Debbie's Silkies

[Debbie292d]

Since recently sexing a few chickens, I updated the show silkie roster for spring plans:

Current breedable (or soon)

HENS:

Black Betty - black
Ember - black
Bernice - black
Marsha - splash
Charlotte - chocolate
Pearl - satin paint (selling after paints grow up).
Carol - buff frizzle


ROOSTERS:

CC - splash frizzle
MB - B&W frizzle
Buddy - cuckoo
Pierre - black
Mocha - chocolate
Piper - mauve
Peachy - buff

Blueboy - RIP, unk COD 10/30/24

So, currently, I have seven hens and eight seven roosters. (Frizzles are italicized as those can't be bred together.)

This is not good, lol, but I don't want to get rid of any of the roosters. They all get along, and so far, it's working. For example, Carol (buff frizzle) hangs out with Piper and Blueboy (two roosters). The three of them free-range together. She's molting so perhaps that's why they leave her alone.

Down the road, when the breeding coop is done, and I can only put one hen with one rooster, I'll need to put saddles on, I suppose. We'll see. Hopefully, the upcoming ones have more hens than roosters.

Breedable in late spring/early summer '25: five buffs, two whites, & a black hatched 6/27/24, most unsexed.

Breedable in summer '25: two paints & partridge hatched 8/6/24. Will sell Pearl (satin NN paint) depending upon outcome of sexes of the paints. (I don't want any satin silkies.)

Breedable in late summer/fall of '25: The six (maybe) cuckoos the hens hatched 9/15/24.

 

[janiedoe]

Since recently sexing a few chickens, I updated the show silkie roster for spring plans:

Current breedable (or soon)

HENS:

Black Betty - black
Ember - black
Bernice - black
Marsha - splash
Charlotte - chocolate
Pearl - satin paint (selling after paints grow up).
Carol - buff frizzle


ROOSTERS:

CC - splash frizzle
MB - B&W frizzle
Buddy - cuckoo
Pierre - black
Mocha - chocolate
Piper - mauve
Blueboy - blue
Peachy - buff

So, currently, I have seven hens and eight roosters. (Frizzles are italicized as those can't be bred together.)

This is not good, lol, but I don't want to get rid of any of the roosters. They all get along, and so far, it's working. For example, Carol (buff frizzle) hangs out with Piper and Blueboy (two roosters). The three of them free-range together. She's molting so perhaps that's why they leave her alone.

Down the road, when the breeding coop is done, and I can only put one hen with one rooster, I'll need to put saddles on, I suppose. We'll see. Hopefully, the upcoming ones have more hens than roosters.

Breedable in late spring/early summer '25: five buffs, two whites, & a black hatched 6/27/24, most unsexed.

Breedable in summer '25: two paints & partridge hatched 8/6/24. Will sell Pearl (satin NN paint) depending upon outcome of sexes of the paints. (I don't want any satin silkies.)

Breedable in late summer/fall of '25: The six (maybe) cuckoos the hens hatched 9/15/24.

I hope it works out for you.
I have four bantam roosters & four hens penned together. They are one 2.5 +yo rooster, two 1.5 yo roosters, one 1yo rooster. The hens are from 1.5 to 2.5 years old.
They aren't silkies though. They are a mix of oegb & cochins. I've not had any problems. The hens have had no feather loss. Bantam roosters are so much easier to deal with than the standards.

 

[Debbie292d]

I hope it works out for you.
I have four bantam roosters & four hens penned together. They are one 2.5 +yo rooster, two 1.5 yo roosters, one 1yo rooster. The hens are from 1.5 to 2.5 years old.
They aren't silkies though. They are a mix of oegb & cochins. I've not had any problems. The hens have had no feather loss. Bantam roosters are so much easier to deal with than the standards.

I honestly haven't had an issue either. A few months ago, I thought Charlotte was being overbred so bought her a pack of nice canvas saddles that are breathable. Then I figured it out, she was molting. So the poor thing wore a saddle around for about a month until I took it off to change to a clean one and realized.

