Just awesome!!! Love her!!!Peep-- here is the bird I just got yesterday! Poor thing had a long drive, but I got her bathed and fluffed today.
taking a bath.... (yeah, I had a bit of fun with her and her new 'soap mohawk')
And after her bath:
I'm pretty happy with her!!!! I got her tested yesterday and got her 90 day certification done, so I'm good to go if I decide to take her to the next two shows I have coming up, and I'm thinking I will take her.
I am really quite surprised how quick some people are to scoff at the silkies and be completely rude about it. I am ALWAYS polite though, especially if it comes to birds that I don't particularly care for,why just be rude? I have an appreciation for all of the different breeds, I just prefer the gentle nature and size of the silkies for my girls. You know?How do you know that the crooked beak is genetic? Just curious. She is good type. Her crest is well shaped and her feet are excellent. Wings are tucked in nice too. I am sure you have gone over your head a million times about this so questioning it probably isn't the best for me to do...but...I always want to figure out these things too
Aoxa--I have shown up at swaps and bird sales to have bird owners sniff the air at my birds. I've been told that they are not "real chickens". Hah. Please. I own both laying hens and show birds. They can both get the same diseases, same types of issues, and all lay eggs. The only difference in my opinion is that I am chasing a perfect standard of breed that doesn't come with my layers.
Plus, I think they are envious that a lot of people love silkies like a pet and so I have it just a tad easier when it comes to selling ones that I cannot keep
I just find a judge behaving that way to be completely irresponsible! We all know how much time and work goes into breeding and growing a show winning bird. It is a slow process and to have a disgruntled judge disrespect my animal, time, and hard work, it would infuriate me.Whew! That is terrible! I can not even imagine a judge acting like such a child and being so ridiculous! I would definitely complain to who ever is hosting the show and maybe they won't hire them again. Sheesh. He could have injured a bird by slamming those doors, and that was totally uncalled for, I don't care how ridiculous he thinks silkies are, they are still birds that should be handled as gently as any other. Sounds like a personal problem for him. I have had the opposite experiences so far, and all of the judges have found the silkies to be enjoyable. Art Reiber (who will be judging at the ASBC Eastern Nationals) told me earlier this spring that he enjoys judging silkies because they are always so relaxed and easy to handle, unlike a lot of breeds that are flighty and fight him to get out the cages.
Wash him/her up and fluff the bird out and then see what you have! And it's pretty young too, so still has some time to fill in more. It still could be a girl... ?
I agree. I think raising any birds to the breed standard is a challenging thing to do regardless of the bird breed!
Hmm..it could be sour crop or impacted crop... Can you feel her keel very easily when you compare her to other birds. Does she seem lethargic? I would think that you made need to take her to the vet OR you could try to treat her yourself at home. See this post: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/630307/sour-crop-cured-with-monistat
It's about a 50/50 shot on if a twisted beak is genetic. A crooked beak (or cross beak) is absolutely genetic and will pass on. A twisted beak may or may not pass on. No reason to put that back into your genetic background and have it pop out later on. That would be awful. I just sent this bird to her new "pet home" this week: I took a picture of her when she was a chick and when she was about 5 months old. I would NEVER breed such a bird. The kind of beak on my bird supposedly happens in the egg... but who wants to chance that?I haven't had it happen again, so it's probably true.... maybe. The beak looks better the older she got and wasn't quite as noticeable. This IS the same bird, I promise! LOL But this is basically a big no-no to breed back into your birds.
She wasn't as bad as your girl above, but I didn't want to chance it. She sure is cute though. Your girl got A LOT better. She looks deformed in the first picture, and much better in the second. Thank goodness the crooked beaks we discovered were both girls! It would be harder to find a deformed rooster a home.I agree - sounds just like sour crop. Throwing up is not contagious, and it's not really like other animals throwing up. They just tip their head and it pours out their mouth.
- I've cured sour crop by massaging (no oil or force vomiting bird) and giving plain pro-biotic yoghurt. I get this local stuff. Tastes like crap to me, but they like it. It really worked too. Also wanted to mention that I've had birds drink too fast and throw up when they bent over. But by the sounds of the feel of her crop - it is very likely sour crop.
Thank you, I've never had one quite like it - so I'm excited to see how it grows. It can barely see at this age, I can only imagine it full grown
The beard is awesome!
