Silkies52
Hatching
Hi. I live in Queensland, Australia. In June this year I became the owner of three Silkies - all pullets. one White, one Buff and one Partridge. Next came another white pullet. Then a Buff Rooster and one of his ladies - a Buff/Partridge hen. Then a Black Rooster. It's like a disease!!!! (I had the same trouble when I started getting fish - one tank turned into 13!!)
Was given some eggs to incubate to delve into colours and breeding. Had seven hatch. One died three days after birth. The other six survived. They are now seven weeks old and eating me out of house and home.
Then I decided to incubate a dozen of my own buff chickens. Unfortunately only three hatched. But they are doing very well and growing rapidly.
I do have a tale of woe... One of the six original chicks (a splash) took a turn for the worse at about two weeks old. She appeared to develop wry neck. I was advised to give her anitone in her water to correct a possible vitamin deficiency. After three weeks she was not much better and I approached BYC for some possible assistance. Through the website I came across an article by a lady who had a wry neck chicken. She made a neck brace out of some soft bubble wrap and that appeared to right the problem. I did this for my chick and it has certainly corrected the wry neck. However, there is another problem that it did not fix. When the chicken gets startled she tucks her head under her body, travels backwards at 90 miles an hour then somersaults back to her feet. It is like she is having an epilectic fit. Can chickens get epilepsy and can it be cured? Or is it better to put her out of her misery?
Would appreciate any help and advice.
Was given some eggs to incubate to delve into colours and breeding. Had seven hatch. One died three days after birth. The other six survived. They are now seven weeks old and eating me out of house and home.
Then I decided to incubate a dozen of my own buff chickens. Unfortunately only three hatched. But they are doing very well and growing rapidly.
I do have a tale of woe... One of the six original chicks (a splash) took a turn for the worse at about two weeks old. She appeared to develop wry neck. I was advised to give her anitone in her water to correct a possible vitamin deficiency. After three weeks she was not much better and I approached BYC for some possible assistance. Through the website I came across an article by a lady who had a wry neck chicken. She made a neck brace out of some soft bubble wrap and that appeared to right the problem. I did this for my chick and it has certainly corrected the wry neck. However, there is another problem that it did not fix. When the chicken gets startled she tucks her head under her body, travels backwards at 90 miles an hour then somersaults back to her feet. It is like she is having an epilectic fit. Can chickens get epilepsy and can it be cured? Or is it better to put her out of her misery?
Would appreciate any help and advice.