 

[Debbie292d]

The six little cuckoos that the hens hatched are down to five. One I had in the house due to having leg issues passed away. I've since brought two more in with the same leg issue, presenting with hopping around dragging one leg behind them. They are now 4 weeks old.

This makes three of the six who had a leg freezing up on them and sticking out. There are two more out there seeming fine. Miracle, their sibling, the chick whose egg was pushed out of the nest, fell 2.5', and hatched the next day was pulled from that pen after a week due to internal/digestion issues caused by the crash. Miracle has been in here on solely flock maker ever since and has zero leg issues. Now two of her siblings are in here who can't walk.

I believe I know what's going on. These chicks get Kalmbach's Flock Maker, as do all of the chicks and chickens, but they're in the 10' x 10' breeding pen with several adults who I give Kalmbach's Henhouse Reserve "treats" to every day, and a small feeder w/ oyster shell for the hens.

Weekly, they also get Poultry Cell water, which I thought would make up for the nutrition they're missing in their own feed. I surmised these were getting more vitamins than had the mother hen been free-ranging them all this time. I read @RoyalChick journey with leg paralysis. Boy does this look like the same thing!

I had already thought a B deficiency may be the issue and the one that passed was already getting B-complex mashed into its feed/scrambled eggs, plus vitamin water and leg therapy for about a week before it died, and was not showing an iota of improvement. I now think it died of kidney failure from toxic levels of calcium. I believe they have joint gout (articular gout) from too much calcium.

The vitamin deficiency could fit too, but they are penned up with their feed (flock maker), once a day getting to eat the HHR that is small enough for them, vitamin water weekly, so whilst the HHR isn't nutritionally fit for chicks, it's still nutritional, but has higher levels of calcium. Plus, with the vitamin water they get, that should have been making up for any lack of nutrition. They could also have been eating the smaller bits of oyster shell in the feeder that's in there.

There are two more left out there that seem okay. I've replaced all of the waterers (they now can reach the adult nipple bucket) with Poultry Cell water. I pulled the calcium feeder and put it up on a ramp they can't reach. They all got mash this morning and were happy. No more HHR until the chicks are older or out of there.

These indoors, I will continue with B-complex in their mash and/or scrambled eggs, Poultry Cell water, and therapy. If I'm right and it is gout, one treatment is ensuring proper vitamin levels, especially A, D3, K, and B complex vitamins, so if I'm wrong, or right, it doesn't matter as they need vitamins, and no more calcium.

If anyone has thoughts about what is going on or what else I could be doing, I would appreciate it as this is so disheartening to see.

The two that remain outside look fine.



The two indoors, with Miracle, the only one who can stand/walk.

 

[TwoCrows]

The six little cuckoos that the hens hatched are down to five. One I had in the house due to having leg issues passed away. I've since brought two more in with the same leg issue, presenting with hopping around dragging one leg behind them. They are now 4 weeks old.

This makes three of the six who had a leg freezing up on them and sticking out. There are two more out there seeming fine. Miracle, their sibling, the chick whose egg was pushed out of the nest, fell 2.5', and hatched the next day was pulled from that pen after a week due to internal/digestion issues caused by the crash. Miracle has been in here on solely flock maker ever since and has zero leg issues. Now two of her siblings are in here who can't walk.

I believe I know what's going on. These chicks get Kalmbach's Flock Maker, as do all of the chicks and chickens, but they're in the 10' x 10' breeding pen with several adults who I give Kalmbach's Henhouse Reserve "treats" to every day, and a small feeder w/ oyster shell for the hens.

Weekly, they also get Poultry Cell water, which I thought would make up for the nutrition they're missing in their own feed. I surmised these were getting more vitamins than had the mother hen been free-ranging them all this time. I read @RoyalChick journey with leg paralysis. Boy does this look like the same thing!

I had already thought a B deficiency may be the issue and the one that passed was already getting B-complex mashed into its feed/scrambled eggs, plus vitamin water and leg therapy for about a week before it died, and was not showing an iota of improvement. I now think it died of kidney failure from toxic levels of calcium. I believe they have joint gout (articular gout) from too much calcium.

