[JANEVANS02]

Just started to keep silkies, I have a pair of blue bearded, a golden cock with a partridge silkie, a pair of gold silkies.  I would love to let my silkies loose in the garden but am a little concerned because part of my garden has a 3 feet fence and the other side of the fence is a road, one of my bantam books says silkies can only fly 3 feet and the other book says because of their different feather structure they are unable to fly.

Can anyone please tell me which book is correct.

Thanks,

Jan

[Aunt Sally]

Well I believe that most silkies cannot fly, they have "osprey" wings meaning that their wing feathers do not have hard ribs so will not support them in fllight.  

I think  :?

[Jellyhead]

I dont think I can remember what silkies look like :roll:  :roll: therefore I think I need to see piccies then I shall remember and be able to answer the question maybe    

[mdueal]

We have silkies. They can do a buzz lightyear type 'falling with style' but they can't take off any height at all. They will do a mad run/jump/flap thing up to you once they know you mean food. We let ours out all day with only a 30cm willow lawn edging to keep them off the borders and this has worked so far. They could fly better when they were younger (under 16 weeks) presumably as they were lighter.

[Aunt Sally]

They are real cuties



Loads about them here:

http://feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Silkies/BRKSilkies.html

[Lost in France]

I have silkies and...they do fly when they want to! Mine have never flown out of their netting but do fly up onto the henhouse. They do a sort of "road-runner" then take off, funny to watch as they're really so beautiful but not very elegant when trying to take odd" If you're worried just clip a wing, esp as they could get onto the road.

Judi

[Jellyhead]

hellooooo em piccies please, I am going to pick up some silkies tomorrow, so excited :? he has all different ones apparently

[babe]

hellooooo em piccies please, I am going to pick up some silkies tomorrow, so excited :? he has all different ones apparently

new girlies for alvin, he's a lucky boy  

[Fat Hen]

Silkies can't fly, in fact they're supposed to not like heights.  Mine does a good running around the garden full tilt flapping wings routine, and she's a good jumper.

They're very cuddly though    

Piccy for Babe



The black one is a Silkie cock, ginger Silkie hen white a Sultan.

[babe]

Piccy for Babe

.

aw  lovely fat hen, the ginger one's so cute, what's she called?

[Fat Hen]

Ginger is called Daisy (no1 daughter named after a friend at school who has ginger hair).

Black one (now gone i'm afraid, had to rehome him) was originally called Ella and once his true colours showed we called him Eddie (after Eddie Murphy).

White is Polly (no story really).  She's a real sweatie.

[Esme]

Ooh, I love silkies so much - I used to have a trio of white ones. I never saw mine fly and assumed they couldn't with all that fluff, but maybe they only took off when I wasn't looking. . .