groovydad Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 Ok so I came back this afternoon to find one of my 16 week old Silkies has a bloody and cracked beak. Apart from dabbing with disinfectant is there anything else I should be doing or looking out for? I had to move their run onto concrete last night as the garden started to get boggy and I only had time to put a thin layer of chippings and auboise down on the floor so I'm guessing maybe she pecked at the hard floor. Or maybe she got into a fight with the others. Speaking of the others. I got three last week and the breeder was pretty sure they were all ladies but at this age it's hard to tell. In the space of a week one of them is getting noticeably bigger than the others and while the others are still cheeping, the bigger one is making some suspicious croaking noises. Not enough to confirm she is actually a cokerel (more like the noise my 3yr old gingernut rangers make when they are "Ooops, word censored!"y that they haven't been let out). I'm thinking it's possible i'll be discovering I have a ckcerel soon? At what age will they develop so I know for sure which sex they all are? Good news is the breeder said he'll swop any that turn out to be boys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groovydad Posted October 21, 2010 Author Share Posted October 21, 2010 I should add that the cut/crack is at the top of the top of the beak and not at the end. It doesn't seem to have gone all the way through (it's not a hole or anything..I don't think) and she still seems to be eating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 All you can do is keep an eye on it, and watch that it doesn't become caked with food, as infection may set in. The fact that she is able to eat is a good sign, and things may settle. If they don't, a trip to the vet might be in order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortle Chook Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 This is probably a really daft thing to say, but are you quite sure it is a bad crack and is not a nostril?? You probably are but I thought it might be worth checking. Regarding different sized silkies, I have four and one, a little black one, is definitely a girl, but is a lot bigger than the others. At the time I got them someone on this forum pointed out that Silkies can come in very different sizes. (My white one is much the smallest). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groovydad Posted October 22, 2010 Author Share Posted October 22, 2010 Thanks for the advice. Bash seems much better this morning. No more bleeding, there seems to be a scab now but it's obviously not bothering her. It's funny you mentioned nostrils because in the light of day it actually looks like she's bashed her nose and chipped a bit but I'm thinking the blood was actually from a nose bleed. I let my gingernuts roam around their run this morning. They all ran up to the Silky run run for a nose and seemed fine so I let them mingle very briefly for the first time. I was expecting to have to jump in rescue the little ones but there was no fighting at all, in fact my old ladies just wandered off and looked bemused when Bish and Bash waddled underneath them. Dare I say it, but they even seemed motherley. No doubt there will be a fight tomorrow haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkBevBen Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 Aww so glad Bash seems much better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