The vitamin deficiency could fit too, but they are penned up with their feed (flock maker), once a day getting to eat the HHR that is small enough for them, vitamin water weekly, so whilst the HHR isn't nutritionally fit for chicks, it's still nutritional, but has higher levels of calcium. Plus, with the vitamin water they get, that should have been making up for any lack of nutrition. They could also have been eating the smaller bits of oyster shell in the feeder that's in there.

There are two more left out there that seem okay. I've replaced all of the waterers (they now can reach the adult nipple bucket) with Poultry Cell water. I pulled the calcium feeder and put it up on a ramp they can't reach. They all got mash this morning and were happy. No more HHR until the chicks are older or out of there.

These indoors, I will continue with B-complex in their mash and/or scrambled eggs, Poultry Cell water, and therapy. If I'm right and it is gout, one treatment is ensuring proper vitamin levels, especially A, D3, K, and B complex vitamins, so if I'm wrong, or right, it doesn't matter as they need vitamins, and no more calcium.

If anyone has thoughts about what is going on or what else I could be doing, I would appreciate it as this is so disheartening to see.

The two that remain outside look fine.
View attachment 3966384


The two indoors, with Miracle, the only one who can stand/walk.

View attachment 3966385

I am so sorry Debbie, losing babies is terrible on the heart! Too much calcium might definitely do it. Hopefully taking it out of their diet fixes this problem.

 

[janiedoe]

The six little cuckoos that the hens hatched are down to five. One I had in the house due to having leg issues passed away. I've since brought two more in with the same leg issue, presenting with hopping around dragging one leg behind them. They are now 4 weeks old.

This makes three of the six who had a leg freezing up on them and sticking out. There are two more out there seeming fine. Miracle, their sibling, the chick whose egg was pushed out of the nest, fell 2.5', and hatched the next day was pulled from that pen after a week due to internal/digestion issues caused by the crash. Miracle has been in here on solely flock maker ever since and has zero leg issues. Now two of her siblings are in here who can't walk.

I believe I know what's going on. These chicks get Kalmbach's Flock Maker, as do all of the chicks and chickens, but they're in the 10' x 10' breeding pen with several adults who I give Kalmbach's Henhouse Reserve "treats" to every day, and a small feeder w/ oyster shell for the hens.

Weekly, they also get Poultry Cell water, which I thought would make up for the nutrition they're missing in their own feed. I surmised these were getting more vitamins than had the mother hen been free-ranging them all this time. I read @RoyalChick journey with leg paralysis. Boy does this look like the same thing!

I had already thought a B deficiency may be the issue and the one that passed was already getting B-complex mashed into its feed/scrambled eggs, plus vitamin water and leg therapy for about a week before it died, and was not showing an iota of improvement. I now think it died of kidney failure from toxic levels of calcium. I believe they have joint gout (articular gout) from too much calcium.

The vitamin deficiency could fit too, but they are penned up with their feed (flock maker), once a day getting to eat the HHR that is small enough for them, vitamin water weekly, so whilst the HHR isn't nutritionally fit for chicks, it's still nutritional, but has higher levels of calcium. Plus, with the vitamin water they get, that should have been making up for any lack of nutrition. They could also have been eating the smaller bits of oyster shell in the feeder that's in there.

There are two more left out there that seem okay. I've replaced all of the waterers (they now can reach the adult nipple bucket) with Poultry Cell water. I pulled the calcium feeder and put it up on a ramp they can't reach. They all got mash this morning and were happy. No more HHR until the chicks are older or out of there.

These indoors, I will continue with B-complex in their mash and/or scrambled eggs, Poultry Cell water, and therapy. If I'm right and it is gout, one treatment is ensuring proper vitamin levels, especially A, D3, K, and B complex vitamins, so if I'm wrong, or right, it doesn't matter as they need vitamins, and no more calcium.

If anyone has thoughts about what is going on or what else I could be doing, I would appreciate it as this is so disheartening to see.

The two that remain outside look fine.
View attachment 3966384


The two indoors, with Miracle, the only one who can stand/walk.

