Recent content by Steph n Kel

Thank you for your delightful and informative article! We have just brought home 2 hens and while we did research before hand, you touch on a few things that other tresources did not and I really like your detailed account of how they interact with you.

Additional question....again, have read many conflicting dosing instructions...how many days? I had been planning on 3-5, making sure to go one day past any sign of symptoms. Is 5 the max?

I have been treating my bantams (assorted types) with Tylan 50, orally .25 cc for 3 days They have all been improving with exception of one bird who has suddenly appeared MUCH worse, in the last several hours. She had improved one day 1 and 2 . Her initial symptoms were raspy breathing...

Thank you or your advice, it is reassuring and helped us to get the right antibiotic. We di actually add to the flock 2 weeks ago. None of those birds are affected but now knowing they can carry a disease without symptoms for their lifetime, it seems that was likely the source. We will...

Correction... There is some discharge as her feathers are a bit crusty on her beard. She is scratching and seems to be looking for something to eat but does not eat the food or even the shaved carrot I placed on the floor of the cage. She did poop however and the dropping looks normal but...

Hi. Our 4 month old Silkie Pullet has rattled breathing on both inhale and exhale. Her inhale actually sounds like a rattle and her out hale sounds like a wheeze or sigh. She seems to breathe quietly when sleeping. She is sneezing but not frequently. She is listless but not droopy. Since...

This is my first time putting a photo in a post so hopefully it works. I'm looking for help in identifying the official colour of the multi coloured hen. Thanks in advance!

Hi there, My question is, do (or can) hens splay their hackle feathers when they are "bumping chests" and establishing the pecking order? I'm not worried about their behaviour - I understand it's normal - but I have noticed that some of the birds will "bump", run at , or peck another bird but...

We are new to BYC (and chickens - all Silkies so far) and are just outside of Bobcaygeon, ON (2 hours from Toronto.

Hi Teila, Thank you for the info. I will try and take some additional photos over the weekend and then post to see with other BYC members think. I have a feeling we have at least 1 rooster amongst each group, but we'll see! S & K

We are the newish owners to 7 Silkies. Three are 8 wks old (we got them at 3 days) and the other 4 are older birds (apparently born this year) that we obtained from another Silkie farmer. They looked to be 2 fully grown (if not sexually mature) birds, 1 that looked to be a older pullet and...

Hi DD, Yes, she is one of the newbies. We were only going to get 3 older birds initially, but she was basically thrust at us as a 'bonus'. I've now identified that all of the newbies are infested with a really terrible case of scaly leg mites, and I now suspect lice or other parasites. We...

Oh...... that is awful! I'm so sorry. Thanks for replying anyway. :-)

Hello BYC! My husband and I have been lurking for almost 7 weeks now, which not coincidentally, is how long we have had chickens. The story starts with my husband's desire to have "a couple of chickens" at our new home - this desire quickly morphed into "4 or 5 hens and a couple of ducks"...

Do you know the answer to your question yet? Male or female? Were the guesses correct?