Hi all! We recently purchased 6 showgirl silkie chicks. We just came home and were devastated to find one dead. Another we found had a splayed leg. The temp of their brooder box was a little low, so we raised it some by adding another heat lamp (The Brooder box is pretty big). We are using pine shavings as bedding, with vinyl underneath. The 6 showgirls (now 5 
) are less than a week old, and are in with some other 2 and 3 week olds. There’s only five 3-week olds and about 15 2-week olds. They all seem to get along. Sometimes the 3 week olds are a little rough which each other, but only when they get excited.
Anyway, what I’m wondering is, should we brace it? The brace we are using is just a small hair tie with a straw in the middle. The chick is about a little less than a week old. Maybe 5-7 days? Should we separate it? Should we separate it by itself, or with a friend? We put a brace on and it seemed really stressed with it. Should I be afraid of it falling in its water and drowning?
Are there any vitamins they could be lacking? They are being fed 20% Dumor chick starter/grower feed. I was told to use 30% game bird and turkey starter, which I’m planning on switching to ASAP. The one chick we lost seemed smaller than the rest, and almost slightly wet so we figured it had just hatched, but it’s been a few days now and it seemed fine. I wasn’t there, but my Mother said she saw it this morning and it was fine.
Thank you in advance!
) are less than a week old, and are in with some other 2 and 3 week olds. There’s only five 3-week olds and about 15 2-week olds. They all seem to get along. Sometimes the 3 week olds are a little rough which each other, but only when they get excited. Anyway, what I’m wondering is, should we brace it? The brace we are using is just a small hair tie with a straw in the middle. The chick is about a little less than a week old. Maybe 5-7 days? Should we separate it? Should we separate it by itself, or with a friend? We put a brace on and it seemed really stressed with it. Should I be afraid of it falling in its water and drowning?
Are there any vitamins they could be lacking? They are being fed 20% Dumor chick starter/grower feed. I was told to use 30% game bird and turkey starter, which I’m planning on switching to ASAP. The one chick we lost seemed smaller than the rest, and almost slightly wet so we figured it had just hatched, but it’s been a few days now and it seemed fine. I wasn’t there, but my Mother said she saw it this morning and it was fine.
Thank you in advance!
