Hello,
My husband bought me a 3 mo old while silkie for my birthday 2 days ago. I also have Easter Eggers, NH Reds, Buff Orpingtons and Speckled Sussex hens. This silkie doesn't seem as hardy as my other birds nor as intelligent. I prefer hardy, larger birds that are excellent foragers and layers. It doesn't seem like this silkie will be any of these things.
Yesterday I noticed it has a ping pong sized ball in its crop. I massaged it several times yesterday and this morning the size had gone down about 1/4 from its original size. However, there was still a firm mass in the crop after sleeping all night with no access to food and only water.
The other odd thing is that she is pooping well and its is normal.
Being that this is a new bird and breed to me and its seems to already have something going on only 2 days after getting it I guess I'm looking for some advice from fellow silkie owners.
Can the crop be impacted even if the bird is having very regular and normal poop? If the crop is hard does that always mean an impaction or could it be overeating? Are silkies more prone to health problems (kind of like specialty pure bred canines)? I'm not sure I'm comfortable using a syringe to administer water mixed with colace because I'd be too afraid of aspirating the bird so any advice on how to do this is helpful too. And should I just return the bird since it may not be healthy?
Any help or advice is appreciated.
Thanks,
CB
My husband bought me a 3 mo old while silkie for my birthday 2 days ago. I also have Easter Eggers, NH Reds, Buff Orpingtons and Speckled Sussex hens. This silkie doesn't seem as hardy as my other birds nor as intelligent. I prefer hardy, larger birds that are excellent foragers and layers. It doesn't seem like this silkie will be any of these things.
Yesterday I noticed it has a ping pong sized ball in its crop. I massaged it several times yesterday and this morning the size had gone down about 1/4 from its original size. However, there was still a firm mass in the crop after sleeping all night with no access to food and only water.
The other odd thing is that she is pooping well and its is normal.
Being that this is a new bird and breed to me and its seems to already have something going on only 2 days after getting it I guess I'm looking for some advice from fellow silkie owners.
Can the crop be impacted even if the bird is having very regular and normal poop? If the crop is hard does that always mean an impaction or could it be overeating? Are silkies more prone to health problems (kind of like specialty pure bred canines)? I'm not sure I'm comfortable using a syringe to administer water mixed with colace because I'd be too afraid of aspirating the bird so any advice on how to do this is helpful too. And should I just return the bird since it may not be healthy?
Any help or advice is appreciated.
Thanks,
CB