Silkie thread!

[atrueb00]

Hi everyone, this is dot. I think she is a dwarf as she is tiny compared to the others! She is 4 weeks old and is separated from the other chicks. As you can see she had a big scab on her head. It started off as what we thought to be a vaulted skull, she rubbed it on the electric hen that just flattened her feathers. It started to leak fluid after I noticed the others pecking. I separated her 2 weeks ago and with the advice of my vet I bathed it with salt water. Then a huge scab fell off and is been like this since. I am desperately trying to save her, but don't know what to do. Advice from another forum is to cull her. But she is very well in herself and very happy. My vet doesn't know what it is but has prescribed anti biotics that she's been on for almost 2 weeks. I hope someone can help and offer advice other than dispatching.

Quote: I'd have to agree with Chick Rookie here-if she is fighting to live, why not give it a chance? As long as you have the time and resources, what can it hurt?

 

[atrueb00]

Hi silkie people! I have loved chickens especially silkies for as long as I can remember but because of anti-chicken city regulations I have never had the opportunity to own my own. Until now!

. I had three 5-day old silkies and two cochins in my brooder this morning. Then I went to the feed store near my parents house and they had silkie chicks so I had to get 3 more.

but these babies weren't quite so little, in fact the lady I talked to said that they varied in age, some of them were over a month old or older. The poor things are half naked! After thinking about it I'm sure it's due to being cramped in a teeny tiny stacked brooder box with what seemed like a bazillion other babies. So now they are home and settled into their very own nice and roomy brooder.

I'm sure that they're not super high quality, which is fine because they're just pets. My problem is, I'm not super sure on their ages. I'm guessing around 2-3 weeks on the littlest, but totally unsure of the other two. So I thought I'd ask the experts

. Thanks so much for any guesses!

Olive

Apple

Licorice

1 more of Licorice with my hand as a size comparison (I have little hands)

group shot.

Also, is there anything other than good nutrition that might help their feathers come in so they don't have to walk around naked?

thank you!

Mine looked like this at age 2-3 weeks. Hope that helps!

 

[Fancychooklady]

Your first aid box can be very extensive, but it try to keep it as simple as possible. My horse box is enormous .
Terramycin antibiotic spray
Vet wrap
Baby vit , without iron
Saline , sterile
Magnesium sulphate ( Epsom salts )
Band aids ( splayed legs )
Vicks vaporub ( scaley leg mite )
Poly-aid plus with probiotic
Erythromycin
Cephalexin
Panacur
Corid ( amprolium )

 

[Sylvester017]

My chick kit has..... poultry drench, poly vi sol w/out iron, chick saver, electrolytes, apple cider vinegar with the mother, diatom. earth food grade (i dont use it much though because of respiratory issues), I have Tylan 50 and Duramycin 10 antibiotics, wazine dewormer, ivermectin pour on for cattle (for mites and lice), poultry dust, vet rx (awesome stuff), vetrycin eye gel, 1 and 6 ml syringes, alcohol wipes, nail clippers, scissors, tweezers, vet wrap and bandaids (splay leg). I can't think of any more, although I'm sure I missed something, and could use other stuff. It's basically been a collection of meds and supplies for the last year of unexpected injuries and illnesses.

Unfortunately in my supplies I have some medicines/antibiotics from previous vet visits but it's surprising how fast time flies and they've expired. However I had a Silkie who hobbled herself badly by midday when we caught sight of it. We unwound her but she refused to walk. Oh-oh! No external wounds but I figured the leg was hurting from some bruising/swelling so gave her some Metacam per directions and put her in a nestbox and if she didn't perk up by morning I'd take her to the vet. Well she was the first one running out of the coop in the morning and I mean running so obviously it was all she needed. Of course the Metacam was from the vet just two weeks before so I knew it was safe.

I recognized most of the items on your list but would like to know more about the uses/applications of VetRx since you consider it awesome. Give me all your reasons as I wasn't sure to invest in it when I looked it up before. I'd rather speak to a user first. Thanks for the input!

 

[quailtrail]

Your first aid box can be very extensive, but it try to keep it as simple as possible. My horse box is enormous .
Terramycin antibiotic spray
Vet wrap
Baby vit , without iron
Saline , sterile
Magnesium sulphate ( Epsom salts )
Band aids ( splayed legs )
Vicks vaporub ( scaley leg mite )
Poly-aid plus with probiotic
Erythromycin
Cephalexin
Panacur
Corid ( amprolium )

where can you get antibiotics? Is this your must have list???

