Silkie thread!

[KMHunter]

Just got back this evening from Karen Larsons place. Was a 3.5 hour drive, but totally worth it! I learned so much from her in just the two hours that we talked and looked at all of her birds.
There were alot of drool worthy bird on her farm.

Had to wipe it off a few times!

She was so nice and shared her knowledge so openly.
It was wonderful to meet her!
SadieSue also went with me and came home with a cute little hen.
Was a fun road trip. Would do it again in a heartbeat!

 

[ChickSter99]

Since this was the most current Silkie Thread I found I decided to post about combs here. Hope that's ok.

I ordered some Silkies from a hatchery (because at the time I didn't know better) 7 weeks ago. I have 4 black ones that have a single comb instead of the normal walnut comb. Their bodies and feathers are identical to the others other than the color. The others have the walnut comb. Is this normal or could this be a mix up that I need to report to the hatchery? I'm still learning.

 

[ChicksNherps]

Yes it is only her that is sneezing, she sounds congested. It started a while ago, I gave her half the dose of metro for 5 days because she is tiny, that seemed to work. Then she started up again a few days ago, so I did another round of metro but this time full strength, didn't do anything. So I bought Doxy to use. It is already tomorrow anyway so I will start that and see if it helps. It isn't fungal because metro would have cleared it. So hopefully it is just a URI and will clear up with the doxy, I am planning to show her in a month and can't have her sick

 

[aoxa]

Yes it is only her that is sneezing, she sounds congested. It started a while ago, I gave her half the dose of metro for 5 days because she is tiny, that seemed to work. Then she started up again a few days ago, so I did another round of metro but this time full strength, didn't do anything. So I bought Doxy to use. It is already tomorrow anyway so I will start that and see if it helps. It isn't fungal because metro would have cleared it. So hopefully it is just a URI and will clear up with the doxy, I am planning to show her in a month and can't have her sick 

What is metro? Antibiotics do not cure fungal infections, but make them worse. Fungal infections are not contagious, that's why I asked about the others.

No runny nose? What about chest congestion? Are her eyes bubbly or oozy?

 

[TheRookie]

Quick question..
On average, how many eggs will a Silkie hen lay before going broody? I sacrificed an egg to start her laying in the dog house and now she has about 9 eggs in there. Some may not be from the same hen but I think the majority of them are hers. She shows no signs of wanting to sit on them yet.. Should I start taking away new eggs so if she does sit, she isn't overloaded with too many eggs?
Thanks, Lenore

 

[aoxa]

Quick question.. 
[COLOR=FF0000]On average, how many eggs will a Silkie hen lay before going broody?[/COLOR] I sacrificed an egg to start her laying in the dog house and now she has about 9 eggs in there. Some may not be from the same hen but I think the majority of them are hers. She shows no signs of wanting to sit on them yet.. [COLOR=FF0000]Should I start taking away new eggs so if she does sit, she isn't overloaded with too many eggs?[/COLOR]
Thanks, Lenore

I would remove all the eggs and she will go broody on her own. If I really wanted her to see a clutch and get the urge, I would use golf balls and wait until she has sat for a full night before giving her maybe 6-8 eggs depending on her size, and the size of the eggs. Nothing older than 2 weeks.

 

[TheRookie]

I would remove all the eggs and she will go broody on her own. If I really wanted her to see a clutch and get the urge, I would use golf balls and wait until she has sat for a full night before giving her maybe 6-8 eggs depending on her size, and the size of the eggs. Nothing older than 2 weeks.

I would love to do that... but golf balls scare the bejeesus out of my chickens...

Oh well.. I will probably remove all the eggs today to see if she continues to lay in the dog house. If not, I'm back to square one.

 

[aoxa]

I would love to do that... but golf balls scare the bejeesus out of my chickens... 

Oh well.. I will probably remove all the eggs today to see if she continues to lay in the dog house. If not, I'm back to square one. 

Really?

Your chickens are weird! haha. What about just leaving some store bought boiled eggs. It's better than risking your silkie eggs going bad while waiting for her to go broody.

 

[Suzierd]

Yes it is only her that is sneezing, she sounds congested. It started a while ago, I gave her half the dose of metro for 5 days because she is tiny, that seemed to work. Then she started up again a few days ago, so I did another round of metro but this time full strength, didn't do anything. So I bought Doxy to use. It is already tomorrow anyway so I will start that and see if it helps. It isn't fungal because metro would have cleared it. So hopefully it is just a URI and will clear up with the doxy, I am planning to show her in a month and can't have her sick 

If she has A Respitatory diease the symptoms may go away for awhile but she will remain a carrier and will infect other birds. Better to hope its fungal that you can get rid of. I would get some Oxine (AH) mix 1/8 tea with a gallon water fine mist above her head three times a day. Spay it all around her living area yard and coop. If you can get a culture done to find out for sure what it is that would be best if your going to show you don't want to expose other birds. Post in the emergancy section is a good idea. My thoughts are if she doesn't have mucus or bubbly eyes and she's just just sneezing and a congestion sound it could be fungal. That no other birds are getting it is a good sign, unless she is a new bird that is just showing signs or picked up something from your birds that she's not handling as well as they are. There's a lot that could be going on. I would post her whole story on emergancy section. Best of luck with her.

 

[aoxa]

If she has A Respitatory diease the symptoms may go away for awhile but she will remain a carrier and will infect other birds. Better to hope its fungal that you can get rid of. I would get some Oxine (AH) mix 1/8 tea with a gallon water fine mist above her head three times a day. Spay it all around her living area yard and coop. If you can get a culture done to find out for sure what it is that would be best if your going to show you don't want to expose other birds. Post in the emergancy section is a good idea. My thoughts are if she doesn't have mucus or bubbly eyes and she's just just sneezing and a congestion sound it could be fungal. That no other birds are getting it is a good sign, unless she is a new bird that is just showing signs or picked up something from your birds that she's not handling as well as they are. There's a lot that could be going on. I would post her whole story on emergancy section. Best of luck with her.

That was EXACTLY my thought. I like to stay positive unless there are 3 areas like nose, eyes and chest involved. Fungal won't create runny noses - which is why I asked about that. It does create a lot of coughing - which sounds like sneezing in a chicken.

I have a fungal infection right now and oxine is on the way. 150 birds and only 2 have it - and it's been weeks. Oxine is so hard to get over the border, and it cost me a lot to ship. As long as it helps. The antibiotics didn't.