Silkie thread!

[Sylvester017]

I'll show one of my young cockerels. This is 'piper' don't ask he was 'supposed' to be a pullet.

Piper is quite masculine IMO - isn't there a nice airplane with that brand name!

 

[nayeli]

Thanks for another great reference article. Although many will choose to ignore the advice re: hygiene around chicks/chickens because they personally have not contracted an illness yet, I for one agree that the utmost care needs to be taken when handling chickens - no matter how adorable they are. We only have two sinks in which to comfortably bathe our birds - kitchen and bath. Since I'm the meal preparer in the house, I bleach down the sinks and counters after a chicken's bath. After cleaning the nestboxes, picking up a chicken, or collecting eggs, both my DH and I scrub our hands (or up to our elbows if needed) afterwards with soap and a nailbrush for fingernails. The chicken feeder is brought in from outdoors and soaped down daily. We may only have 3 chickens but I am a senior and don't have the spiffy immune system of a 20-year-old to ward off Salmonella bacteria so we take extra hygiene care. Our pet store owner makes breakfast shakes using raw eggs every morning which is asking for trouble IMHO.

I shudder when I see adults/children kissing chickens - especially on their beaks. For one thing, human lips/saliva has incompatible bacteria for a chicken - like humans, some chickens may not possess a good immunity to ward off certain bacteria. Also, there are all sorts of parasites/bacteria (like Salmonella) that can transfer from chickens to humans. I adore my babies but I realize that our kisses and petting don't mean a thing to the chickens - they are only really interested in the food we have for them or maybe to cuddle on a warm lap - ha! Our Silkie broodies are particularly disgusting when poop sticks to their butt feathers so no way am I cuddling THEM!

Not only is hygiene care important around chicks/chickens but indoor pet birds require the same hygiene handling. We had English Budgerigars and Cocktiel for 20 years and hygiene was a routine every day when handling the birds or their cage items. It's hard to think of such cute birdies being a hazard to health but it pays to be solicitous about disinfecting/soaping.

I haven't gotten ill yet but I have started being more dillegent about hand washing after touching them. The smell they leave on my hands makes me sick (although I get naseau really easy so what doesn't!).

 

[Fancychooklady]

Thanks for another great reference article.  Although many will choose to ignore the advice re: hygiene around chicks/chickens because they personally have not contracted an illness yet, I for one agree that the utmost care needs to be taken when handling chickens - no matter how adorable they are.  We only have two sinks in which to comfortably bathe our birds - kitchen and bath. Since I'm the meal preparer in the house, I bleach down the sinks and counters after a chicken's bath.  After cleaning the nestboxes, picking up a chicken, or collecting eggs, both my DH and I scrub our hands (or up to our elbows if needed) afterwards with soap and a nailbrush for fingernails.  The chicken feeder is brought in from outdoors and soaped down daily.  We may only have 3 chickens but I am a senior and don't have the spiffy immune system of a 20-year-old to ward off Salmonella bacteria so we take extra hygiene care.  Our pet store owner makes breakfast shakes using raw eggs every morning which is asking for trouble IMHO. 

I shudder when I see adults/children kissing chickens - especially on their beaks.  For one thing, human lips/saliva has incompatible bacteria for a chicken - like humans, some chickens may not possess a good immunity to ward off certain bacteria.  Also, there are all sorts of parasites/bacteria (like Salmonella) that can transfer from chickens to humans.  I adore my babies but I realize that our kisses and petting don't mean a thing to the chickens - they are only really interested in the food we have for them or maybe to cuddle on a warm lap - ha!  Our Silkie broodies are particularly disgusting when poop sticks to their butt feathers so no way am I cuddling THEM!

Not only is hygiene care important around chicks/chickens but indoor pet birds require the same hygiene handling.  We had English Budgerigars and Cocktiel for 20 years and hygiene was a routine every day when handling the birds or their cage items.  It's hard to think of such cute birdies being a hazard to health but it pays to be solicitous about disinfecting/soaping.

SIL, many people will get sick with a '24 ' hr virus and vomit all night long and blame it on the Chinese they ate rather than poor hygiene . Animals , poultry included don't belong inside . Just mho.

 

[kabhyper1]

I feel like I have a revolving broody door in my house.

Here we go again.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I feel like I have a revolving broody door in my house.

Here we go again.

I laugh because 3 of my hens just finished hatching chicks, and I'm hoping to not have anymore broodies until Spring! It's been one hen after another here since last Spring, and while I love my broodies and the chicks they produce, I've had enough for this year!

And on another note, has anyone ever had a rumpless Silkie? One of the above mentioned hens hatched out 8 chicks, one of them has no tail to speak of. It's not just missing some feathers back there. In fact, it's still sporting its adorable chick down, but there isn't even a little nub where the tail would be. I can get a picture tomorrow in the day light for reference if you all would like. I thought something has seemed off about this particular chick and I had to grab it and clean up some pasty butt tonight when I checked on them, that's when I noticed the tail- or lack thereof. It seems to be healthy in every way, eating, drinking, pooping (judging by the amount clinging to its backside, thats not a problem), very active and fat as a little tick. Its a little chunk for sure, so thats what we're calling it, Chunk. I've never has any rumpless birds, so I'm not really sure if extra care is needed. I couldn't feel an oil gland either, but I've also never checked any of my chicks for their oil glands, so it may have one, just hiding out in all the fluff.

Any ideas?

