Silkie thread!

[peepblessed]

Is it normal for a cockerel to have a growth spurt around 5 months? I have had my pair for about a month and when I got them they were the same size. Just this week I noticed my boy has gotten a lot bigger than my pullet. Anyone have thoughts on this? I posted a pic of them the other day, but here are some for size comparison...

Yes, very normal.

 

[PaintedFeathers]

If you leave them in water they can drown.

No not not IN water, they are in an empty sink

sorry for the confusion. You lather them up and let them sit soaped up for 5 minutes. I never fill the sink anymore, they try to drown themselves even with you holding them up!

They were talking about my tutorial I posted. I show clearly they are in an empty sink.

 

[TAMMACLEAN]

...

I've heard of that happening. Pullets start to sit in the nest a couple times in the day sometimes before they start laying.[/quote

Ok. It's very cute to see them with her. Usually she pecks at them and they sleep with the rooster. But I've seen them with her a couple of times. I will have to take my camera with me and see if I can catch them.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

So Silver based is good right? Sorry, I spend so much time with the other breeds and there's so much going on with Silkies these days. Just trying to get a crash course and be able to remember what I did know.

It depends on the variety. There is no intrinsic "good" or "bad," just what is correct for the particular variety, and in some varieties it really does not matter

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: Agree

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: Could be mites; Some of my birds get these white nodules; I use a toothpick and remove them. Sometimes they go down a lot deeper than you would think. When you are finished removing them apply oil to the comb and pour-on ivermectin to the skin (you can ue some on the comb, but dilute with equal parts of oil).

 

[sheeshshe]

Agree

awesome! thanks! he's leaving here very shortly, I'm awaiting his new owner to arrive. See ya George!!!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Hi, posted this https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/297632/silkie-thread/35350#post_11278338 a couple of days ago, and by doing some research was very worried about mareks but now I think could be a severe leg mites infestation, Im so sorry and ashamed about this boy bad situation, but this is our first experience with chickens and did not realized it was the problem, to tell the truth I thougth that was the normal appearence of a chicken foot (how stupid!). My questions are : Is this actually a case of leg mites? could leg mites cause him to be unable to walk? If not something else is going on, but I have to start by stopping the infestation, how to do it? Ive read that vaseline works, what your experience and opinions are? and finally can anyone send me a picture of a healthy silkie s leg/foot?
Thanks so much!

Scaley leg mites. Bathe him with a dog or cat flea/tick shampoo that contains an insect growth regulator. The warm bath water should soften the scaley buildup; once they are softened, scrape off as much as will easily come off. Thoroughly oil his legs with a lightweight oil such as bath oil, body oil, olive oil, etc. Apply ivermectin pour-on on the legs. Every day or two scrape off as much of the gunk as you can and apply more oil. Without treatment he could lose toes.

Yes, a severe scaley leg mite infestation can affect walking.

 

[alamb1]

Could be mites; Some of my birds get these white nodules; I use a toothpick and remove them.  Sometimes they go down a lot deeper than you would think.  When you are finished removing them apply oil to the comb and pour-on ivermectin to the skin  (you can ue some on the comb, but dilute with equal parts of oil).

Thank you so much. I'll give that a shot. My son was hoping to show him in September so I really hope to clear it up.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: Do a punnett square. If mom and dad each are het. for Fm, each chick has a 25% chance of not getting the gene at all, a 25% chance of getting two copies and 50% chance of getting one copy of the gene. In large numbers of hatchlings, these probability percentages will be close to the actual percentages. In small numbers the probability and the actual may be very different.