Silkie thread!

[Iluvmysilkies]

3 weeks..I personally say take it away. This is one of the good things that you get on BYC..thoughts, ideas, everyones personal view, or experience. You will come to have your own as you get more experienced in your chickens. Thing for now, take one at a time, for example, someone mentioned the eggs could be the problem. Take the egg away and see what happens. Didn't work? Take the medicated food away see what happens. Everyone has different experiences in the chicken world. Study up on it..whatever you question. For all we know..it could be your drinking water! What?! Oh dear, you drink that too! Seriously though, just cancel one thing at a time that someone has mentioned. Great help here on this good ol BYC. Yep.

Haha Thanks, your so right I havent given eggs now for a few days and some of the babies are poopin more like normal while some still have the runs, so I figure i'll give it another day or two and see how it goes. If they are still gross I may just switch their food and see. It makes sense that they may have been on it long enough already to have built up some immunity but what do I know lol. I sure hope its not the drinking water lol. I have been giving them the same purified water from the fridge that I drink

 

[Iluvmysilkies]

my 4 newest kids. 1 week old now.

 

[workinnanie]

Your 4 kids are adorable!

 

[Ruralpearls]

What s the temperature in the brooder? And did you hatch these little guys yourself?

No, I got them from IFA. 93 degrees.

 

[MrOrpington16]

Thinking of showing my paint silkie. What do you think??

 

[Fancychooklady]

No, I got them from IFA. 93 degrees.

Sometimes if the temp is too high they'll start acting a little dozey but your temp should be right. The reason I asked if you hatched them is there may be other outside factors to consider. Cocci would be one at the top of the list. Read the link and feel free to PM me if you need advice.

 

[Ruralpearls]

Sometimes if the temp is too high they'll start acting a little dozey but your temp should be right. The reason I asked if you hatched them is there may be other outside factors to consider. Cocci would be one at the top of the list. Read the link and feel free to PM me if you need advice.

Thanks for the links, I love the Chicken Chick. I have been around chickens most of my life it's just that I have never owned a Silkie before and wondered if it was something with the breed. I have been checking it's droppings and they don't appear unusual so I am hoping it is just a sleepy one . If it seems to get worse I will PM you if you don't mind. Thanks so much for all your help!!

 

[emvickrey]

Thanx 4 d input! Just like DE I hesitated to use it and finally gave it away unopened. It should be an example to me that if I'm hesitating about a product to go on the safe side of caution and not use it. I'll save the money and wait on the Vet Rx til I get the vet's input. I haven't heard enough glowing reports about how well it works or for what it does from people who may have used it. OTC meds are either improperly administered, or not strong enough, or have to be used more as a continuation medication after stronger drug injections. I wind up going to the vet for all my Silkie's ailments anyway and not too keen about self-diagnosing or self-medicating when I haven't the experience like some with bigger flocks or long-time chicken owners. The thing that bothered me about DE is that it had a snake-oil cure for too many things yet had more warnings on the label than a bottle of lye and many reviewers were disappointed it didn't work. There's a cedar based pet spray against fleas, lice, mites, insects, etc that supposedly can be used on poultry but aren't cedar fumes dangerous to chicken's respiratory system? Same idea with Vet Rx - there are just too many claims about what it can do that makes it suspect to me - I read the label and wasn't impressed with it at first glance. Since I've been fortunate to have such a terrific vet just 10 minutes away I'll leave the medicating up to him. Again, thanks for the input.

I used DE when I had quail. They loved to dust themselves in it. I would hve to set it down quick and get away because it was a big dustball. they would all jump in and start rolling around and flapping. I've put it in the spots that my chickens have wollered out in the dirt to dust themselves. I didn't have good results as far as keeping pests away. I use sevin dust for a quick mite or lice treatment when I see them. It works. I'll give them a bath in Dawn dish liquid as soon as I can get a chance to wash it out of their feathers are kill any bugs that may still be on them. Dawn dish liquid is great to use to kill fleas on dogs or any animals really. As soon as it touches the flea or other bugs it kills them and the eggs. I always wash our animals in it then use whitner if needed.

As far as the VetRX. I have a cockerel that has had an eye issue since he was a week old and he is now outside after living in the house all winter. I found him standing away from his mother and other chicks and when I picked him up one of his eyes looked badly infected. Well after cleaning it with warm salt water to try to draw out the infection I discovered it was more of a plug over his eye. I was hoping it wasn't his eye. I worked on triyng to dislodge it still hoping it wasn't his eye I was taking out. Once I got the edges past his eye lid it popped right out. Thank goodness it wasn't his eye. So I got online and researched the symptoms and all pointed to eye worm. VetRX is suppose to kill the eye worm so I followed the instructions but it didn't work. I took him to the vet that I use for our dog and cat not knowing there was a vet that took care of poultry. He gave him a shot of Baytril and I gave him Baytril by mouth as well as eye drops. It cleared up some but his eye still waters alot and I have to clean it out about once a week. It's not as bad as it used to be. I have to get my vet bill paid before I add to it again. Since it's not an emergency he can wait a little while longer. I'm hoping it just stops all together. It is slowly getting better. We got a dog back that we let live with my bro n law because the road we live on dogs get killed all the time and we didn't want her killed so she was happy with him but he never took her to the vet or used any preventatives and she now has heart worms very bad and with her age and the amount of worms the vet said it would kill her to give her the normal treatment for heart worms so she has to take a pill everyday for about 2 years. That visit cost me over $200 to get her up to date on her vaccinations, microchipped and meds. She also has to take a pill once a week for incontinence. I'm still paying that bill off. I'm glad our vet lets people make payments is all I can say.

 

[388chick]

I wouldn't ever take the chick away, the mom needs to personally teach it what to eat and how to dust bathe, besides all that work the mom did to hatch that little chick, I would think she should be able to keep it, why don't you try to hatch a couple eggs from a bator, it probably knows that that chicken is it's mother.

I wouldn't take the chick away either!!! We had a little frizzle hatch just one baby in January...I kept them both in a brooder inside...it was adorable to watch momma teach the chick...no fire worries with a heat lamp and everyday when I let momma go out to play a bit with the rest of the flock I got chick time. That little one is THE MOST friendly little thing.

 

[Cynthia12]

Thanks for the links, I love the Chicken Chick. I have been around chickens most of my life it's just that I have never owned a Silkie before and wondered if it was something with the breed. I have been checking it's droppings and they don't appear unusual so I am hoping it is just a sleepy one . If it seems to get worse I will PM you if you don't mind. Thanks so much for all your help!!

Nothing different with the breed. They are chickens too. It is quite possible that the little one came home sick. That pasty butt might be the culprit. Have you seen it go potty? I wouldn't be worrying too much about some type of harsh disease, they get beat up pretty hard at those feed stores, heck, before they even get there! They get it pretty rough during shipping. You were nice to take it in and try to help it. I've taken a few like that in, some make it, some don't. Good luck. I would personally just do the up first things..making sure it eats, drinks, and poops, and is warm enough. Make sure the others aren't picking on it. If it gets worse, separate it from the others. If you have any poly V. on hand..no iron, would be a thought. Just tiny drops..twice a day. They can get too much electrolytes, and too much Vitamins. When chicks start looking sick, so many folks start saying, give them this, give them that. A little for a few days, either it is working, or it isn't. Giving these things for a long period of time can be making things worse for the chick. We were talking egg yolk a while back for one chick. This is the time to give a chick some egg yolk. A little bit at a time. Just for a few days.