Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

[PioneerChicks]

I’ve so far knock on wood only lost 2 Cochins which that was hard because one was right after a horse show I came home to a dead bird. And I think one hen was also heat but it might just be one to heat. I have lost like 2-3 full grown silkies and chicks to heat.

That's so sad!

Your silkie is beautiful!

 

[Love my chickens 25]

That's so sad!

Your silkie is beautiful!

Thanks you

 

[LadiesAndJane]

I've had silkies since our first year of chicken keeping and I've always loved them to death, especially as a kid. I have 3 right now, 2 are doing fine but one of them seems to be very mentally challenged...she's always had a bigger puff but hasn't always acted this way, it was ever since she stopped going broody...must have been pecked and got brain damage due to her vaulted skull. Anything I can do for her?

Does she appear injured? Was her behavior change sudden or more gradual? Does she eat and drink ok? Is she kept with large fowl?
If otherwise normal and no sign of illness I am not sure what can be done. You may want to post this under chicken emergencies/health.

 

[Love my chickens 25]

My silkie decided to go missing for 2 days this weekend and we thought for sure something got her but then last night at 6 the neighbors come walking up with a soaked shamrock! She had been in the bushes for 2 days and wonderd out to the grass were the neighbor saw her sitting there getting hit by a sprinkler

 

[PioneerChicks]

My silkie decided to go missing for 2 days this weekend and we thought for sure something got her but then last night at 6 the neighbors come walking up with a soaked shamrock! She had been in the bushes for 2 days and wonderd out to the grass were the neighbor saw her sitting there getting hit by a sprinkler

Aw, poor bird!

 

[Love my chickens 25]

Aw, poor bird!

Yeah I feel bad but it’s still a little funny how she wondered over there. She’s blind in 1 eye and is so fluffy she probably didn’t know what to do

 

[AngBantamLuv]

Ok, so Nala is in the dog crate... and the others have some atrocious egg songs going on.. they may have backed up eggs since she was hogging the place...

However! She did lay an egg.. she was just sitting on it since this morning. I removed the ceramic egg as well.. BUT.. if she laid an egg, can she be broody too?

She is enjoying the dog crate, of course she spilled all her food everywhere

 

[lilmillefleur]

Does she appear injured? Was her behavior change sudden or more gradual? Does she eat and drink ok? Is she kept with large fowl?
If otherwise normal and no sign of illness I am not sure what can be done. You may want to post this under chicken emergencies/health.

Her behavior was a pretty sudden change if I remember correctly. She did have some eye bubbles for a day (we have a history of some sort of respiratory illness in our flock) but other than that no sign of actual illness besides just...sitting around. She can't fly, can't walk up ramps, but she can eat and drink (albeit a little strangely). She also makes a jerking motion with her neck sometimes to correct it like it was wry neck almost.
She is the only one of our silkies with a vaulted skull though, so we just assume she went broody and was pecked on the head once she came out of it, causing brain damage

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Her behavior was a pretty sudden change if I remember correctly. She did have some eye bubbles for a day (we have a history of some sort of respiratory illness in our flock) but other than that no sign of actual illness besides just...sitting around. She can't fly, can't walk up ramps, but she can eat and drink (albeit a little strangely). She also makes a jerking motion with her neck sometimes to correct it like it was wry neck almost.
She is the only one of our silkies with a vaulted skull though, so we just assume she went broody and was pecked on the head once she came out of it, causing brain damage

Sounds like something else may be going on? Any other chickens acting this way? I would separate her from your flock just in case she has something contagious.
Try posting under emergencies to get more expert help!

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Ok, so Nala is in the dog crate... and the others have some atrocious egg songs going on.. they may have backed up eggs since she was hogging the place...

However! She did lay an egg.. she was just sitting on it since this morning. I removed the ceramic egg as well.. BUT.. if she laid an egg, can she be broody too?

She is enjoying the dog crate, of course she spilled all her food everywhere

Try moistening her food just a bit that way she can’t spill it as easily in the metal crate. It’s OK if she laid an egg just remove the egg and make sure she’s not able to sit anywhere where she can generate body heat.
Once she has been in there for 24 hours you can let her go out and see if she makes a beeline for her usual nesting area. If she does, then you need to put her back in the crate. Repeat every 24 hours until she goes back to normal behavior. It can take a few days. From what I’ve read the average is between 36 and 48 hours.
if you go on some of the other threads you’ll get more expert advice than mine!