Is my Silkie Chick's behavior normal or is something wrong?

gabykatherine

Hatching
5 Years
Apr 19, 2014
5
1
7
Hi there, I'm Gaby and i'm a 19 year old animal lover with some questions about my littlest chick~ I apologize if this is a totally stupid question but while being an expert on lots of animals. We had a flock of Bantams and Silkies that lived in harmony with our pot bellied pig and our Holland Lop rabbits. They were wonderful pets who always let me pick them up but never actually came up to me for attention. We had them all up until about 7 years ago when we inherited a nice big fancy house in Suburban NJ where we were scared to bring our barnyard pets out of fear for zoning codes and laws. Since then i've seen so many neighbors of mine with chickens out back and really regretted not bringing mine with here. Anyway, after being assured that it's legal, we got 4 Silkie chicks yesterday morning for me and my younger siblings as an easter gift. We have a big coop for them out in the yard but the youngest chick is only 4 or 5 days old and our breeder says she isn't big or old enough to be with the bigger 3 who are a few weeks old. We've got the little tiny silkie in a big aquarium with the heating lamp and her food and water, but she will not stop crying and squawking and running at the wall of the cage. She only stops the noise and slamming around when I lift her out of the cage and sit her on my lap. I got all my previous chicks as babies and don't remember anything like this at all. It freaks me out a little. She's sweet as can be but I'm worried that something's wrong with her? Is she sick or in pain or crying for her mother or something? The other 3 are totally silent except for a few tiny peeps when I go to feed them, and they don't seem to want to be held or picked up. This little chickie will not stop the noise unless i'm holding it constantly and she especially starts it up when I put her in the cage and shut it or if I leave the room when she's in there. She peeped the entire first night and kept everybody up until I moved her entire cage up to my bedroom right next to my bed and pet her until she fell asleep and then quietly closed the cage. I literally carried her around all day to keep her silent (like she sat in my lap when I ate meals, sat on my shoulder while I fed all my pets and would even sit in my hoodie pocket while I cleaned the house and helped the kids with homework all afternoon) but then I had 5 appointments for people coming to buy baby hedgehogs today and the moment I would put her away in her cage to answer the door, she freaked out. I tried ignoring it but she didn't let up for well over an hour so I finally just set her down the living room floor with my mother while I finished up my appointment, in the hopes that my mother would be able to settle her down but it didnt work. She also CHASES me around the house when I set her down, following me and running like crazy fast copying ever turn I make and won't stop until I scoop her up.
Has anyone ever experienced that? I'm wondering if she's like that because she's so young, or if she'll grow out of it? I love that she likes attention but it worries me that she acts like something is horribly wrong if I'm not next to her. I don't know if I should be giving in and holding her whenever she cries or if that encourages her to keep it up. I called the breeder to ask if she was used to a lot of handling there and the breeder said she breeds a lot of chicks and most babies will rarely even be touched by her since theres so many. She just provides heat lamps and food. It's been two days of her requiring constant attention and I was wondering if anyone knew if that's normal or a sign of something wrong with her. The peeps sound so different than anything i've heard my previous baby silkies or bantams do, or even what the other 3 babies do now. Way louder and more desperate sounding. It makes me worried that she's hurting. But I feel like if she were in pain she wouldn't completely cease the tantrum when she gets picked up. Beside what I described, everything else is normal. She's eating, drinking, pooping, and all that just fine.
I'm so sorry I wrote like a novel to ask this question, lol. I'm just a very neurotic chicken mama with a pretty awful headache from the constant squeals! Thank you to anyone who can help out.
 
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i had a silkie chick just like you are describing last year. now she is a full-grown, independent, and beautiful hen. what you're describing is simply a soft heart. mine was EXACTLY the same way. she would cry all the time until i held her. they are a very loving breed and they will do anything to be close to you. they get attached to one person, and then that person is who they think is thier mother. i also felt exhausted by having to constantly have her with me.

i solved the problem:
put something near or in her cage that will get her attention.

*radio, television, or even a moving toy

good luck with you silkie!
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I've read where people will put a "real" feather duster in there so that they can snuggle in with the feathers. With her being by herself, I would imagine that she's lonely.
 
Hi!

I know it's not an answer as I have only just set my sussex and Wyandotte on some silkie eggs but after reading book after book on silkies they all say the same thing about silkies being extra loving than other hens.
I think it's so sweet that she loves you and needs to be near you but like a newborn baby it can be quite exhausting especially when she sleeps next to you!

I hope everything works out for you and your baby :)
 
Maybe your chicks is too lonely?? We separated our chicks (2-3 weeks of age) and we bought 2 silkies Friday night. They are old 5 days old today, and we still have them separated. But the silkies are with each other and are not that lonely. Hope you the best of luck!
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Just sounds like you have lonely girl on your hands... chickens are flock animals and therefore get very upset when left to their lonesome especially that young. You are her substitute to the other chicks she was with and she sees you as her mommy.
 
Thanks for the advice y'all! I wish she had another chick to live with but she was the only baby her age that the breeder had left, and the breeder also cautioned us not to let her near the older ones yet, who are roughly 4 times her size. She is a real sweetie and I love her but the constant chirping gets to me. I've developed a system where I put my hand in her cage and pet her until she goes to sleep to keep her quiet at night. If I turn off the lights, she will usually sleep or at least be silent until the sun comes up the next day. She gets up as soon as the rooms fills with light.
I adore her and I'm sure she'll be an even more wonderful pet as she gets older. How cute?
 
That's a great idea feathersunshine! I've been checking Craigslist, hoobly, etc for people with baby silkies about her age but haven't had any luck yet (could be because I live in a fairly suburban area) but never thought to check my local Tractor Supply. I have one 20 minutes away. I'll call them in the morning, thanks for the idea!
Another question:
Do you guys think two babies will get along fine if they're both very young? My little nugget bullies my cat and my rabbits when she's exposed to them. I hope she isn't mean to another chick! And on the same topic, do you think when she's equal sized as my other 3 older silkies (from the same breeder but a few wks earlier) theyll get along and accept her when I house them together?
 

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