Silkie thread!

[sue25]

I've lost 5 birds this past year and have only a Partridge Silkie and Cuckoo Breda left outdoors. Lost my 6-yr-old sweet spunky Black Silkie pullet today. She was our smallest, smartest, spunkiest little chicken and I miss her so much. She had a large rubbery egg stuck to her vent so I soaked her in warm water to soften it but I didn't pull on it since we saw some bleeding. We wrapped her up in a towel immediately and rushed to the vet. The egg was softened enough to come apart in the vet's hand but her ovaries were stuck outside the vent and there was a bleeding ovarian tumor. Two weeks ago she had layed a single large hard rubbery egg and no more eggs so I knew then it wasn't a good sign. We decided to euthanize her at the vet's office. I can't stop my watery eyes!

She was our spunkiest funniest girl but my problem child having to be treated for respiratory issues which she was prone to having at least once a year, she lost a couple toes from scratching too hard in nest boxes, she never really was a peaceful egg layer in all her years but would complain loudly each time before she layed -- bottom photo is of her large hard rubbery egg from two weeks ago. It's so hard losing a long-time pet -- especially one that managed to survive so many prior health issues. We figured she'd be spunky and tough enough to live forever!
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So sorry to here about your pet.
I have a couple of white silky hens and love them so much. I will be getting more this weekend as.I am buying out someone's SQ silky flock. I can't wait to get them. Raising Silkies will be fun. It's very hard loosing a loved pet no matter what type.

 

[Hinotori]

Shake up in the silkie pens here. Setting them up for the rains and did the first moves. Raditz is alone for the moment, but he can talk to Broly and the teen boys in the next pen. Broly gets along with them so he won't kill them. I have to go through and pick out the largest hens to overwinter with his hugeness.

White Ashes gets the two white hens and all the odd color girls. There are more white babies that will go in there.

I need to leave one pen for the old ladies. That leaves two houses for the rest.

I also need to do a head count. No idea how many there are at the moment.

 

[ChcknNurse]

I've lost 5 birds this past year and have only a Partridge Silkie and Cuckoo Breda left outdoors. Lost my 6-yr-old sweet spunky Black Silkie pullet today. She was our smallest, smartest, spunkiest little chicken and I miss her so much. She had a large rubbery egg stuck to her vent so I soaked her in warm water to soften it but I didn't pull on it since we saw some bleeding. We wrapped her up in a towel immediately and rushed to the vet. The egg was softened enough to come apart in the vet's hand but her ovaries were stuck outside the vent and there was a bleeding ovarian tumor. Two weeks ago she had layed a single large hard rubbery egg and no more eggs so I knew then it wasn't a good sign. We decided to euthanize her at the vet's office. I can't stop my watery eyes!

She was our spunkiest funniest girl but my problem child having to be treated for respiratory issues which she was prone to having at least once a year, she lost a couple toes from scratching too hard in nest boxes, she never really was a peaceful egg layer in all her years but would complain loudly each time before she layed -- bottom photo is of her large hard rubbery egg from two weeks ago. It's so hard losing a long-time pet -- especially one that managed to survive so many prior health issues. We figured she'd be spunky and tough enough to live forever!
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Sylvester, I'm sorry about your loss. This "rubber egg" you are referring to looks like a lash egg to me. With that in mind (in addition to your story) it would seem it was definitely humane to put her to rest. I'm sorry.

 

[Sylvester017]

So sorry to here about your pet.
I have a couple of white silky hens and love them so much. I will be getting more this weekend as.I am buying out someone's SQ silky flock. I can't wait to get them. Raising Silkies will be fun. It's very hard loosing a loved pet no matter what type.

Wow, an entire SQ flock! Post pics.
So true -- losing ANY pet is devastating. I have had many chickens but our little Black Silkie was always the smartest, quickest, funniest, personality-plus, easiest to handle of any birds we've had and the sweetest for visitors to hold. She didn't live long enough for us to enjoy her more and for us to spoil her.

Shake up in the silkie pens here. Setting them up for the rains and did the first moves. Raditz is alone for the moment, but he can talk to Broly and the teen boys in the next pen. Broly gets along with them so he won't kill them. I have to go through and pick out the largest hens to overwinter with his hugeness.

White Ashes gets the two white hens and all the odd color girls. There are more white babies that will go in there.

I need to leave one pen for the old ladies. That leaves two houses for the rest.

I also need to do a head count. No idea how many there are at the moment.

