Silkie thread!

[silkiecuddles]

I have a chick(I think it's a pullet, crossing my fingers) that I believe is a silkie rooster over EE hen cross. I hope it lays blue eggs

 

[JBraz21]

Here is a video i got of her doing the head thing: http://youtu.be/G3jslUDqxNw
Please let me know what you think. She only seems to do this when she is sleeping on someone?

 

[Fancychooklady]

Please help with my silkie. She is about 7 weeks and I've been noticing her head twitching really bad when she's tired. I'm not sure what it is. She eats and drinks and is very active. Any ideas of what I can do for her

There are several possibilities for head shaking. Lice , mites , ear infection, eye worm are just a few. If you are hearing sneezing and wheezing then an upper respiratory disease could be lurking. I would first check your chicks over for lice and mites.

 

[donton]

Does anyone know where I can find silkie hens? I am having no luck. The online hatchery sites are sold out. Occasionally, my pet chicken has a couple but I have to order 8 to have them shipped and I only want silkies so I can't place an order. If anyone knows of breeders around houston or any other options please let me know. I only want hens but will take chicks or older hens. Looking for 6-8 of various colors. Thanks!

 

[frannyglass]

Very cute . I only see prominent ' osprey ' wing tips. Seems to be more obvious in darker colours.

Thanks! You can't really see the weird feather curling in that photo, I posted one a page or two back of it. Still, it's entirely possible that they're not frizzled feathers, I asked because I had no idea if that feathering was typical or not. She's a sweetie either way

, thanks for responding.

 

[pulletmyphalang]

If anyone has any input on this I would appreciate it so much!

I have 6 white bantam silkies 5 Auraucanas and 6 black autralorps and I moved them from inside to there house outside yesterday, today I let them out and I noticed that 2 silkies are attacking each other , they a pulling out feathers and jumping and starting to bleed, I separated one, then later on two other silkies are at it, same thing , so I took two and separated one in a dog crate and the other in the hen house, they are 7 weeks old. What's going on here?! I don't want to come home and find them dead. Thanks

 

[TiaRC]

If anyone has any input on this I would appreciate it so much!

I have 6 white bantam silkies 5 Auraucanas and 6 black autralorps and I moved them from inside to there house outside yesterday, today I let them out and I noticed that 2 silkies are attacking each other , they a pulling out feathers and jumping and starting to bleed, I separated one, then later on two other silkies are at it, same thing , so I took two and separated one in a dog crate and the other in the hen house, they are 7 weeks old. What's going on here?! I don't want to come home and find them dead. Thanks

You have two dominant personality silkies. Ether male on male, female on male, or female on female. The pecking order is trying to be a stablished. And the two were fighting for top spot. They won't stop fighting til it is resolved. I occasionally have a change in power in my flock and they will fight for an hour then the loser gets chased and beat up a little more then left alone and they won't fight anymore.

 

[Osburnsa]

Does anyone know where I can find silkie hens?  I am having no luck.  The online hatchery sites are sold out.  Occasionally, my pet chicken has a couple but I have to order 8 to have them shipped and I only want silkies so I can't place an order.  If anyone knows of breeders around houston or any other options please let me know.  I only want hens but will take chicks or older hens.  Looking for 6-8 of various colors.  Thanks!

Donton, I am in El Paso & was in the same boat, not wanting to order a whole bunch or pay crazy shipping. I actually found some at Tractor Supply, so maybe check there? You can probably ask them what they will be getting in. If you happen to find a knowledgeable salesperson, that is. When I got my Silkie, the sales guy was trying to tell me it was a Buff Orpington.

 

[MumsyIII]

Does anyone know where I can find silkie hens? I am having no luck. The online hatchery sites are sold out. Occasionally, my pet chicken has a couple but I have to order 8 to have them shipped and I only want silkies so I can't place an order. If anyone knows of breeders around houston or any other options please let me know. I only want hens but will take chicks or older hens. Looking for 6-8 of various colors. Thanks!

Is it ok to post links? This facebook page is a place to buy only silkies and only in the USA. A list of breeders by state is posted here and may be helpful to you.




https://www.facebook.com/groups/467418163292049/

 

[Sylvester017]

Here is a video i got of her doing the head thing: http://youtu.be/G3jslUDqxNw
Please let me know what you think. She only seems to do this when she is sleeping on someone?

Head shaking can be a number of reasons. Whatever is causing it will keep your chick from getting the rest she needs further declining her immune resistance not to mention whatever malady is causing the head shaking in the first place. Since you seem a novice and the chick so young I suggest a vet as soon as possible. Lice/mites is easy to fix but so many times that is not the problem. If one of my chickens ever shakes their head I wouldn't waste time for 2 or 3 days trying to self-diagnose only because I'm not an expert and don't want to guess or waste time doing a bunch of suggestion treatments - meanwhile the chick can be getting weaker. Hallelujah if it's just lice but it was never the case with the 2 chickens I had that came down with head-shaking. I have a Silkie prone to CRD symptoms and I don't hesitate to take her to the vet. Another Breda cockerel got accidentally shipped to us (long story) about 3 weeks ago and had a severe head shaking that seemed worse when we held him or he tried to sleep. All night we kept hearing his beak hitting things as he kept shaking his head. We took him to the vet the minute the office opened up the next morning. Both the Silkie last year and the Breda this month were treated with Baytril. The little Silkie had to have injections. The cockerel we gave oral Baytril for 7 days. My motto: If you're not an expert with chickens take it to a vet for qualified diagnosis and/or medicine. You can waste time treating guesses with larger animals but little birds will deteriorate more quickly if not treated correctly and soon. We lost a juvenile that was shipped to us in poor health and instead of taking her to the vet we followed the advice of the breeder. We lost the juvie. I don't listen to well-meaning advice where a young bird's health is involved. Everyone has opinions but I'm just sharing what happened with us. I truly value everyone's helping opinions and they have been invaluable on this thread but there are some times when immediate help should be sought from a qualified medical professional. I have taken my birds in to see the vet so many times the last 2 years that I've become more knowledgeable about when or if I need to take a bird for an exam. I save money occasionally by not needing to take the bird into the office and maybe just dropping off a fecal sample for a lab test. It saves time for me and the vet if I know a fecal sample is all that's needed to identify a problem. He and I have become quite good with this routine and I have been gaining confidence about whether I need to take a bird in to the vet or not. GL with your little one!