2 mo old silkie - ?sick - would love your input

[OCchickens]

I have 3 little silkies that I just got a week ago. This one is probably about 2 mo old, a little smaller than the other two, and today I noticed her less frisky, standing around a fair amt. It was cold & rainy here over the weekend & got quite cold last night (for Cal.) I brought her inside & put her in a box under a warming lamp. She spent most of the afternoon eating, is pooping ok too. She has now settled down to sleep. I turned off the lamp b/c she was standing off to the side & looked to be panting a bit, also wondered if she would sleep with the light on.

Her behavior got me wondering whether the other two are letting her eat.

I'm also wondering whether I should have her under the lamp tonight. It only gets to about 66 degrees in my house overnight.

We need a little emoticon for worry -- that seems to be the most prevalent emotion when posting something like this...

This one doesn't quite look worried enough. The one under the chair is a little extreme.

This one's pretty good.

 

[Suellyn]

I would leave a heat source for her, but make sure she has enough space to get away from it to cool off if she wants to, that way she can "self-regulate" to the temp she needs. Supplemental heat is always a good idea for a bird that is "off" or injured...

If she is smaller than the others, she really COULD be getting "out competed" for food... are there generally leftovers? They should have food available to them all the time. Maybe adding another feeding spot could help, too. ?

Oh, and maybe give her some diluted pedialyte, or vitamins, and maybe some scrambled eggs (or other high-protein food) to give her a "boost".

Good luck, and yes we do need a "very worried" emoticon, would be used in a LOT of posts, I bet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SussexInSeattle]

I would definately NOT leave any heat overnite, or during the day, most especially since she will be rejoining the group outside! At least eventually she will right? If so she will freeze her butt off after getting acclimated to a warm heat bulb. 66 degrees is plenty warm for a pullet used to what, maybe 50 degrees at night?

You should only ever need heat for them if they're sick and not eating/digesting properly.

 

[sammi]

describe the droppings..color and consistency..

have more feeding and water stations.
she might be being bullied away from feed.

chick vitamins wouldn't hurt.
or until you can get some..you could use Poly-vi-sol liquid baby vitamins..Enfamil brand, no iron..2 drops on beak once a day for a week..then 1 drop for a few more days..in the meantime..try and get some chick vitamins.

a little extra protein wouldn't hurt..
a little egg would do..

 

[OCchickens]

Thanks for the input everyone!

Droppings are yellow (basically the color of the food) & a little white. They seemed a little small & dry to me yesterday. This morning I notice she's had some bigger ones but they seem a little more "formed" than I'm used to seeing chicken poop.

I ended up leaving her without the heat lamp last night, with the box covered for a little extra warmth. I just turned on the heat lamp again. She's up eating & chirping this morning.

I think I'll try putting her out for a while this morning & see how she does. An extra feeding station is a good idea. I'll get some vitamins & give her some scrambled egg.

Thanks again!