barnyard fowl – Page 2

The Grooming Process – Primping your Silkie for the Show

October 20, 2017May 26, 2020 by vjppoultry, posted in New Silkies

It’s a week until the poultry show and it’s time to think about primping, prepping and grooming your birds so that they all look their best. All of them will need to be bathed, toenails trimmed and beaks clipped and filed.

I find that I can bath around three birds a day successfully. On the Monday before the show I will trim toenails and beaks. I always do those two jobs before I start baths. If there is any bleeding the blood will not get into your bath water.

I use a diagonal wire cutter on the toenails. Do not trim too short or you will cut the quick and your bird will begin to bleed. Use an emery board to file down the sharp edges. There should be no sharp points which can scratch and hurt a judge. Remove any dirt or poo from the foot prior to the up coming bath. Hydrogen Peroxide and a cotton ball is good for loosening up all of that dirt especially in the scaly part of the leg. Hydrogen Peroxide is good for about one month after opening the lid. Exposure to air will lesson its abilities.

You will need to clip your bird’s beak if the top beak creates an overbite to the bottom beak. A toenail clipper works best for this job. The beak should come together with no overhang. File it with an emery board to sand away any rough edges.

I will start bathing the silkies on Tuesday starting with with the darkest birds The lighter ones will be done later in the week. I only do three a day because it takes a while to do a thorough job. I also want to make sure that they are dry enough to be placed back outside. Always bath your silkies in the morning so that they will be thoroughly dry by the time they go to sleep at night. It is very important that they do not go to bed damp.

Before starting the bath, I take the hydrogen peroxide and pour it into a small dish. I then take cotton balls and carefully clean around the eyes, beak and crest. Its like a good face washing. The hydrogen peroxide will help to break down the organic dirt and poo that sticks to the feathers. I also use an old tooth brush to clean the scales and toes with the peroxide. You could put some Spray ‘n Wash on the foot feathers if the are very stained.

I bathe my birds in the laundry room sink. It has a spray attachment which I really find handy. I start by gathering all of my supplies. You don’t want to be hunting for things when the bird is already wet and starting to get chilled. I will even have the hair dryer and combs all set and ready to go.

I first fill two large buckets with warm water. I fill them about waist high to the bird. Into one bucket I put about 1/2 cup white vinegar. The other is just plain water for the final rinse but you could add glycerin to it.

I put the bird in the sink and begin soaking the feathers in warm water. If you think that your bird might have mites, I would start with a flea and tick shampoo. I use blue Dawn or Ivory for the first wash. The Dawn dish foam pump is nice because it is easy to use while holding a bird in one hand.

I start with the crest and then work my way down. Dirty areas include the crest, beard, vent and foot feathers. I use the sprayer to carefully rinse the Dawn soap out. To remove the soap from the crest, I tip the bird upside down and then rinse with the sprayer. This way the soap does not drip into its eyes.

White birds can become dingy in color turning a grey or yellow. This can happen from being out in the sunlight too often or being fed corn which discolors white feathers. Adding bluing to your dingy whites will make your whites appear whiter. The effect is not permanent and bluing will wear off.

The second shampoo is either a bluing shampoo if it is a white bird or a color enhancing shampoo if it is a dark colored bird. Horse shampoos offer a variety of colors. I use the Gallop brand but you could also use a human bluing shampoo or just add laundry bluing to the water. Be careful with the bluing shampoo that the bird is soaking wet before applying or you may end up with a dyed blue or purple chicken.

Rinse as much soap off as you can with the sprayer and then place the bird in the bucket with the vinegar rinse. The vinegar will cut the soap so that it does not stick to the feathers.

Place the bird in the final rinse water. Always hang on tightly to your bird. Do not let its beak go under the water line. You can add some glycerin to the final rinse for extra shine. Remove the bird and squeeze as much water out as possible. Then wrap it tightly in a towel to absorb water and help it stay warm. It should look like a silkie mummy.

