I discovered the other day that my little frizzled silkied serama, “Blue Boy”, was having some problems with his neck feathers. It appears that he's been pulling his neck feathers out for some reason. Either that, or his two hens are responsible for the dastardly deed…(hence the term “hen-pecked”!)
We had another rooster, “Napoleon”, a smooth-feathered red mille fleur, who had experienced the same thing a couple of months ago, but with him it seemed like he was really itching…I could see him pecking at it; it started as a small patch under his chin and eventually the affected area moved down his chest to his armpits. He would also do a little backwards dance, as if he just couldn't stand it anymore!
But Blue Boy does not seem to be bothered by it…I haven't actually seen him pull the feathers out. He doesn't look irritated by it, even though it looks like the same condition that Napoleon had. With Napoleon, I tried Wonder dust, Dr. Naylor's Blu-Kote, iodine, vaseline, Neosporin cream, anti-itch cream, anti-fungal cream, but nothing really seemed to work. I increased the protein in Napoleon's diet by giving him hard-boiled egg daily in conjunction with Manna Pro Poultry Conditioner added to his food, and eventually he stopped picking at it and his feathers all grew back beautifully. Of course, once that happened, he went into molt and lost ALL his tail feathers!!! Poor boy, he's really had a hard time!
I'm trying the same thing with Blue Boy (extra egg and Manna Pro), so we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
Since this topic is about Blue Boy, I should also mention that I have about a dozen babies from him that are three months old now, and the frizzle gene apparently works the same way in the silkieds as it does in the smooths!!! I am thrilled!!! I plan on breeding him again this winter, can't wait!
Hi,
I have seen roosters do that to their necks by sticking their necks through a fence, I guess to reach something outside or to try to squeeze through.
My daughter has recently gotten interested in seramas. I would like to find her a nice pair or trio for Christmas. I am also interested in buying fertile eggs for her to hatch. Do you have anything available? She has loved chickens for years and really loves the seramas. She would especially love yours because she likes blues, silkies and frizzles.
Thanks,
Christy
christyh97@yahoo.com
Christy-
At the present time, I wasn’t planning on selling until the spring, but I do have one trio I could let go now…They are part of my breeders, the roo is a chocolate laced smooth , and he will throw chocolates, reds, oranges, coppers. His girls are both frizzled laying pullets, so half the babies will be smooth, half will be frizzled. He is a high B weightwise, and the girls, I believe, are both high B’s as well. His name is Carlos (because he is such a Ladies Man – I have never had a girl NOT like him!), he is very kind to his ladies, will eat from your hand, and is easy to pick up. They all love their treats, and love to be talked to (I tend to spoil my birds, just a little). They are used to being in a “cage” with an attached outdoor run, so I’m afraid they would not be suited to being kept in a cage all the time. All my birds have free access to the outdoors during daylight hours, they have a very natural environment, so if you’re looking to cage them 24/7, I would not suggest this trio. Now, young birds, from 2-3 months, would adapt to a caged situation, but it’s not fair to do that with a breeding set of birds…I won’t have any young birds available until early March. I also keep the temperature inside the coop at 50-54 degrees or so, since Seramas don’t tolerate the cold as well as some other breeds. I’m sure they could get used to colder temperatures over time, but as I said, I tend to spoil my birds (they’re my pets, not livestock).
If you are interested, I can take some photos over the weekend.
Feel free to ask any questions you might have…Since this purchase is for your daughter, it’s important to be thorough and find just the right birds for her!
Thanks so much for asking about my Seramas, they bring me so much pleasure!
Oh, and by the way, I separated Blue Boy from his girls, and his neck feathers have grown back beautifully, all by themselves! The girls were put in with a different roo, and no feather picking, so I have no explanation…Boredom, perhaps?
Juliette
Juliette can u breed silkie to silkie or will you end up like frizzeld with curlies
No, silkied to silkied results in all silkied offspring…that’s the way it should be done.