
The main objective of this program is to use new diagnostic
technology to effectively improve poultry and poultry
products throughout the United States. Through this work,
NPIP provides certification that poultry and poultry products
destined for interstate and international shipments are
disease free. In order to be a NPIP flock, requirements
include annual P-T testing, AI testing, annual premises
inspection and annual records audit.
In all, 48 U.S. States have Official State Agencies working
with USDA–APHIS to manage the Plan. The NPIP Technical
Committee is made up of Industry, State, and Federal
members and meets biennially to provide oversight.
The NPIP has certified 130 authorized laboratories
nationwide to perform the various tests necessary to make
sure that Plan flocks and premises are properly maintained.
The NPIP’s General Conference Committee assists USDA
in planning, organizing, and conducting the biennial
NPIP Conference. The Committee recommends whether
new proposals should be considered by delegates to
the Conference and— during the interim between Plan
Conferences— represents the cooperating States in
advising USDA with respect to administrative procedures
and interpretations of the NPIP provisions in the CFR.
What is the National Poultry Improvement Plan?
Committee members also help USDA evaluate comments
received from interested persons concerning proposed
amendments to the NPIP provisions. The Committee
recommends to the Secretary of Agriculture any changes
in the provisions of the Plan necessitated by unforeseen
conditions when postponement until the next NPIP
Conference would seriously impair the operation of the
program. Finally, the General Conference Committee
serves as a forum for the study of problems relating to
poultry health and makes specific recommendations to the
Secretary concerning ways in which USDA may assist the
industry in solving these problems.
Participation in the NPIP is open to all producers who can
make their poultry, game-bird, ratite, or waterfowl facilities
meet Plan requirements. The first step is to demonstrate, to
the satisfaction of the applicant’s Official State Agency, that
his or her facilities, personnel, and practices are adequate
for carrying out the applicable provisions of the NPIP. Once
accepted into the Plan, participants have to maintain in
the Plan all of their poultry hatching-egg supply flocks and
hatchery operations in a given State.
A leader in the bearded bantam silkie chicken breeding
industry, Amber Waves is proud to offer exotic,
conformationally correct silkie chicks for sale. Ornately
colored and covered in fluffy, silk-like feathers, silkie
chickens are among the most beautiful of the chicken
breeds and provide companionship, top-quality eggs, and
the opportunity to exhibit them at poultry shows. Known for
their docile, friendly nature, silkie chickens are an excellent
choice for poultry novices and experts alike, silkies make
an excellent present for that special someone on your list.
Amber Waves sells white, blue, black, buff, splash and partridge,
colored silkie chicks year round. All our birds exemplify the
highest quality and health.
You will never be alone while raising your silkie chickens;
each silkie chicken purchased from Amber Waves comes
with Lifetime Support, meaning you have a knowledgeable
resource at your disposal should you ever have any questions.
Established in 1982 in Norco, California, Amber Waves has
produced award winning bearded bantam silkie chickens that
are highly sought after for breeding, showing, and as family
pets. Recently featured on The Tori and Dean Show on the
Oxygen Network, the silkie chickens of Amber Waves made
quite an impression during their television debut.
Amber Waves ships silkie chickens that are at least one
month of age nationwide. Visitors are welcome at Amber
Waves by appointment, and customers may pick up chicks
younger than one month during their visit.
To purchased Bearded Bantam Silkie Chickens
from Amber Waves and for more information
on the breed in general, visit:
http://showsilkies.com
⌦http://silkiesforsale.com
or call:
⌦(951) 736-1076 Home
⌦(951) 233-4231 Jim’s Cell
⌦E-mail: [email protected]
You can also book an appointment on line at:
⌦http://amber-waves.genbook.com
⌦
⌦Jim and Debbie Hosley
Norco, California, United States of America
In addition to selling Bearded Bantam Silkie chickens,
Amber Waves also breeds African Pygmy goats and
Blue Slate Turkeys which are for sale.
Silkie Chickens Available for Purchase
Partridge Bearded Silkie
Black Bearded Silkie
White Bearded Silkie
Splash Bearded Silkie Buff Bearded Silkie
Blue Bearded Silkie
Amber Waves1320 Mountain AvenueNorco, CA 92860