Silkie breeding, genetics & showing

[Hawkeye95]

Okay, got some pictures of the back I'm worried about. It's 108 out there now... yuck.

It's the same bird, but tried to get a picture of it where it wasn't turning or moving it's head around. This bird is 4 months old. When would back issues start to show up? I've tried to feel it's spine and I can't detect any curvature, but it's not like I'm trained or have experience in checking for that either. It's just it seems a bit "off" at times. Other times it seems okay. Now I find myself looking at this bird over and over again. The little pictures can be clicked on to enlarge them. Do I have cause to be concerned or just wait a while longer??

 

[peepblessed]

Okay, got some pictures of the back I'm worried about. It's 108 out there now... yuck.

It's the same bird, but tried to get a picture of it where it wasn't turning or moving it's head around. This bird is 4 months old. When would back issues start to show up? I've tried to feel it's spine and I can't detect any curvature, but it's not like I'm trained or have experience in checking for that either. It's just it seems a bit "off" at times. Other times it seems okay. Now I find myself looking at this bird over and over again. The little pictures can be clicked on to enlarge them. Do I have cause to be concerned or just wait a while longer??

It does look like her tail leans slightly right and possibly one wing is higher than the other. Did this come on suddenly? Has it been this way for a while?

 

[JoshU]

I was going to ask if this would work, but felt silly asking it

My cock is just the right size, I have a hen that is a little heavier than she should be, and a pullet much smaller than she should be, and a hen just perfect. Right now the hen that was too small produced babies that are the size of her and they are only 12 weeks old. Does that make sense?

I have been told that some large fowl that are born in october or november and raised outside have stunted growth but carry the full size genes. They just never catch up but their offspring are normal size. This could be the case with your hen. I have a roo that is way over weight but a hen that is smaller and they throw average and over weight offspring. Just a thought.

 

[JoshU]

it is-- super duper dry out here. Hardly any humidity at all. It's like an oven. I still may run out there in a bit and try to get another picture.

Are there any crops out there that are going to produce? This weather is raising the cost of all of our hobbies by huge amounts. Bring on the rain.

 

[JoshU]

Double post

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: Welcome to my world

 

[Hawkeye95]

It does look like her tail leans slightly right and possibly one wing is higher than the other. Did this come on suddenly? Has it been this way for a while?

I just noticed it last week. First I had noticed anything off. Before that, I don't think it was there, or I would have noticed. I pay attention to them. Could it be she will even out and this is part of an odd growth spurt... or is this the beginning of a twisted spine or wry tail? Sigh. None of my other chicks are looking like this.

Are there any crops out there that are going to produce? This weather is raising the cost of all of our hobbies by huge amounts. Bring on the rain.

We will have some, but they are irrigated. Kansas is not known for it's rain. But there aren't many people that can afford to irrigate, so there is about 180 acres all around us in corn and it's just GONE. Dead. I drive by thriving fields (irrigation) and others that are burned up. We've already had weeks of 110-118 temps here with no rain this summer. The heat isn't letting up and it's just been insane how many weeks we've gone with no rain. Would you believe the news actually called yesterday a "cooler day". We only got up to 109.

Welcome to my world

Noooooo!!!! When we become more like the desert and less like the Plains... I think we're in trouble.

Okay, anyone else besides Peep can give me an opinion on what you see.... if anything on that bird's back? She is 4 months, so I don't know how much more growing she has yet or if by this time, this is a baaaaad deal.

 

[peepblessed]

I just noticed it last week. First I had noticed anything off. Before that, I don't think it was there, or I would have noticed. I pay attention to them. Could it be she will even out and this is part of an odd growth spurt... or is this the beginning of a twisted spine or wry tail? Sigh. None of my other chicks are looking like this.

We will have some, but they are irrigated. Kansas is not known for it's rain. But there aren't many people that can afford to irrigate, so there is about 180 acres all around us in corn and it's just GONE. Dead. I drive by thriving fields (irrigation) and others that are burned up. We've already had weeks of 110-118 temps here with no rain this summer. The heat isn't letting up and it's just been insane how many weeks we've gone with no rain. Would you believe the news actually called yesterday a "cooler day". We only got up to 109.

Noooooo!!!! When we become more like the desert and less like the Plains... I think we're in trouble.

Okay, anyone else besides Peep can give me an opinion on what you see.... if anything on that bird's back? She is 4 months, so I don't know how much more growing she has yet or if by this time, this is a baaaaad deal.

Several months ago I slipped and feel in the coop while trying to catch a baby. The whole flock totally freaked and my roo who has sturdy wing feathers flew up the wall about four feet and slid back down and landed on his bottom. Everyone seemed okay but the next day I noticed his tail was crooked. I'm so glad I witnessed the episode or I would have thought it was wry tail. It took about three months for that to heal and he is fine now. I don't have a clue how often these things can be contributed to an injury. In my very first batch of shipped eggs from ebay I had a beautiful pullet that seemed to suddenly develop wry tail at about 3 -4 mths. and I gave her away.

 

[littlecritters]

Okay, got some pictures of the back I'm worried about. It's 108 out there now... yuck.

It's the same bird, but tried to get a picture of it where it wasn't turning or moving it's head around. This bird is 4 months old. When would back issues start to show up? I've tried to feel it's spine and I can't detect any curvature, but it's not like I'm trained or have experience in checking for that either. It's just it seems a bit "off" at times. Other times it seems okay. Now I find myself looking at this bird over and over again. The little pictures can be clicked on to enlarge them. Do I have cause to be concerned or just wait a while longer??

With my splash silkie the scoliosis/wry tail has become very noticable. At first, it was subtle and I had a feeling that something was off... How about giving yours a bath today so you can get a good look at her spine, hips and tail. Palpate her hips to see if one is higher than the other. And regarding Peeps comment about she and her rooster both falling...I had forgotten that rabbits can have broken tails which are rare but considered DQ's. Could is be possible that the base of your bird's tail is broken?

 

[littlecritters]

We have plenty of rain today...I will pray that some of it heads out west to you all.