California - Northern

[PetRock]

She is about the size of a month old at 3. She was too small to be out with a momma I had to bring her in. She is with miracle and starseed now they are about a month younger but tower over her.

I stole the term from seremas. A lot of the a seremas are so small they cant lay and are called micros.
I think most of them on the west coast are from caj who got hers from u of a itself.

I have a chick from my last hatch that doesn't seem to be growing. He/she is a mini-Langshan with giant feathers on his wings and a downy body. He is less than half the size of his hatchmates but was the same size at hatch. He is eating but not growing and spends lots of time sleeping. He is lethargic unless I'm trying to catch him. I'm wondering if he has some internal problems or if it is just failure to thrive.

 

[casportpony]

Quote: Okay... Do you think she'll catch up? I have a small peahen that sort of like that, she was about half the size she should have been, but looks like she might be catching up, but I also have a rooster that is so small I have no idea what I'm going to do with him. Interesting to hear that other have the same issues, lol.

-Kathy

 

[tommysgirl]

@chiqita , this might sound like a stupid question, but what is a micro silkie?


-Kathy

I wanted to know that too.

Hey Kathy I don't know if you remember replying to my post on the ilness and emergencies thread about a girl that had seemed to have lost a lot of weight.

She is fine as can be and back to laying. I think that she molted but in a less obvious way and so she looked a bit thinner but also I had recently moved my Dorkings into the same pen with her. They hang out together and they are so much bigger maybe I was noticing the contrast, not any real wt loss.

 

[PetRock]

Yes it would. Do you all find yourself looking at structures everywhere you go and sizing them up as potential coops? I do it all the time!

Yes! I drive my family crazy with it! I'm always emailing my DH stuff I find on craigslist! One time someone in Alameda was giving away 3 glass display cases. I wanted them so badly to use for brooders! DH was not interested. I don't know why?!

 

[chickee]

Sooooo chicken people. Just testing the water. I would love a blue or black or splash silkie (do silkie ppl call the splash ones paint?) I think I said before that I am adding 6-7 birds in feathered/fluf form and I have always made it a practice to add by 2 so everyone has a friend. I am currently planning on adding:

2 NH and 1 SPR girl from Deb
2 splash and/or blue mutts or Langshans from PetRock
1 silkie...I only want one, but I want it to have a friend so wondering if silkie breeders can PM me or tell me here if 1) they would sell me just one, I would time it if possible to coincide with others acquired at the same time and 2) what else you may have that I may want to add so that it wouldn't be a singleton

Thanks: @Audio51 If you get another batch of MAM eggs I am still interested in your extras as well.

I would not recommend adding just one Silkie. They are very different from other breeds. They rarely roost (they can't fly) so they need another Silkie to cuddle up with on the floor, or in my case, I stacked two, 2x4s on the floor of the coop so they can get off the soiled litter at night. Even then, I have to put them on it every night. They aren't the smartest birds!

I am new to them, so maybe Chiqita can voice her opinion about them since she has had them longer.

Sounds like you are having fun planning on adding more breeds!

 

[casportpony]

Quote: I took my little peahen to the vet because she was so small and the gram stain of the poop showed she had lots of gram negative bacteria. The vet said I could try giving her Baytil to see if that helped, but I chose not to because she seemed healthy enough. Not saying that's what going on with your chick, but maybe you could have a vet check the poop?

-Kathy

 

[ronott1]

I would not recommend adding just one Silkie. They are very different from other breeds. They rarely roost (they can't fly) so they need another Silkie to cuddle up with on the floor, or in my case, I stacked two, 2x4s on the floor of the coop so they can get off the soiled litter at night. Even then, I have to put them on it every night. They aren't the smartest birds!

I am new to them, so maybe Chiqita can voice her opinion about them since she has had them longer.

Sounds like you are having fun planning on adding more breeds!

I have two big full grown Australorp pullets that do that too!! It is very silly to see, especially when they sit under the roost....

 

[Audio51]

Well i did an eggtopsy and now i wish i hadnt

one chick was fully formed and just barely pipped the aircell then diedand the two others idk what to make of it . heres the pics *graphic*
herez the fully formed chick any idea what happen?
And both of the other two were like this :

Aww...so sorry Nikki. I had several like the first one with this last hatch, but don't know what to make of the other 2.

 

[tommysgirl]

I would not recommend adding just one Silkie. They are very different from other breeds. They rarely roost (they can't fly) so they need another Silkie to cuddle up with on the floor, or in my case, I stacked two, 2x4s on the floor of the coop so they can get off the soiled litter at night. Even then, I have to put them on it every night. They aren't the smartest birds!

I am new to them, so maybe Chiqita can voice her opinion about them since she has had them longer.

Sounds like you are having fun planning on adding more breeds!

I didn't know this. So you wouldn't be able to put them in with LF? My aunt has a silkie roo and he has D'Uclle grls with him. they are in a separate pen but he is able to roost with them so he must be abnormal.

Maybe I should wait and in the meantime have a broody hatch some bantam cochins.

I am having fun planning. A year ago I was planning to add a whole world of birds. I didn't and Now I am much more temperate. I want to focus Dels and New Hampshires and on a fun layer flock full of breeds that might go broody.

 

[casportpony]

Quote: I'm happy to hear that she's better. I'm really funny (OCD) about weighing, it's one of the best diagnostic tools we have. Stick 'em on a scale, write down their weigh and if they look off one day, pop them back on the scale, no guess work.

People in the peafowl forum tease me because I have mine "trained", lol, to stand on the kitchen scale.

Some of you might find this useful:
Source:http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps046
Table 2.
Example of target body weights during the rearing of replacement pullets.
Age
(weeks)

Body weight
(Pounds)

(Grams)
1

0.14

65
2

0.24

110
3

0.40

180
4

0.55

250
5

0.71

320
6

0.88

400
7

1.10

500
8

1.28

580
9

1.50

680
10

1.70

770
11

1.92

870
12

2.09

950
13

2.27

1030
14

2.43

1100
15

2.56

1160
16

2.67

1210
17

2.76

1250
18

2.82

1280
19

2.89

1310
20

3.00

1360

-Kathy