 

[FoxholeFarm]

Hey y'all. I love my SQ silkies, but their vaults/crests are so huge that they have trouble seeing their surroundings, their food, and the ramp to the coop. I need to find a solution for pulling all those feathers back from their eyes that isn't going to damage them. I'm hoping some of you have solutions.

One idea I had was to use the tube from a baby sock like a bandana to pull over their head and pull back those feathers. Has anyone tried that? Does it work?

some people use painter's tape to pull up their polish chicken's feathers. I'd guess it would work for silkies. I'm just going to trim mine. But mine are not for showing, just pets.

I tried painters tape today and it wasn't strong enough. It's fine for the polish, but the silkies crests are too dense. It just pulled right back into place.

 

[andreacroyle]

Just a few of my 60 something silkies! LOL!

j

I am absolutely brand new to silkies....and chickens.
I decided to buy 3 silkies at an animal auction last week. It was fun but I will never do it again, because you dont get to handle the birds before hand, there are hundreds of birds all in one place, I didnt know until after I had bought the birds that chickens can get and spread illnesses so easily and you have no idea where you get them from.
So I did it backwards, I bought birds and then started research. wrong move I know.

I ended up with two silkies that are sneezing. they have been staying in my garage separated from the others. one silkie rooster that appears to be healthy besides a little bit of lice and 3 OEB hens that also appear to be healthy.

I had no idea that chickens get sick so easily or I may not have gotten any of them. I am hoping for advice.

The more I read, about chicken illness, the more I seem to be confused.

I am hoping someone can give me some advice with their experience.

1. I brought 7 birds home separated by cages but in the car together. a 1.5 hour ride.
from everything I have read, it seems like since the two were sneezing, everyone else is going to end up diseased or sick.

I put the sneezing silkies in the garage, but my property is small and if it is something viral, than I dont see how just separating them is going to help. they are 10 feet from the other birds just inside the garage.

I started all the chickens on sulmet (in water) and put a cool mist humidifier with ACV in front of the sneezers.
i am careful not to over mist them.

I the black silkie stopped sneezing within two days but the white chicken is still sneezing and has a little mucus on his beak.

I was lucky enough to find out who the breeder was of these two and got her number. i told her the next day that her birds were sneezing and she said "that is the problem with auctions, they can catch anything". from what i have read, they would have had to of been sick before she took them to the auction. I am thinking about giving her back her chickens since she said she would take them. however it is a 2 hour drive to her house (one way)


what do you guys think? did i infect my whole flock with these two sneezing chickens? no one else is showing signs (so far)

should i attempt to mend them and hope they arent ->carriers<- ?

i have read that it is very hard to diagnose respiratory infections.

what should I do? does anyone have experience with this?

also....
how do you guys keep the poo off the feather on the feet?

 

[andreacroyle]

oh! I posted /quoted pics of the birds above, I am wondering what color that is .

 

[nayeli]

I am absolutely brand new to silkies....and chickens.
I decided to buy 3 silkies at an animal auction last week. It was fun but I will never do it again, because you dont get to handle the birds before hand, there are hundreds of birds all in one place, I didnt know until after I had bought the birds that chickens can get and spread illnesses so easily and you have no idea where you get them from.
So I did it backwards, I bought birds and then started research. wrong move I know.

I ended up with two silkies that are sneezing. they have been staying in my garage separated from the others. one silkie rooster that appears to be healthy besides a little bit of lice and 3 OEB hens that also appear to be healthy.

I had no idea that chickens get sick so easily or I may not have gotten any of them. I am hoping for advice.

The more I read, about chicken illness, the more I seem to be confused.

I am hoping someone can give me some advice with their experience.

1. I brought 7 birds home separated by cages but in the car together. a 1.5 hour ride.
from everything I have read, it seems like since the two were sneezing, everyone else is going to end up diseased or sick.

I put the sneezing silkies in the garage, but my property is small and if it is something viral, than I dont see how just separating them is going to help. they are 10 feet from the other birds just inside the garage.

I started all the chickens on sulmet (in water) and put a cool mist humidifier with ACV in front of the sneezers.
i am careful not to over mist them.

I the black silkie stopped sneezing within two days but the white chicken is still sneezing and has a little mucus on his beak.

I was lucky enough to find out who the breeder was of these two and got her number. i told her the next day that her birds were sneezing and she said "that is the problem with auctions, they can catch anything". from what i have read, they would have had to of been sick before she took them to the auction. I am thinking about giving her back her chickens since she said she would take them. however it is a 2 hour drive to her house (one way)


what do you guys think? did i infect my whole flock with these two sneezing chickens? no one else is showing signs (so far)

should i attempt to mend them and hope they arent ->carriers<- ?

i have read that it is very hard to diagnose respiratory infections.

what should I do? does anyone have experience with this?

also....
how do you guys keep the poo off the feather on the feet?

Your flock would have been exposed both during the car ride and currently in your garage. Now you can just give extra poultry vitamins and maybe an antibiotic and wait and see. There isn't much of a reason to keep them seperated since its only by 10 feet (so they are exposed anyway) and chickens are a flock animal.
Whether you keep them or not is up to you. If they survive then depending what they have they might pass on an immunity, but they might stay carriers as well.

Honestly all I can say is NEVER do business with the breeder again. The fact that she will take back sick birds probably means her flock is already sick. I mean, I personally would not introduce a known risk like that around my chickens. Sure she might have a special quarantine area, but I personally haven't heard of breeders taking chickens back for risk reasons. If they did they would have to make that quarantine area and it would be a lot of hassle!

 

[kwissykat]

Finally figured out how to post pics so here are my girls.