They are adorable!Really hard day...I lost two of my five beautiful Christmas Silkie chicks between last night and this morning. We stayed up with them trying to get food and water in by hand, but in the end I think they were just not strong enough to make it on their own. After burying them with the three eggs that didn't make it, I checked on my Legbars to find that my cockeral had flown into a window and died. He'd tried it a couple of times this week, but I thought he had learned his lesson. Like I said, really hard day.
But there's always hope. I still have a great Cream Legbar pullet, and will be picking up a friend for her this week. The window will be blocked with wire mesh tomorrow. And I still have these beautiful healthy Silkie chicks who will celebrate their one week old birthday on New Years Day!
btw they're eating fermented feed
Sorry. Silkies just seem to be hard to raise at times. If available I try to put a slightly older chick with the newly hatched ones. I think it helps teach them to eat and drink if they are a little slow. I also will use a medicine dropper to give them water (with sugar and/or vitamins/electrolytes) if I see one not eating. The first couple of days I add vitamins/electrolytes to their water. I do put a little apple cider vinegar w/mother in their water after the first couple of days and continue as they grow up. I have not had to treat for cocci since I started doing that. Fermented feed scares me a little and like Amy said if regular feed is working why take a chance on something else. I also do not feed medicated chick starter. I have not seen a difference from when I did feed it to the chicks. In fact I always had to treat for cocci once I put the birds on the dirt so I did not feel like it was helping build immunity. Silkies are so much fun.... they are worth the challengesReally hard day...I lost two of my five beautiful Christmas Silkie chicks between last night and this morning. We stayed up with them trying to get food and water in by hand, but in the end I think they were just not strong enough to make it on their own. After burying them with the three eggs that didn't make it, I checked on my Legbars to find that my cockeral had flown into a window and died. He'd tried it a couple of times this week, but I thought he had learned his lesson. Like I said, really hard day.
But there's always hope. I still have a great Cream Legbar pullet, and will be picking up a friend for her this week. The window will be blocked with wire mesh tomorrow. And I still have these beautiful healthy Silkie chicks who will celebrate their one week old birthday on New Years Day!
btw they're eating fermented feed
Thank you for all the support and advice. The two that didn't make it never ate food. We dunked their heads in their water (with electrolytes and a touch of ACV) and at the end were using medicine droppers. I think part of the problem is that their legs weren't strong enough to get them to food and water on their own. I tried for a day to get them to eat food, but they refused it over and over. I tried corn water, sugar water, electrolytes, probiotics, vitamins, regular dry chick feed, FF...but they still didn't make it. The healthy 3 chicks drank from the start and started eating the second day. All I had to do was peck at their food with my finger and they were all over it.
I'm using non medicated feed and I use FF for the larger birds, so I figured I might as well get the chicks started on it now. They're eating great! Digestive tracks are working well
Ok, I'll take out the rocks...and I guess they don't need the drawer liner anymore either, huh? Thanks again everybody!
My beautiful silkie/polish boy died today. He somehow, for whatever reason, got into the wyandotte pen, and it looks like the rooster in there attacked him and pecked the soft spot on the back of his head, killing him. There was only a little bloody spot on the back of his head. I'm going to miss him so much. He was just a baby, 4 months, and so beautiful
