Silkie head feathers

[Poulets De Cajun]

dont use any kind of tape...

Go to the feed store and get some of the vet wrap that they use for horses. Cut little strips and pull the feathers up and wrap a strip around it. The vet wrap will stick to itself but wont pull the feathers out of the bird....

And just for reference, I dont use ANY of that and mine get along just fine. I dont pluck their top knots either, I like them HUGE!

 

[tiki244]

That is a beautiful Silkie. I will get the horse tape. Maybe it is just because they are growing in, but they feathers are going every which way and they just seem real clumsy and like they cant see.

I definitely want to keep them large and don't want to pull any feathers for sure. I would cut before I pull, but I am not cutting either.

 

[vfem]

I leave mine be as well. She still manages to catch moths and bugs in mid air. They'll adapt!

(I still wanna see a photo of that though!!! LOL)

 

[M@M@2four]

A well known silkie breeder told me she buys, "hair tape." You can buy it at beauty supply stores, like Sally's or others. It only sticks to itself and never pulls hair(or feathers). She swears by it! I need to go get some. I feel sooo sorry for some of my poor silkies...their so poofy I can't even see their eyes...it's kinda sad and drived me nuts...I stress for them! lol

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

They really CAN get along without the tape.... Mine do just fine and I NEVER use that stuff.

 

[fancyfowl4ever]

I use hair ties on a Polish, can't imagen it being much different for silkies. I do it mainly because a friend of mine has a flock of20 polish that are 5 yrs and older and 90% have constant eye infections and/or are totally blind from having their feathers in their eyes 24/7.
Sad to see them tripping over the feeder/waterer if you move them from their usual place even just an inch..... she never changes her set-up so all her blind polish know where everything is.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

I think your friend has more problems than feathers in their eyes if she's had 5 years of infections. My waterers and feeders get moved all the time, and my Silkies never have a problem finding it. And in my five years of keeping Silkies, as well as Polish, I've never had birds have an eye infection from feathers in their eyes. In fact, I've never had a bird with an eye infection period....

 

[tiki244]

I have been noticing when they eat they are just jabbing in the dark and seem to miss the food completely sometimes. I did add vitamins and made sure they had a balanced diet. I don't know, maybe they are still too young to get the hang of it. But hair tape sounds good too.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

Serious show folks will use it something to hold their top knots together. There isn't anything wrong with it, and it certainly couldn't or wouldn't hurt them... I just wanted you to know its not a necessity.

 

[joebryant]

I used my beard trimmer to trim my silkie's eye area. All I did was take some strokes going straight up. It makes all the difference in the world for her being able to see. It really didn't change her appearance much at all. I won't have to do it again until after she molts and gets new feathers.