and I need the help of experienced chicken keepers please.
We took a trip to the feed store yesterday and saw two poor little silkie roosters in a small cage with several GIANT white leghorn roosters.
Needless to say, the silkies had been being roughed up for a while, from appearances. They've got few feathers left.
Though we went in for dog food, we came out with these two little guys.
I just could not leave them there in that situation.
We've got them quarantined for a while from the rest of our flock, but I can already tell they're both so sweet and friendly.
I have never taken on a bird in this kind of shape, so if you have any ideas that might help me get them healthy, I would appreciate your advice.
I started them on Molly's herbal de-wormer today. They're shockingly skinny and their little breast bones are so prominent. I feel like I need to get some weight on them and feed them good food, but I am having a tough time getting them to eat my feed, so far. I feed an organic crumble that I add B.O.S.S., Manna Pro Omega Egg Maker, grains and supplements to. They were eating pellets at the store.
My hens get all kinds of fresh veggie and fruit seeds too, and these little guys do seem to like that. They ate cherry tomato and armenian cucumber seeds for me today. They also really enjoyed grass. I think it was the first time they've ever seen grass.
The feed store recommended Red Cell (an iron/Vitamin B-12 supplement for horses) so I got some, but I need to research dosing for poultry before I try it. I have some other supplements.
If you've ever nursed back to good health a little guy like mine, please send me any ideas and advice you have. Thank you.
Heidi
I am linking up this post to
The Chicken Chick's Clever Chicks Blog Hop
Heidi I have pellet if you need any. I also have antibiotics if you would like some. The roosters were so lucky you found them. I can't believe anyone would leave them in the same cage as the bigger birds after seeing what they were doing to them. I know they will be nursed back to health and live a good life with you.Scratch that. They are going to live a spoiled life with you!
ReplyDeleteThanks Michelle,
DeleteI have antibiotics, but I might take you up on a few cups of pellets if they don't start eating more of my feed soon.
That was so nice of you! I hope they fatten up. It seems that they enjoy your place a lot.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kathy,
DeleteI hope they fatten up soon too. They're so sweet and funny.
Heidi, putting a good sprinkling of cayenne pepper in their drinking water will help them perk up and increase circulation. Whenever we get new chicks or have a chicken that is sickly we give them cayenne and it really helps.
ReplyDeleteHope your new rescued birds do well. I LOVE silkies...hope we can get some again one day.
Thanks so much for the tip about cayenne Rose Petal. I am going out to add some as soon as I am done reading/responding to comments. They are the sweetest little chickens I've ever encountered, so friendly. I hope you get some again real soon.
DeleteOh my, I would have had to bring them home too. They are a sweet breed. I know you will get them up and growing well soon. I love mine.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dolly,
DeleteI've never had a silkie before, and if they're all this friendly I am going to have to have more. These are two sweethearts.
I often make alfalfa water- handful alfalfa to 1 gallon water (hay or pellet form). Steep a few hours. I personally strain the batch and resteep the alfalfa. Use this in their water..tablespoon per gallon for nutrient. They also love alfalfa hay or pellets. A friend recommends some flax in with their feed.
ReplyDeleteHope they perk up soon..they are beautiful!
Silkies are great! We have a silkie too who was beat on by the head hen. He was smaller than her so she bullied him. He lost quite a bit of his feathers from all of it. We separated him and let him heal. His feathers grew back and he grew too! Now he's with the girls and is at the top of the pecking order. He just needed time and to be able to eat without being pushed around. Your little guys should make a full recovery with all of your TLC. They are probably skinny because the larger birds muscled them out of the way so they couldn't eat. So glad you rescued them. Silkies are so sweet. Good luck!:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the words of encouragement Farmlife Chick. They are really sweet and friendly. They let me hold them without balking like my big plymouth barred rock rooster does now. They do seem small. They're half the size of me regular hens and 1/4 the size of my rooster Queenie, but I am hoping they perk up and get healthy soon. The girls like them; Queenie, not so much, but he'll just have to get over that.
DeleteGood for you, Heidi!! They're going to love you forever for your kindness... I've had a rescue cat like that and he was the best! Do you have any Probios. I gave some to a very sick hen and she bounced back in a few days. Sorry I'm out or I'd bring you some.
ReplyDeleteThanks Amy, I just ordered some. They are just too cute. Now I have to think of a few good names for them...
DeleteThey are lucky you came along to rescue them! I'm sure they will be healthy and looking better in no time! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Candy. I hope so. I sure am enjoying them. They're very friendly and chatty.
DeleteHi Heidi. You're a good egg for saving that pretty pair. They actually don't look too bad to me from the photos although they're clearly not in top condition. I would feed them the pellets they are accustomed to eating and increase their protein to assist with feather re-growth. It shouldn't take more than 4-6 weeks for them to be show-ready. ;)
ReplyDeleteWhile giving them veggies and other treats is surely appreciated, they will be better off if you stick to high-protein items such as scrambled eggs (really!) black oil sunflower seeds, mealworms (they'll be your BFFs, Best Feathered Friends ☺).
If they're not exhibiting signs of sickness at all, I'd steer clear of any supplements or medications. Worming, even naturally, can be extremely hard on their systems and if they're already in a weakened state, less intervention is better. Were they for adoption from another farm/yard? If not, there's no risk of worms, if so and they're not exhibiting signs of having a worm overload, I'd steer clear of wormers.
Please keep me posted on their progress. I can see they are in very good hands now. BTW: did you remember to pickup the dog food?? ☺
Cheers,
Kathy
The Chicken Chick
Thanks for your helpful remarks Kathy. Yes, we did get the dog food (hubby remembered). I have stopped the wormer, and added pellets to their diet. I am going to wean them slowly to crumble. I feed all of my flock BOSS, flax seed, Omega Egg Builder, and Durvet brand Vitamins and Electrolytes. They are now gaining weight and we have c crowing competition all day long. Lol. My resident rooster Queenie has not warmed up to them yet so these two fellas are still in prison, for their safety. I hope to integrate them eventually though. Does anyone have any ideas how best to try to integrate the new guys into my flock??? I free range the birds all day long and they have their run of little less than 1/2 acre when the sun's up.
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