I leave the bird tucked up in the towel but begin to use the hair dryer on the crest. Use the low setting on the hair dryer so as not to burn the skin of the silkie. I gradually undo more of the towel as I do drying the bird and fluffing the feathers with my fingers. You can also use a comb or slicker brush. It will take a while to get it dry enough that she can finish the job herself. If it is cold out have her stay somewhere warm like a bathtub until she is dry enough. She will finish preening and applying oil from her oil gland. Baths should be at least one full day before leaving for the show to get the natural oils back on the feathers. Add some Vet Rx to shine up the toes and comb.

Place your bird in a separate small holding coop that has fresh shavings or back in her old coop which would also have new shavings put down. Keep her locked up and out of the muddy run. Remove any poo you see so that she is not stepping in it.

Some people put booties on their feathered feet to keep their foot feathers from staining.

Hopefully your bird will stay clean until it is time to pack up and head for the poultry show.

For tips and tricks for raising outstanding silkies check out our Chicken Learning Center at VJPPoultry.com . VJP Poultry is an NPIP and state inspected hatchery located 30 miles north of St. Paul. We hatch out silkies all year long so we always have stock available. Like us on Facebook to get weekly updates on what we currently have for sale.

Victoria J. Peterson

Silkies For Sale – 10/16/17

October 16, 2017October 16, 2017 by vjppoultry, posted in New Silkies

Worming Your Silkies in the Fall and Spring

October 14, 2017May 31, 2020 by vjppoultry, posted in New Silkies

You may not believe it but a normal silkie is probably harboring some worms in their body at all times. A healthy chicken can tolerate a small amount of worms in their system, but it is when a bird is sick or stressed that this can become a problem. If the bird’s immune system is down this can lead to an over population of worms.

Chickens should be wormed regularly to prevent this buildup of worms in the digestive system and elsewhere in their bodies. If you keep your birds in an enclosed run or in a fixed grazing area this can lead to an increased number of worms. The poo from the chicken will contain worms and worm eggs will then be on the ground as well.

Infected silkies can shed thousands of eggs in the feces onto the ground. Worm eggs are so tiny that you will not be able to see them.

Symptoms to look for if you think that your bird has worms would be : worms in the chicken’s egg, abnormal droppings, diarrhea, foamy looking poo, weight loss, pale comb and wattles, listlessness, dirty vent feathers, worms in droppings, gasping and head stretching, head shaking, reduced egg production and sudden death of the bird.

Worming can be hard on the chicken’s body and should not be done without some thought. If you choose to worm, avoid worming during the winter in freezing temperatures. Do not worm if your bird is molting or under six weeks of age. Most people that worm do it in the spring and in the fall.

There are several different types of worms that may be found in poultry. Hairworms/threadworms are found in the crop, esophagus and intestine. Round worms are common and found in the digestive tract. Tapeworms are found in the intestine. Gapeworms can be found in the trachea and lungs. Cecal worms live in the ceca where poo is made. These different worms enter a chicken when the bird eats worm infected droppings or if it eats a slug or insect carrying worm eggs.

When choosing a wormer, be sure that the wormer you select is recommended for the type of worms you are treating. Not all de-worming medications are capable of treating all kinds of worms.

You may want to order an at-home Fecal Worm Test Kit which is available on-line. This will let you know whether or not your chicken has any worms.

Even if you suspect that one chicken has worms, you should treat the entire flock. It is best to do it twice a year, in the fall and in the spring. You will need to treat the birds twice. Once to get rid of the adult worms and the second time to get rid of the worms that have hatched from eggs since the first treatment.

Wazine ( piperazine) is used to worm round worms. Check the directions on the bottle for treatment and egg withdrawal time. That would be the amount of time you will not be able to eat eggs that are laid. Wazine is added to the birds drinking water.

Safe-guard or Panacur (Fenbendazile) treats threadworms, roundworms, cecal worms and gapeworms.

Invermectin pour-on treats roundworms, threadworms, gapeworms as well as mites and lice.

These three done in a rotation (one in the spring, a different one in the fall, and the third one the following spring) will cover all worm infestations.

Durvet Strike III Type B medicatied feed is used as an aid in the control of infections caused by intestinal parasites (worms). It has an antibiotic in it. It helps to heal but not to get rid of worms.