Your place sounds like so-o-o much fun. How old are your "old ladies?" My oldest is a Partridge Silkie at 61/2 yrs and so far so good. My little Black Silkie was only 6 when she went down yesterday. I can't believe how hardy she was with all the health issues she had over the years -- it was so hard putting her down but the vet and I knew instantly it was best without a doubt and he's usually the optimist about saving a pet at all costs.

Sylvester, I'm sorry about your loss. This "rubber egg" you are referring to looks like a lash egg to me. With that in mind (in addition to your story) it would seem it was definitely humane to put her to rest. I'm sorry.

TY for you kind thoughts. The rubbery egg was huge for a Silkie, misshapen, bumpy, 2 weeks ago, and then no more eggs. Right then I knew that was not good. She continued being her usual spunky self until the rubbery egg yesterday that was stuck to her vent -- it was still stuck to inside organs is why it didn't detach. Talk about panic, I never saw my vet so alarmed. That rubbery egg pulled out her ovaries and the bleeding ovarian tumor. How could a little chicken like her continue being spunky and sweet with all that gunk going on inside her? She has survived several respiratory episodes over the years from heavy wheezing to slight sniffles to nasal surgery, lost a couple toes/toenails to obsessive scratching in nest boxes, and never layed an egg without complaining loudly all day before laying it -- she struggled with laying eggs since her first egg (complaining loudly until the egg was layed plus the obsessive nervous hard scratching in the wooden nestboxes that splintered/tore her feet up). Because of that we had to switch to plastic nestboxes. I knew she was not my healthiest bird but she was such a survivor, full of outgoing personality, and as spunky as one would ever want in a pet.

 

[Hinotori]

My oldest silkie is 5. I do have a 7 year old ameraucana, though most of the ameraucana and EEs are 5 to 6. I haven't hatched or replaced any large fowl birds for a couple years. The 2 year old new hampshire and 3 year old brahma are on the cull list since they are not laying. I'm only getting eggs from the much older hens.

And silkie eggs. Always have those even though it looks like someone blew up a few tribbles out there. 9 out of 24 adult hens are broody and I'm not sure who all is molting.

 

[adrikeen]

And silkie eggs. Always have those even though it looks like someone blew up a few tribbles out there. 9 out of 24 adult hens are broody and I'm not sure who all is molting.[/QUOTE]
I just fell off my chair laughing at the Tribble reference! Soooo true!!! Sometimes they even make purring noises like them!

 

[Sylvester017]

My oldest silkie is 5. I do have a 7 year old ameraucana, though most of the ameraucana and EEs are 5 to 6. I haven't hatched or replaced any large fowl birds for a couple years. The 2 year old new hampshire and 3 year old brahma are on the cull list since they are not laying. I'm only getting eggs from the much older hens.

And silkie eggs. Always have those even though it looks like someone blew up a few tribbles out there. 9 out of 24 adult hens are broody and I'm not sure who all is molting.

Nice long quality life is what we wish for all our birds. I haven't had any luck w/ a couple Ameraucanas, re-homed all my combative aggressive Leghorns and Marans, tried keeping sweet Breda but hard to keep them alive and only have one Breda hen left, love the hardiness and personality of Silkies, and now am raising 3 Dominique chicks as layers for the New Year. Doms are like Breda in calmness and non-combativeness.

If I was zoned and had the room I'd have more Silkies. I have the Partridge left now and she'll be 7 in April. Don't know what I'll do next year for flock additions. Guess it all depends on how well the 3 Dom chicks do for me and if the Cuckoo Breda stays hardy -- she is a great egg-layer and very easy-going with Silkies.

Talk about molting -- all 3 hens outside were molting at the same time and the Silkies kept picking up stray feathers off the ground sticking to their crests. With only the Partridge Silkie left she'll be the only one with Hedda Hopper stray feathers in her crest.
CUCKOO BREDA

PARTRIDGE SILKIE W/ FEATHER STUCK TO SIDE OF CREST

3 NEW DOM CHICKS

 

[Hinotori]

The Dogslayer!

He's got such a huge crest and he's SUPER friendly. Enough that I may have to breed him to my stalker hen when he grows up just to see what their offspring are like.

You can tell he's a country boy

 

[TattooedChicks]

The other chicks just don't know what to make of their silkie companion.

 

[Sylvester017]

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The other chicks just don't know what to make of their silkie companion.

Poor baby, hope he/she has another Silkie companion? Silkies have a tendency to be loners in a flock of standard hens but will toodle around with another Silkie.