View attachment 3966385

I'm sorry Debby. I'm hopeful that the rest will survive.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hubby is trying to make sure those four silkies that are nearly 5 months old go to the coop as they are kind of getting it yet, might wander off if we turn our backs. For some reason the picture makes it look daylight out but it's dusk.

See those two dogs on the left? They are both herding dogs. They keep all the riff raff out of our yard, but help herd chickens? Nah.





You're doing good dad, keep going!

 

[Debbie292d]

I'm sorry Debby. I'm hopeful that the rest will survive.

Thank you, and thank you to everyone with tips and support as it's been quite confusing and frustrating.

"Six" is still out in the breeding pen being the only chick, besides Miracle who was raised indoors, to have avoided the disabling results of whatever is causing this.



I have three others in the house with Miracle, their sibling; one with cross beak, one with a limp, and one totally disabled. Vitamin and physical therapy continues with little improvement. They eat like little piggies, so that's good!

Iris, the blind chicken that came to us with skin and bones is a little better. I recently got some of the Kaytee Exact plus Fat that RC got me onto and been feeding her some of that. She finds her water and food, and drinks, but doesn't eat. She scratches and pecks, but her crop remains empty so I don't think she eats what she's pecking either.

Hubby remodeled the brooder so it's half the size and put plywood on the floor so she won't slip, then we threw dry food all over the place. She's scratching and pecking and still not getting much, if anything, but this is better for her anyway.

I hand feed/force feed her every morning and night. I hope that one time I'll pick her up and she'll have a full crop on her own.




We have a great day today, 71F, so she's outside now in the pen with the handicapped chicks. Bad picture but there's Iris by the door and Miracle with the other three over by the food/water. There is dry food all over the ground in there too.





In better news, I don't post pictures of "the eight" much, but here they are in the dog kennel. On the right are Mocha and Pierre, older roosters who just hang out with them because they won't pick on them. Way on the left outside pen is Peachy, a buff rooster.

Five buffs, two white, and a black. The black is a cockerel as are a couple of the buffs. Not sure on the rest, hopefully, pullets.

The dog kennel is never shut, so beats me why all chickens like to go in there. Bugs maybe, but nothing I've noticed.

 

[Debbie292d]

Okay, who said the prayers? Thank you so very much!

PTL after I brought Iris and the chicks in, I led her to her mash and she walked away. I did it again and held her there, and she started eating, and eating, and didn't stop for like two minutes. Her crop is full! OMG! I needed a sign today and got it!

 

[Debbie292d]

After a couple of weeks of trying our best to give the two disabled chicks leg therapy, B-Complex, and several homeopathic herbs, it became hopeless. They never could walk and we became sure they would live with nerve tremors and shakes the rest of their probably short lives. We chose to end it.

They have three siblings left as one like them died a few weeks ago, and only one is 100% normal.

Louie (formerly "Six") is the only one of six who never had a problem and is doing great in the breeding pen as the only chick in there with his/her parents and others.



The other two are Miracle who was the egg they threw over the railing and hatched with internal issues, and Nosie, the cross-beak. Nosie was not hatched with it but developed that the same time the leg issues occurred. Unk if it's related. Nosie eats both mash and dry food fine. He/she is a character, thus got the name.

Those two were outside today in the unseasonably warm weather with Iris, the blind pullet. Iris has gotten some shine to her feathers now and has gained a little weight. She eats/drinks on her own now which was a huge relief. Miracle is the one closest to her.



It was hard for both of us to cull those two because we spent an immense amount of time with them. I held the worst one in my lap many times, including last night, so it could relax and sleep while I typed my work.

I never cried over chickens before, but this was just so hard. Many thanks to @2ndTink and @TwoCrows for their research, suggestions, and encouragement throughout this, and to all of you who had kind words and hope.

We'd said we'd send one in for a necropsy, but then both decided it wasn't worth the expense as it never happened before or since. It started and ended with this batch of six hen-hatched chicks. I'm pretty sure I'm right, that this was calcium overdose causing kidney damage where their leg nerves run through. A hard lesson learned to not leave oyster shell out where little chicks are.