Silkie thread!

[BuckNBark Farm]

Pam, she is lovely. How do you go with the wood shavings? Have you had any problems with it?

Those are pine shavings. Love them, except they get in the water all of the time. Cedar shavings are supposed to be bad for them, tho.

 

[BuckNBark Farm]

So my girl has been on her eggs for a week and a half now. It take her off once a day to eat and poo. She is a first timer and wont do it herself. Well she feels like she has lost a lot of weight. Tonight she just tidbitted her food all over the floor and ate a few bites out of my hand. I got a few drops of water in her by hand also. She is so worried about the eggs she wont eat. I tried scrambled egg and she didnt like it. Her food and water are parked right in front of her, so maybe she is eating when i dont see. Idk. She is still pooping giant horrific broody poops

so she has to be eating something right?

I have those issues with mine. As soon as they start gaining weight, they go broody again!

 

[BuckNBark Farm]

Very pretty mommy, and I still cant get over how small Silkie chicks are I was afraid to pick mine up, afraid I would break them... lol

Thanks! They are very tiny!

 

[Fancychooklady]

So my girl has been on her eggs for a week and a half now. It take her off once a day to eat and poo. She is a first timer and wont do it herself. Well she feels like she has lost a lot of weight. Tonight she just tidbitted her food all over the floor and ate a few bites out of my hand. I got a few drops of water in her by hand also. She is so worried about the eggs she wont eat. I tried scrambled egg and she didnt like it. Her food and water are parked right in front of her, so maybe she is eating when i dont see. Idk. She is still pooping giant horrific broody poops so she has to be eating something right?

There nothing quite like the smell of a broody poop. I put a small handful of feed under my Broodie's beak each day and have a water dish close by. That is one of the benefits of separating them from the flock. You can monitor her food intake.

 

[kabhyper1]

Those are pine shavings. Love them, except they get in the water all of the time. Cedar shavings are supposed to be bad for them, tho.

I have pine shavings in mine too. My chicks have always done fine with them. I have broody hatched on hay, but hay carries parasites. I had a major lice issue last fall using hay for bedding.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Awww, what cuties....I have a peach cochin that mated with a white silkie as well as the white silkie that mated too. They shared the eggs and peachie had her four earlier than Silkie as I gave eggs to Silkie later. Silkie is now a proud mother of one so far. A breeder said to trim the back of the underneath as he had a problem with the little ones going so far in back that they suffocated. I tried trimming some of Ms Silkies fluff in back...I hope that doesn't happen to any of us. Pics coming as soon as the others hatch but here are Peachies four... ch...I can hardly wait....

It happens. I had one get caught up in mums under feathers and by the time I realized it was missing she was dragging it around , dead , behind her. Poor little thing had been strangled. Some Broodie's do a good job of de- feathering their own under carriage.

 

[kabhyper1]

I have those issues with mine. As soon as they start gaining weight, they go broody again!

Don't they though! They are about the cutest things ever when they are broody though. I have yet to have a mean broody silkie. They vocally protest, but thats about it.

There nothing quite like the smell of a broody poop. I put a small handful of feed under my Broodie's beak each day and have a water dish close by. That is one of the benefits of separating them from the flock. You can monitor her food intake.

Hers is especially bad. Smells like rotten death and almost metallic. Gag a maggot. Bright green and white, like she's been eating frozen peas. Which she hasn't. Go figure. I have been hand feeding her also. She will sometimes eat, but mostly just grumbles that my hand is in her business. I have her food and water right under her nose, so if she wants it she can reach it. I just cant figure out why she feels so thin to me. Considering the size of her poops especially. She is just very concerned about those babies in those eggs. I candled them last night and all 8 and happy little wigglers. They must be starting to communicate with her with in the last couple days, that's when she started getting really upset when she was of the nest. Seeing as she has another week and a half, I'm worried she will keep dropping weight. How much food is the minimum she should be eating a day? I don't worry about the normal broody weight loss, but I don't want her to starve herself.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Those are pine shavings.  Love them, except they get in the water all of the time.  Cedar shavings are supposed to be bad for them, tho.

I gave them a try 2 years ago but found that the chicks were swallowing the shavings. I went back to hay. When momma first starts to sit I powder her and put yellow sulphur under the hay, haven't had any lice problems. Nor have I had a single case of pasty butt since changing back. Hay is also more convenient for me, we cut 700-800 bales off our paddocks and once it has been mucked out of the pens I use it in the garden. I have seen that some people are using pine needles, I wonder how parasite resistant that would be. We have some huge pine forests nearby, might be worth investigating.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Don't they though! They are about the cutest things ever when they are broody though. I have yet to have a mean broody silkie. They vocally protest, but thats about it.

Hers is especially bad. Smells like rotten death and almost metallic. Gag a maggot. Bright green and white, like she's been eating frozen peas. Which she hasn't. Go figure. I have been hand feeding her also. She will sometimes eat, but mostly just grumbles that my hand is in her business. I have her food and water right under her nose, so if she wants it she can reach it. I just cant figure out why she feels so thin to me. Considering the size of her poops especially. She is just very concerned about those babies in those eggs. I candled them last night and all 8 and happy little wigglers. They must be starting to communicate with her with in the last couple days, that's when she started getting really upset when she was of the nest. Seeing as she has another week and a half, I'm worried she will keep dropping weight. How much food is the minimum she should be eating a day? I don't worry about the normal broody weight loss, but I don't want her to starve herself.

It sounds like you are doing everything you can to keep her happy. Give her a treat of scrambled egg , I've never seen a chicken turn their nose up at that.

 

[kabhyper1]

I gave them a try 2 years ago but found that the chicks were swallowing the shavings. I went back to hay. When momma first starts to sit I powder her and put yellow sulphur under the hay, haven't had any lice problems. Nor have I had a single case of pasty butt since changing back. Hay is also more convenient for me, we cut 700-800 bales off our paddocks and once it has been mucked out of the pens I use it in the garden. I have seen that some people are using pine needles, I wonder how parasite resistant that would be. We have some huge pine forests nearby, might be worth investigating.

Suki got butt powdered so I hope that helps with lice. She is inside the house in fresh bedding, so I really hope the bugs will be minimal.

It sounds like you are doing everything you can to keep her happy. Give her a treat of scrambled egg , I've never seen a chicken turn their nose up at that.

LOL yeah you would think. She snubbed scrambled egg like I had just cooked her children. She really didn't like it. She's a turd. At what point with her weight loss, would I need to make the decision to put the eggs in an incubator and make her stop brooding? That is last resort for sure. She wants to be a momma so badly. Would you say as long as she is pooping she is eating?