The wife bought Silkie Bantams...how do I keep these things alive?

[Ruler of the Roost]

My wife brought home ten bantams, eight of which were silkies, the other two were cinnamon queen bantams...didn't know that there was such a thing...How do I keep bantams alive? Only experience I have with a bantam chick was one that I bought from Rural King and it died within 2 days of coming home... She's got her heart set on these little guys and her favorite little brown one is already looking rough... I got rooster booster plus K in their water now...what else can I do, kind of freaking out...probably for no reason...

 

[Debbie292d]

Bantams, Silkies, etc. are the same as other chicks. They need to be warm, probably 95F if they are less than a week old.

They should be on chick starters/crumbles or all flock and have access to that and water 24/7.

With silkies, they can be prone to vitamin deficiencies so be cautious with too much of anything outside of their food. I don't start giving treats until they are a month old, and then only a little scrambled eggs.

I would also pick up some Poultry Cell as that's a complete round of vitamins. What you have is good though for now.

 

[DemeterAD9]

They really aren't any more difficult to care for than the standard breeds. I got 2 tiny bantams in a surprise mix from Meyer hatchery last year. A handful of the standard breed chicks were DOA but those two tiny bantams survived even after a few bouts of pasty butt and are about pigeon sized now. I gave one to a friend when they were chicks and both are now laying. I can't say anything about silkies but the average bantam is every bit as tough as a standard chicken. My one little EE bantam tries to take on the BJG and brahma hens, she's very sassy.

I suppose the only real concern with the tiny chicks is making sure you handle them more gently than the standard breeds.

 

[Ruler of the Roost]

Bantams, Silkies, etc. are the same as other chicks. They need to be warm, probably 95F if they are less than a week old.

They should be on chick starters/crumbles or all flock and have access to that and water 24/7.

With silkies, they can be prone to vitamin deficiencies so be cautious with too much of anything outside of their food. I don't start giving treats until they are a month old, and then only a little scrambled eggs.

I would also pick up some Poultry Cell as that's a complete round of vitamins. What you have is good though for now.

My chickens don't get treats till they start laying eggs...roosters included, lol. I'm kidding I give my rooster treats...

 

[Ruler of the Roost]

Bantams, Silkies, etc. are the same as other chicks. They need to be warm, probably 95F if they are less than a week old.

They should be on chick starters/crumbles or all flock and have access to that and water 24/7.

With silkies, they can be prone to vitamin deficiencies so be cautious with too much of anything outside of their food. I don't start giving treats until they are a month old, and then only a little scrambled eggs.

I would also pick up some Poultry Cell as that's a complete round of vitamins. What you have is good though for now.

They really aren't any more difficult to care for than the standard breeds. I got 2 tiny bantams in a surprise mix from Meyer hatchery last year. A handful of the standard breed chicks were DOA but those two tiny bantams survived even after a few bouts of pasty butt and are about pigeon sized now. I gave one to a friend when they were chicks and both are now laying. I can't say anything about silkies but the average bantam is every bit as tough as a standard chicken. My one little EE bantam tries to take on the BJG and brahma hens, she's very sassy.

I suppose the only real concern with the tiny chicks is making sure you handle them more gently than the standard breeds.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, guys.

 

[Ruler of the Roost]

Day one and already at a 20% mortality rate and it looks like a third is on its way out.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Are they in a brooder by themselves or in with bigger chicks? Can you post a pic of their brooder? Are they cheeping a lot?

 

[FrostRanger]

The only thing to be aware of is due to silkies being more prone to vitamin deficiencies they should not be given medicated chick starter

 

[fowltemptress]

Can we get pictures and descriptions of your brooder setup?

 

[Ruler of the Roost]

Are they in a brooder by themselves or in with bigger chicks? Can you post a pic of their brooder? Are they cheeping a lot?

The cheap periodically, but not consistently. Usually it’s just one or two at a time.They are in a large tote with a heat lamp with medium coarse shaved pine bedding. Not really any different than rural kings set up