 

[kabhyper1]

Hey guys, ill respond to the medical stuff in a bit after chores but I have an issue, I mixed wood ash with the sand in my run and now all of my silkies poops are black. I'm worried. Should I be? It was just wood ash. Thanks.

 

[DandK]

I just got these silkies a couples days ago from a local farm supply store. They seem a bit stressed and have some bald spots. The employee said the bigger one is about a month old and the smaller one is about three weeks. I am trying to make them as comfortable as possible but I am concerned about their feathers. Here is a picture, sorry it's not very close. I didn't want to stress them out anymore. I would appreciate any advice!! These are my first bantams.

 

[emvickrey]

I don't bother self-medicating my chickens. I've only had them 3 years and still learning so much about having them as pets. Some health and preventative care is easy enough like nail trimming, lice/mite preventative treatments, worming, small wound care, etc. But for issues that change either the behavior, appearance, or health of a chicken that doesn't go away in 24 hours, I go straight to the vet. Smaller animals deteriorate quickly from ailments so the quicker I get one to the vet the quicker the correct treatment is applied instead of making an animal suffer or die from guess-timate diagnosis or treatment at home.

I agree with you about feed stores - they have their good points but they aren't a pharmacy or doctor and IMO should not carry products for self-appointed chickeneers to guess the treatment for an unknown ailment. Birds get so many diseases/ailments that have similar symptoms that only a professional should diagnose and treat. People rush their sick dogs and cats to the vet and treat them for fleas and worms - chickens deserve the same priority vet care. Many chickeneers use OTC antibiotics that are either the wrong doses for the undiagnosed ailment or should only be used after a first treatment of an injectable drug, etc. Some chickeneers are medical professionals for people patients and know how to use proper medications on their flocks but I would never presume to do so on my birds since I have no medical training.

If people think chickens/birds are so easy to diagnose and treat at home then why does it take an exotic vet a very thorough exam and sometimes tests before HE knows what the bird's ailment is to properly prescribe treatment? I'd much rather trust a "practicing" professional than trust my own self-practicing medical guesses!

Geez! Did I rant or not? Probably some feel the same way and probably some not. This is just me.

I agree with you. But not everybody has a vet that has had schooling for birds. We didn't have one around here. The closest avian vet was 60 miles away. So I had to resort to trying to figure it out myself. We just recently got a vet that got some training with birds. I was lucky this winter when I found out he was there. I sure needed him. I"ve never had so many come down sick. Colds and minor issues can be cured with duramyacin but the Batril the vet said is the strongest that can be given to a chicken. He combines it with steroid when giving a shot then I give the liquid Baytril at home. The steroid is only included when there is swelling as there was with my one hen. It sure ramps the bird up for about 24 hours. It's like giving them crack. The one that had worms he gave a steroid shot with antibiotic as well wormed it just in case he had a head injury because of how he was acting. He wanted to cover all bases. It took him a while to get back his balance but I also discovered he had feathers growing on the bottoms of his feet which make his feet slide making it hard for him to walk. But he still bobbed his head as if he had a head injury. Silkies don't have bone over their brain so they can get brain injuries very easily. Just for those that don't know that.

 

[kabhyper1]

Okay so I'm still worried about the black wood ash poop if anyone knows anything about that being okay or not, but as far as meds go, I get my antibiotics from TSC. I have used my Jack Russells antibiotic eye drops in my hens eyes and they did wonders for her. Mostly its research and seeing what is available short notice, per researching meds. Vet rx has a lot of applications. I have mostly used it for sinus irritation in my hen, but apparently it works for scaly leg mites and several other things. Its natural, so worth buying I think.

 

[Cynthia12]

What could be making my silkie chicks poops so gross and runny? Could it be the scrambled eggs ive been giving them as a snack everyday? They have been eating crumbled medicated chick food. Just curious why their poos are so gross, it gets all over their pretty feet feathers.

Medicated food! Some folks don't use it at all, I use it for about 5 days, then I'm done. Eggs are not hurting them, just make sure you get some other food and don't give them too much protein at this age. They will need more when older though. It's a great treat for once in a while..like once a week if you want, but they don't need that much.