Dwarf Silkie

[cmaixa1303]

Hi everyone. I'm hoping to see if anyone can help me determine if my black Silkie, Raven, is a dwarf or if there is something else going on. When I purchased my 3 silkies as babies she was the oldest (per breeder) and she was the biggest out of the

3 so I assume she was correct. She is 18 weeks old if breeder gave me correct age. But over time I began to notice lack of development like her 2 siblings. Her crest was not & still isn't really poofy. Her feathers on her neck took a long time to grow in. She is not growing tall like the other 2 & her legs are shorter, so she tends to lay down alot when they are free ranging. I'm assuming because she is much heavier than the other 2 due to her short stature so she's probably tired from carrying her tiny body around. She used to climb the ramp or half climb & flutter up the ramp but now I have to tuck her in because she can't do it. I have to make some adjustments on the ramp to see if she start going up again. Other than her size, she is perfectly fine. She's tiny but mighty. She's the sassiest of my 3 silkies & puts my 11 week old Buff & Wyandotte in their place. I love her to death & think she is perfect even if she doesn't look like what a Silkie is supposed to look like. I just want to make sure that if she is a dwarf that there is nothing for me to be worried about health wise or if there is anything that I need to do to take care of her better, someone out there can let me know. And if she is not a dwarf and somebody else thinks there is something else wrong with her, they can let me know. I'm attaching pics of Raven as a baby & now at 18 weeks old.

 

[CountryFlock]

Usually a rough development during incubation can cause abnormal development relating to growth size in chickens. I’ve seen it a lot. I wouldn’t worry that much about it.

 

[chickens really]

It does look a bit crunched up..Possibly a dwarf...

 

[ColtHandorf]

If you scroll down near the bottom on Feathersite's Marans page, you can see a Cuckoo Marans pullet that displayed dwarfism. I actually remember her years and years ago when she sold on eggbid.com for a ridiculously high price.

It is possible that your little girl has dwarfism.

 

[chickens really]

If you scroll down near the bottom on Feathersite's Marans page, you can see a Cuckoo Marans pullet that displayed dwarfism. I actually remember her years and years ago when she sold on eggbid.com for a ridiculously high price.

It is possible that your little girl has dwarfism.

I definitely had dwarfing in my Call Ducks. I switched out my breeding flock and zero issues of dwarfism anymore.

 

[Gilded Feather]

I’m of no help here, but just had to stop in and say she is absolutely darling!

 

[cmaixa1303]

Thanks everyone. Glad to know if she is a dwarf Silkie, I don’t have anything to be worried about. Just have to adjust the ramp & if she still doesn’t go up on her own after, I’ll have to buy a rabbit hidey hole for her to go in when I’m not home to tuck her in. It’ll break my heart though because she’ll be all by herself as the other 2 Silkies go up every night on their own.

 

[Matilda Belle]

The only picture I see of a black silkie is the first chick picture. The others look like partridges.

There could be a number of reasons the chick isn't growing like the others. Two possibilities are it could be a runt, or it could be a pullet. Pullets are generally smaller than cockerels.

As long as it's eating and drinking, there's really nothing to worry about IMO.

 

[cmaixa1303]

Thanks silkiekeeper. That eases my mind. The black silkie chick in the first picture is the same in the rest. Just that when her necks feathers grew in, they grew in gold color, as well as her wing feathers. I was pretty shocked bc I thought she was going to be an all black Silkie when I purchased her, lol.

 

[Matilda Belle]

Thanks silkiekeeper. That eases my mind. The black silkie chick in the first picture is the same in the rest. Just that when her necks feathers grew in, they grew in gold color, as well as her wing feathers. I was pretty shocked bc I thought she was going to be an all black Silkie when I purchased her, lol.

From what I've heard, sometimes the runts catch up and sometimes they end up having serious health problems later on. I've only had experience with one runt. She's about 3-4 months old now and is doing just fine.