Silkie missing fluff, fluff patchy & thin in places.

[Betsy1949]

I was given a Black Silkie yesterday. Age unknown. Gender unknown. Chick is missing most of it's fluff on it's back. The rest of it's fluff is thin and dull. Any idea what is wrong with this chick. I have it in a seperate cage from other chickens. I'm new to Silkies although I do have 3 - 4month old white silkies.

 

[Honeysucklefeathers]

Pics? Check for mites and lice first and if you find any treat with Sevin powder. Good luck!

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

This Silkie hen:


Yes, THIS Silkie hen:


She:


Goes nearly naked from September to Thanksgiving, in her annual molt (moult?). Her winter feathers and her weight gain during/after the molt are

a little shocking. By spring, she's a ball of fluff, can hardly see through all that fluff. Today (September 11), she looks like a pin-headed tail-less velociraptor.

I really hope that's what you've got there!

 

[Betsy1949]

After reading everything I could find on the Internet I'd come to the conclusion that hopefully it Silkie has (1) mites or (2) is molting. Will post pics soon.

 

[Betsy1949]

OK, hope these pictures come through OK. I'm not sure I'm doing it correct. I checked the Silkie over throughly and did not see anything moving on her. I now believe this bird is an adult and female.

 

[dsqard]

It looks like she is coming out of a molt. I am not an expert though.

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

Quote:
Me too, I'm no expert, but our silkie girl was more naked than that on her first moult. Then, one year later, she had mites BADLY, but never lost feathers due to the mites. Now we check pretty often for lice and mites; one telltale sign of lice is "q-tip" feather bases as the lice make a whitish mound of eggs at the feather bases; and purple sandy-looking scabs and little mounds of filling-up purple mites around the vent and on the belly.

The basic skin color of Silkies is bluish black. Even their flesh (meat) is bluish black. In asian cuisine, they're called The Alkaline Fowl. So, being bluish doesn't diagnose blood loss. But, once you get to know her, you'll be able to tell if she's paler than usual, which would indicate blood loss (mites).

There's no experience to equal that of looking at the vent of a chicken, I'll warn ya. Looking FOR the vent of a chicken is surreal in itself, then once ya find it,

oh my that's weird.

 

[Betsy1949]

I feel much better about my new acquisition! That's funny about finding the vent! I've had the experience of finding the pelvic bones beneth the vent to check to see if a pulet or hen is laying. That was fun. Thanks for alll the advice.