Diatomaceous Earth Food Grade is a more natural type of dewormer. You mix it into your feed. 1/4 cup of DE to 35 oz of feed.

Pumpkin seeds in kernel form or pumpkin seeds in the shell help to make the environment inside the chicken less attractive for the parasite. The seeds are more suited to preventing worms than removing them.

The best worm preventative is to keep your chickens healthy. Give them proper food without too many treats. Do not feed them on the ground but in bowls or feeders. Clean and sanitize feeders and waters every week. Add vitamins to the water to improve their immune system.

Do not crowd birds. Keep the coop clean and change the litter to beak the eggs cycle. Rotate the runs and pasture. Chicken tractors are a great way to move your chickens from one grazing site to another. Keep the grass cut short. Sunlight helps to kill the worm eggs.

In between wormings use Verm-X and Apple cider vinegar to help keep worm numbers down.

Victoria J. Peterson

Silkies For Sale – 10/10/17

October 10, 2017October 10, 2017 by vjppoultry, posted in New Silkies

Cage Training For The Silkie Show

October 3, 2017May 27, 2020 by vjppoultry, posted in New Silkies

Fall poultry shows are coming up and hopefully, if you are planning on showing, you have selected your birds that you are bringing and are in the process of conditioning them.

Conditioning means that you have separated your selections from the rest of your flock and have made sure that the boys and the girls are not in the same pen. Separate areas are important as rowdy boys can break or tear feathering on the females.

You should also be feeding them a diet that is high in protein to keep those feathers in tip top shape. Showbird food or Feather Fixer are good choices. I also add vitamins to the water or Roster Booster to improve the over all health and beauty of the bird.

About a month before the show you will want to start training your birds to be comfortable in a small wire cage. These are the type of cages you will find at a poultry show. They are about 24 X 24 in size. Place the cage on saw horses so that they are about table high.

This enclosed cage will be very different from what your silkie is used to out in the coop. I would start with short time spans and then gradually increase how much time the bird spends in there.

You will need to teach your bird how to eat and drink inside of the cage. A good waterer for silkies is the pop bottle waterer. You buy the bottom where the birds drink from and then place a plastic pop bottle with water in it on top. They provide a spring to secure it on the side of the cage but I use small bungee cords and place something underneath the bottom to support it. I use an empty cat food can. I like these because they are small and don’t take up much space in the cage and because the silkie is less likely to dunk their heads and get wet and messy. You will want the judges to see a clean, dry bird. It is a good idea to remove the waterer before judging starts to keep your bird looking perfect.

The food container hangs on the side. I like to put food they really like in there while you are training them. Treats such as mealworms, sunflower seeds and berries, or cracked corn will teach your bird how to eat from the little container. They will begin to associate treats with time spent in the cage.

Learning to eat and drink from these different containers is very important. Silkies who have not had their feathers trimmed around their eyes will have a hard time finding the food and water in the cage. Use pink hair tape or blue painters tape to pin up the feathers in the crest which will allow the birds to see.

Place the feeders and waterers in the front of the cage. This will get them used to being on that side of the cage where the judge will be. A judge does not want to see a bird cowering in the back. They should be up front where they are easy to see and judge.

The judge will have a little baton that he uses to get the bird to pose properly. You should practice with a dowel or stick so that your silkie is used to seeing it in the cage and feeling it against its body.

Shows are very noisy places. You may want to place a radio by your cage so that the bird gets used to loud noises while they are in the cage. I have the radio tuned to the Oldies station that has lots of commercials.

Practice taking your bird in and out of the cage. The judge will be taking the bird out head first and placing it in the cage head first. You should practice the same way. Hold the bird with one hand under the keel one hand on top of the wings. Birds will struggle if they are not used to being handled. Judges would rather not work with struggling birds. Spread the wings out and check all over the bird the same way a judge would.

Give the bird a treat while handling them so that they associate people holding them with treats. Treats include Chicken Crack, Happy Hen Treats, Grublies, and Mana Pro Garden Delights. Roosters will especially need practice in handling. Sit with them on your lap when you are watching tv and cuddle up with them. You will enjoy it and so will they.

Victoria J. Peterson