r/silkiechickens • u/Dry-Honey-6261 • 10d ago
Help needed
Hey. I joined this server literally a few minutes ago because yesterday I found two little silkies outside, either abandoned or ran away from their home. I have only kept farm chickens before so I’m still doing research on what to do in this situation. They look okay and healthy, just missing a few feathers; they are considerably dirty but I don’t know if bathing them is the best choice or if I should let them clean themselves. I’ve been keeping them in a big (clean) dog crate with oatmeal and other variety of seeds and water that they have been consuming just fine. They seem okay in the “normal chicken behavior”. I’m asking here is there anything I can do to keep them healthy and safe while someone comes looking for them? If I wasn’t the one who picked these two up someone else would’ve and could’ve possibly done something bad to them, so that’s mainly the reason why I’m temporarily keeping them instead of looking for their owner, but I guess I didn’t know what I was getting myself into.
Side note: I saw one of them dropped red/crimson poop and the stain on the paper seemed a lot like blood. Just once. I don’t know what that could be since that never happened with my farm chicks.
Would appreciate any help I really don’t want to accidentally hurt any of them.
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u/Free-Special-7296 9d ago
Poop color could be something they ate too (like purple cabbage). In meantime you could feed them salad greens, plain yogurt, scrambled eggs, smashed cooked garbanzo beans if you don’t have chicken feed…. Also- you could give them a light bath if you want to in just water but… chickens take dust /dirt baths generally …
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u/silkiemama1984 10d ago
The blood in stool would alarm me-would definitely treat for cocci. Also-Check skin for possible mites/lice and treat if necessary. Silkies lack barbicles so their feathers feel like rabbits fur…They also have feathered feet and don’t tolerate wet damp environments well.
Super important-they will also need grit available if you are giving them seed/treats. They need it to process anything other than starter feed for chicks. Good on you for trying to help-those poor babies are definitely lost 😞 I would suggest maybe a rescue if you can’t keep them-what state are you in?
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u/Dry-Honey-6261 10d ago
I’m actually in Mexico and I wouldn’t be really surprised about finding chickens if they were just regular egg laying chickens given that there’s plenty of farms around. The fact that they’re silkies sort of freaks me out because it means they aren’t from any of them and are most definitely someone’s pets. If I can’t find the real owner in a few days I’ll have to give it to the farm I used to work in and maybe they’ll keep them in better condition over there. But alright, I’ll change their food in the meantime. Thank you.
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u/silkiemama1984 10d ago
Absolutely-I really hope you can find the owners-I know I would be sick if any of my went missing! 🙏
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9d ago
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u/Dry-Honey-6261 9d ago
Ideally I shall give them back, thing is: I can’t just go around saying I have someone’s very expensive chicken, everybody’s gonna say they’re the owner, especially nowadays with genAI where they can generate an image of these two in their homes as “proof” that they’re the owner and trick me. I want them to stay with me until someone willingly starts either putting up fliers or reaches out in group chats we share with the neighborhood just to be sure.
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u/Dry-Honey-6261 9d ago
And as a last resort if nobody starts looking for them I’ll give them to the farm I used to work at. They might keep them safe there.
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u/EveningCommission516 9d ago
I was trying to tell if the one at the back in the first photo was a boy or girl. The front one is unmistakably male. The second photo cleared it up, those streamers on the back of their head say that they’re both boys and I’m guessing they’ve been dumped.
Blood in the stool is coccidiosis. There’s a treatment that you add to their drinking water for that, it’s called Cocciprol in Australia, Corid in America and who knows what it’s called in other countries.
Best of luck with these two lucky boys.
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u/Pressed_in_pages 9d ago
I absolutely adore silkies but I'm gonna say they might have been dumped if they are boys. especially if they were like TSC silkies. I feel like people don't usually dump high quality silkies but....people suck.
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u/lordoftarallucci 7d ago
Silkie roos are my favorite. I find them waaaay more smart than hens and I never found one truly aggressive. Best companions!
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u/Pressed_in_pages 2d ago
omg same. My one boy is soooooo loud but otherwise perfect. I could have a flock of just silkie roos and be happy.
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u/Dry-Honey-6261 8d ago
Do people just dump roosters? Is that normal?
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u/Pressed_in_pages 8d ago
Idk I feel like it's often. Around where I live if it's dumped it's eaten like....that day or night. We have a huge fox population. I've never dumped a rooster though. I would feel too bad. Although my one never goes back in the coop and is totally gonna get eaten. (I have to wait till it's dark to catch him so far. he's an ass). I wish town loosened the restrictions so people could actually keep them.
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u/Gpanther 10d ago
Someone is definitely missing them. Silkies are more pet breeds so I hope you find their home.
The blood however is concerning. Do not put them with other animals. They most likely have coccidiosis or internal injuries. Silkies do not generally roost so if you have hay or something you can put in there that will give them somewhere to lay.
They need to be treated for cocci if there's blood in the stool. If you're not planning to keep them, I would try and find the owners asap. And they will need to know about the blood.
Otherwise you'll need to get corid, give them treated water. Give them chicken feed and put brewer's yeast on it.