Silkie thread!

[summerb123]

 

[Cerise1924]

(Posting here, since I got no response on the Pullet or Cockerel thread...)

Q: Are cockerels dense? I don't mean stupid, I mean do their bodies have a higher density, so that they feel heavy for their size? Maybe more muscle and less fat?

I think my little blue / splash Silkie is a cockerel.

I know that six weeks is generally far too young to determine the sex of a chick.
I hear that it is especially difficult to tell with Silkies.

Here are my reasons for thinking Cobweb is male:
-Curious, active, outgoing... far more than the other chicks.
-Always craning that neck out.
-First to the food.
-I can feel distinct spur bumps on the back of the legs of this chick, but not yet on any of the other hatch-mates.

Interestingly, Cobweb (who hatched from an egg with a saddle-shaped air cell) started out as the smallest chick. He is growing fast and is now second smallest.

The thing that just struck me today as surprising - and I would love some feedback on this - is that Cobweb is heavy! I picked up all the chicks today, one by one, and put them in a basket. Little Cobweb was heavier than all the other chicks, and felt distinctly heavier than the ones in his size range.

Pics below.
Photo #1 - Cobweb is on the right


Photo #2 - Sticking his head out of the basket.


Photo #3
My very gentle FBCM pullet with the Silkies. Cobweb is the blue-grey one at the bottom.

 

[ambe0487]

​You can tie it up with a small rubber band

I wasn't sure if it was better to clip it off versus the hair the top knot. Is there a downfall to tying it back constantly?

 

[summerb123]

I wasn't sure if it was better to clip it off versus the hair the top knot. Is there a downfall to tying it back constantly

Keeping Crested Breeds Feathers out of their Eyes
check that out it might help!

 

[ambe0487]

Thank you, I'll take a look!

 

[Fancychooklady]

I have a silkie mix that has a really large crest I'm worried is stopping her from seeing and eating. She is very lethargic today and walking on her knees. No abnormal poop or breathing. her crop was empty this afternoon. I pushed vitamins and water in this morning and by this afternoon she is much better and was up for eating some scrambled eggs.

So the basis of my question is, I trimmed her poof so she could see better with scissors but I'm wondering if I should do more and how would you suggest I remove more. thanks!

Trim from the underside, but be careful around the eyes. I'm afraid that the walking on her haunches probably has nothing to do with crest.

 

[Sylvester017]

I don't plan to use my sweetheart for breeding because she isn't bearded but my mom has breed her to one of her Serama roosters I can't wait to see whatthe serama silkie chicks will look like

Since no wattles are showing on Sweetheart in your photos and there is fluff where a beard grows I would say she is bearded. Who knows, she may molt and grow in a fuller crest/beard next time. Silkies can look so different from each other from hatch to hatch. I was perusing all the different looking Silkies and different sizes on feathersite.com and it's amazing all the types on there.

 

[ambe0487]

Trim from the underside, but be careful around the eyes. I'm afraid that the walking on her haunches probably has nothing to do with crest.

She is much better this morning after a day of pushed poultry drench. She was able to walk on her feet but didn't stand still on them. Once she would stop walking she then dropped back to her haunches. Today she stood on her feet for quite a while until i bumped her and she was then unsteady. When i brought her in yesterday her crop was empty and she was almost lethargic. I had changed where her food was located in the brooder so I'm wondering if she wasn't really able to see but knew where the food had been located by memory. I noticed the other day she didn't see my hand come towards her to pet her until I touched her.

Anyways, she is much better today so I think I will wait and see about trimming her crest back any further. Some have said that it is frequent that they need to give their silkies some extra vitamins so maybe this is the case with her.

Thanks!1.

 

[Sylvester017]

She is much better this morning after a day of pushed poultry drench. She was able to walk on her feet but didn't stand still on them. Once she would stop walking she then dropped back to her haunches. Today she stood on her feet for quite a while until i bumped her and she was then unsteady. When i brought her in yesterday her crop was empty and she was almost lethargic. I had changed where her food was located in the brooder so I'm wondering if she wasn't really able to see but knew where the food had been located by memory. I noticed the other day she didn't see my hand come towards her to pet her until I touched her.

Anyways, she is much better today so I think I will wait and see about trimming her crest back any further. Some have said that it is frequent that they need to give their silkies some extra vitamins so maybe this is the case with her.

Thanks!1.

My vet always ends our visits with a reminder to use vitamins for the chickens. I feed Rooster Booster, Multi-Worm Booster, and Poly-Vi-Sol no iron liquid vitamins to our chickens. I also have liquid vitamin E oil refrigerated and E capsules on hand if I momentarily run out of Poly-Vi-Sol. I also sprinkle a very tiny bit of Selenium powder into their organic cooked brown rice along with added Brewer's Yeast and Bee Pollen. Some of it goes to waste but I'd rather it be available then not offered at all. Extra vitamins may or may not be your Silkie's haunches problem since that could be a symptom of any number of maladies -- but vitamins should always be prudently supplemented in any chicken's diet.

 

[spazy67]

I have both mine inside frizzle and a silkie they come in whenever they want which is usually at night but they sometimes love to come in and sit on a towel and watch the dogs but my point is I have had to go just on a trip and freaked out and if and when I lose one I will be just devastated. My hart goes out to you I am so so sorry for your loss but you are not crazy for feeling the way you do but certainly not your fault at all for sure but I know me and I would be blaming myself to but please don't. Please feel better