My silkie is sick

[Mjwilcox]

I have a few baby silkies that I just got, I am thinking about 3 weeks old. I noticed that there is dried poops on the bottom of one chick and I cleaned it off. Her poop seems to be purple. I have her under a heat lamp, by herself. I did get her to eat a little egg yolk but she just lays there lifeless. I don't know what else to do. I am worried she is going to die.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a few baby silkies that I just got, I am thinking about 3 weeks old. I noticed that there is dried poops on the bottom of one chick and I cleaned it off. Her poop seems to be purple. I have her under a heat lamp, by herself. I did get her to eat a little egg yolk but she just lays there lifeless. I don't know what else to do. I am worried she is going to die.

Hi

Welcome To BYC

How is your chick?
Can you post a photo of the purple poop?

Try to get her hydrated and make sure she is not too warm under the heat lamp. Offer her some electrolytes or poultry vitamins and give her wet chick starter.

Let us know how she's doing.

 

[Mjwilcox]

She is doing better. I got her to eat some egg yolk and drink water. I uploaded a picture of the poop. Some have watery poop that looks purple and some look fine. They are so tiny I haven't let them go out side yet for any play time. So I just started putting their little corral in the kitchen. Hoping giving them more space and sunshine will help. I only have 9 and 2 of them are a lot smaller than the others

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She is doing better. I got her to eat some egg yolk and drink water. I uploaded a picture of the poop. Some have watery poop that looks purple and some look fine. They are so tiny I haven't let them go out side yet for any play time. So I just started putting their little corral in the kitchen. Hoping giving them more space and sunshine will help. I only have 9 and 2 of them are a lot smaller than the others

Personally, if I saw poop like that I would treat for Coccidiosis. Treatment is with Corid that you can usually find at the feed store and online.

Cocci symptoms include lethargy, going off feed, diarrhea with mucous or blood (to me your poop looks bloody), loss of balance and having a puffed up appearance. With Silkies, it can be hard to tell the puffed up from the fluff

I would treat them all. Corid is a Coccidiostat and is considered mild and safe to use when giving the proper dosage.

Corid dosageis 1 1/2 teaspoons Corid powder per gallon of water or 2 teaspoons of 9.6% Corid liquid per gallon of water.
Give for 5-7 days - make sure this is the ONLY water available during that time period. Mix a fresh batch at least once a day.
After they finish treatment offer some poultry vitamins and probiotics/plain yogurt.

 

[Mjwilcox]

Thank you so much! We just started our back yard family in august and everything went great. Now that we are adding different breeds I feel like every breed is different.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you so much! We just started our back yard family in august and everything went great. Now that we are adding different breeds I feel like every breed is different.

YVW

I agree, each breed is different and there is a learning curve.

You may want to check out the Silkies thread here on BYC for some tips on their care.
I've also found this site to be useful when someone has a question about Silkies as well http://www.browneggblueegg.com/