Question on newly hatched Silkies

[Freckle Face Farm]

O so sorry about your 2 chicks

 

[wjallen05]

3 more died.

 

[sonew123]

now that is a huge vault! I hatched a bunch and most of mine came out like that too. A few died just prior to hatching out:-( The ones that did make it I watched very carefully until they were a bit older only to discover I got 6 boys out of 7!!! I kept 2 boys and sold the rest. SOrry for your loss its tough...

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

First, I am so very sorry for your loss

Contrary to frequent belief, vaults do not necesarily create a larger crest. However vaulted skull birds do tend towards larger crests, whereas with non-vaulted skull birds you cannot tell what the size of the crest will be until the bird is much older. I will say that your photo shows a very large vault. Most silkie breeders that I know do not select for or against vaults--a few years ago some breeders did, but I do not think that is the case any longer--at least for most. Unlike polish, the standard does not require a vault.

Yes, vaults can cause problems, but I have to say I would suspect something else in brand new hatchilings. Check the temperature, the feed, any bedding present, the water. Did the ones who died have any amount of pasty bottom? Is the waterer one made for bantam chicks--also called a quail waterer--or filled with marbles to prevent drowning? Might they be eating the bedding? Is the food smal enough for them to eat (although they shouldn;t need any for 2-3 days)?

Check those who are left to see if there are any mites/lice. While an adult bird can go days or even weeks before the bugs will kill them, they can kill chicks in just a day or two. Look under their wings and use a magnifying glass and bright light--watch for anything moving at all.

To your unstated question about why not all the eggs hatched out splash, both parents would have to be splash to guarantee splash offspring. It is thought that splashXsplash will eventually wipe out/reduce the splashing, so many breeders mix blue, black & splash together. I don't hatch enough for my experiences to have any statistical bearing, but my splash X blue pairing that resulted in my first splash pullet who was far paler with far fewer splashes than my current splashXsplash offspring, who have as many splashes and colour contrast as could be wished for. Now if I kept on with this through several generations, it might well dilute the colour to near white with few splashes.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i'm so sorry, wjallen05. i've actually never seen a vault like that. i only have three years of hatching under my belt, so not as experienced as some on this board. Sonoran gave you good advice on things to check. On the feed, i grind mine in a food processor for the first couple of weeks for my silkie babies.

If there aren't any issues with the things previously mentioned, it could be a genetic issue. Did you buy the eggs, have them shipped, or did they come from your flock? Sometimes chicks die from a "failure to thrive" which could be any number of things . . . internal malformations or issues you just can't see or do anything about.

i do hope the remaining chicks survive.

 

[Elite Silkies]

Sorry about your loss, it is very devastating.

I personally have also have several problems with my large vaulted skull babies. The others seem to do fine. I think next time, I will separate the chicks. I think that the other tend to peck them and cause injuries to the brain.

I do have a couple that survived, so I am keeping a watch to see if their crest are larger or if it made no difference.

 

[wjallen05]

Thank you everyone.

Sonoran,

Well I thought three were dead this morning and I turns out only one was. (making three total) The other two sure did look dead. They were acting sort of strange, kept wanting to lay on their backs and one would shake it's head back and forth when I held it. They seem to be okay now but who knows.

I am not sure what is going on. I've never had chicks die before. I hatched out some Silkies from a different breeder back in Feb, and none had big vaults like these and none died either. I have had a couple of shipped chicks die shortly after arrival (I've lost 3 out of over 50) but I've hatched out 6 batches of chicks and never lost one. The feed is a very fine, I don't keep a waterer in there with them when they are so young and little, I offer them water every couple hours for the first couple of days. They are also inside and they do have a heat lamp.

The blue/splash are great- I love both blue and splash. Not happy that I have all black and white. I already have black Silkies and don't really like them (the color), and I sold all of my white Silkies last summer. I've been wanting blue and splash for years but haven't been able to get my hands on any.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

White could come from the parents each carrying a copy of recessive white, or they could actually be splash, with the splashing not yet showing (it can take awhile). The blacks could actually be very dark blues.

There are illnesses that pass through the egg and affect newly hatched chicks. Also, as was mentioned genetic or nutritional issues. I think I would add vitamins to their water, or depending on the number of chicks you have, give them each a drop or two of polyvisol (without added iron) daily for about a week or so.

Do check for mites/licem and the bedding. A neighbor used finely shredded paper for bedding and the dust from that caused them to plug up and die within hours from pasty bottom--much faster than the traditional problems with pasty bottoms.

 

[wjallen05]

Thank you very much for the info and advance.
For the bedding, I am using just paper towels.

 

[Freckle Face Farm]

Quote:
How sad is that I have been on the hunt for Blacks and can't seem to find them...

My last hatch of eggs I bought off eggbid was suppose to be black silkies turned out mutts.. I have every color now except black the one color I wanted

The guy on eggbid said he would fix the mutt eggs but I cant stand the wait...

I think a good quality black is the hardest find..