Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

[Hinotori]

Waymaninit! I DO still have a Silkie - a half-Silkie, anyway! My Boo - hatched on Halloween, of course, is a five-toed, fuzzy-footed cross. Her Mama is Siri, my BJG. Papa was Herman the House Rooster - a blue splash Silkie who yes, for the first two years of his life DID actually live in the house ... until he discovered girls and willingly moved outside. So ... does that mean I can play here, too?

Sure, come on in!

 

[Somewhere_In_The_Clouds]

Taking advantage of a break in the rain to get them outside. They quickly filled their fluffy feathers with damp dirt

Has anyone had issues with persistent mites/lice with their silkies? I did my usual treatment, that generally is very effective, with these boys and they've still got them .

 

[CSolis]

Taking advantage of a break in the rain to get them outside. They quickly filled their fluffy feathers with damp dirt
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Has anyone had issues with persistent mites/lice with their silkies? I did my usual treatment, that generally is very effective, with these boys and they've still got them .

I don't have a problem with that. Did you treat the coop and pen too?

 

[Somewhere_In_The_Clouds]

I don't have a problem with that. Did you treat the coop and pen too?

Not really. They don't have a permanent coop/run right now. They sleep in a dog crate in the shed at night and are out in a run during the day (fox problem atm so I am keeping them where it's safest). The run is on grass and moved every couple days. I'd like to get these dealt with before I set them up in a more permanent space.
I'm not sure whether to try the treatment again or just use some ivermectin. I only like to use that when it's bad though, and I don't consider them bad, just persistent

 

[CSolis]

Crest looks sort of grey on the white one? It is probably the blue gene.

The bottom boy should give some lighter colored chicks with the white hen. I'm curious how theyd look

One of the great things I've found with raising chickens.. IT Doesn't tale forever compared to horses. In the same 3 years, I would basically have 1 foal on the ground, wait 3 years to breed (if it was a filly), wait 11 months for foal to drop. With chickens I'm already on the 3rd generation.

Found one squished chick yesterday. Dad's been piling in the front of mama's nesting bucket to 'help' out. Silkie dad's are Simply the best!
Top Gun is new to the daddy business and probably just made a boo boo. 8 chicks remain alive and healthy.

In another pen, saw a misshaped egg in Poof Poof's nest when she popped out for a bite. She's the best mom I have. Well I picked it up and all but a tiny bit of the shell was gone, leaving only the membrane and a DIS chick. I really think she was doing everything possible to get the chick out. It was fully formed and the yolk had been absorbed, but just failed to hatch. Two more eggs had pipped so I brought the last 4 eggs in the house and stuck them in the incubator with one other egg that hit day 3 late in the day. The one in the incubator was hers as well. We will see how that goes. I will probably return the chicks to her as they hatch.

 

[CSolis]

Not really. They don't have a permanent coop/run right now. They sleep in a dog crate in the shed at night and are out in a run during the day (fox problem atm so I am keeping them where it's safest). The run is on grass and moved every couple days. I'd like to get these dealt with before I set them up in a more permanent space.
I'm not sure whether to try the treatment again or just use some ivermectin. I only like to use that when it's bad though, and I don't consider them bad, just persistent

So, while they are in the dog crate, treat the run too... and then when they are out in the run, treat the shed. Mites like wood. When I brought K.E. home he had a bad case of scaley mites. I greased him up good, and repeated the treatment to make sure I got them all... meanwhile I dusted the roost with Sevin dust to get any that might have migrated there. I didn't want them to spread to the hens.

 

[CSolis]

@Gammas Bearded Babies ... Where are youuuuu? I miss your smiling face!

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

@Gammas Bearded Babies ... Where are youuuuu? I miss your smiling face!

Awe thank u! I sure miss yall!
I'm beyond busy with new grandbabies born 3 weeks apart couple months ago.
Then I lost my favorite lil hen!
Now I'm treating em all for coccidia.
So been limiting my time on the phone to avoid being tempted with more chicks/chickens!

 

[Ponypoor]

One of my favorite pullets...
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Awww so cute I can see she is completed spoilt rotten - what a cutie pie do you trim their topknots? I note that my 9 week old chicks are in need of a trim, but they are so tiny I am just terrified to trim them! But I need them to be able to see when they are running around - one ran into my leg today, going to have to trim them I guess (terrifying thought - but they are so quiet maybe they will just sit there if I fill them with mealworms hahaha).

I did really good job trimming their co-broody mamas when they were sitting there all broody. I hauled them off the nest and pretty much took their feathers back to the scalp - she didn't even move! It was great they could see really well. This was even better than doing it at night when they are supposedly snoozing. Wish my Roo would go broody so I can trim him up while he is in a trance and no scream like I am murdering him - wonder what my neighbours think of that noise hahahaha!

 

[Ponypoor]

Taking advantage of a break in the rain to get them outside. They quickly filled their fluffy feathers with damp dirt
View attachment 3560853 View attachment 3560854
Has anyone had issues with persistent mites/lice with their silkies? I did my usual treatment, that generally is very effective, with these boys and they've still got them .

Awww they sure look like they are having fun

I use Ivermectin oral to treat all parasites. I don't bother mucking around trying to get smelly chemicals on them. If it bothers my then I am sure it bothers them.

Gosh they look like they are having a blast - what a pair of cuties! I love watching the dirt fly hahahaha!