Sick Silkies- 1+ to 3+ year old silkies having trouble walking all of a sudden

[chickengr]

my chickens don't eat eat pellets, period. as for rats the only way I got rid of them is my dogs that can run around the coops. in my old place rats were coming from the next door plot so I used poison, killed 2-3 and didn't have rats for about a month than again the new ones came.

if you have wood ash put some in their dust bath and bedding. a friend of mine puts it in broody nests and swears to it.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

That is amazing- I need all your advice! What food do you recommend for the silkies? They literally hate every single pellet food we have tried.

My chickens would not eat pellets either, but for a time that was the only kind of food we could get! We had one bag of crumbles left. So we mixed the pellets in their feeder half and half with their crumbles. And we cut out all treats! They ate the pellets simply becayse there was no other choice. Then we mixed it, one-quarter crumbles to three quarters pellets and they ate that too. After that, it was 100% pellets and they ate the pellets just fine. We have a feeder from which they can't "bill out" the feed and just pick out what they want.

 

[Debbie292d]

Ivermectin Pour On can be used to treat mites on the birds too, but the mites still have to be eliminated from housing or they will continue to infest the birds no matter what treatments you apply to the birds.

We've used this to rid our silkies of scaly leg mites. I found the dose for them for 5mg Pour on for cattle, to put 1 eyedropper drop's worth on their backs. That's for silkies. For larger chickens two drops. This is what convinced me to try it and I'm glad I did. https://bitchinchickens.com/2019/04/29/ivermectin-for-parasite-control/

You can use the Permethrin in 5-7 day intervals to treat the mites. They can be extremely hard to get rid of.

Yes, this, or the very expensive elector psp I've heard works. I've never had an infestation beyond leg mites, but if I did, I'd use the Permethrin for the coop. It comes in sprays or powders.

 

[SilkieChickensLove]

You can use the Permethrin in 5-7 day intervals to treat the mites. They can be extremely hard to get rid of.

I'd re-check the birds to make sure that they have no mites on them, mites will suck the life out of them, make them sick or can sometimes kill a bird.

Ivermectin Pour On can be used to treat mites on the birds too, but the mites still have to be eliminated from housing or they will continue to infest the birds no matter what treatments you apply to the birds.

Try different methods to get rid of the rodents, those are also a challenge. You may find that you have to change tactics, trap some, poison some, etc. I use covered traps that I can put in my runs or around the outside so my dog doesn't get snapped or the chickens can't either. Regular snap traps can also be used, just place something like a milk crate over them so the birds or other animals can't get to them, but the rodents can.
Poison is a bit scary to use, but if you read up on methods and strategically place the bait stations away from the birds or other animals, most of the time you can use those too.

Do you have photos of your birds and their feet, their poop, etc.?

Hi,
It has been a few days since posting here. We have been feeding the b-vitamins, vitamins in water, rooster booster in mash with crumbles. No improvement on the legs yet and unfortunately one of our silkies Theodore passed this morning- he was very quiet yesterday keeping his head down and mostly sleeping by the fire. He was 3.5 years old and a pretty big satin silkie boy- we aren't sure if it was mites- but as mentioned they have all been treated several times in the past few weeks and the coop has been emptied and completely sprayed down 2 times with permethrin and de. We did recheck for mites and even bathed him again just in case it was and put coconut oil on his legs in case there were any scaly leg mites- unfortunately nothing seemed to help.

Our other silkie rooster who is 16 months old and not walking is eating a bunch and seems heavy, alert and happy but he still cannot stand on his legs or walk. He can move his legs when you pick him up and he tries to walk if you hold him up.
He is getting the droppers of b vitamins several times a day- his poop is stinky and loose dark color- but I am guessing that might have to do with the overload of vitamins he is getting right now? I can take some photos if you would like.
Honestly, feeling defeated about not being able to save Theodore. He was such a sweet lovey boy and was 1 of who we call our 3 Amigos roosters who have been BFF's since they were wee chicks - they were always together morning to night. Getting worried something else is going on with the birds and whatever it is- is going to continue to run through the flock.
Is there anything else that you think it might be?
If thinking it is mites and he was just super weak and we didn't know (the day before he stopped walking, he was running around just like usual) is there anything other than permethrin and DE for getting rid of the mites in the coop? And should we just spray the birds every week to try to keep them from having an issue?

At this point we are thinking of building a whole new chicken house for them and abandoning the entire coop area since the permethrin and DE do not seem to be working.

Thanks so much for all your help here- this forum is amazing!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

So sorry for your loss.

 

[chickengr]

Hi,
It has been a few days since posting here. We have been feeding the b-vitamins, vitamins in water, rooster booster in mash with crumbles. No improvement on the legs yet and unfortunately one of our silkies Theodore passed this morning- he was very quiet yesterday keeping his head down and mostly sleeping by the fire. He was 3.5 years old and a pretty big satin silkie boy- we aren't sure if it was mites- but as mentioned they have all been treated several times in the past few weeks and the coop has been emptied and completely sprayed down 2 times with permethrin and de. We did recheck for mites and even bathed him again just in case it was and put coconut oil on his legs in case there were any scaly leg mites- unfortunately nothing seemed to help.

Our other silkie rooster who is 16 months old and not walking is eating a bunch and seems heavy, alert and happy but he still cannot stand on his legs or walk. He can move his legs when you pick him up and he tries to walk if you hold him up.
He is getting the droppers of b vitamins several times a day- his poop is stinky and loose dark color- but I am guessing that might have to do with the overload of vitamins he is getting right now? I can take some photos if you would like.
Honestly, feeling defeated about not being able to save Theodore. He was such a sweet lovey boy and was 1 of who we call our 3 Amigos roosters who have been BFF's since they were wee chicks - they were always together morning to night. Getting worried something else is going on with the birds and whatever it is- is going to continue to run through the flock.
Is there anything else that you think it might be?
If thinking it is mites and he was just super weak and we didn't know (the day before he stopped walking, he was running around just like usual) is there anything other than permethrin and DE for getting rid of the mites in the coop? And should we just spray the birds every week to try to keep them from having an issue?

At this point we are thinking of building a whole new chicken house for them and abandoning the entire coop area since the permethrin and DE do not seem to be working.

Thanks so much for all your help here- this forum is amazing!

sorry for your loss. I built new coops as well due to mites. the only wooden thing in my new coops are roosts. not 100% lice/mite proof but manageable.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

What are you using for bedding?

 

[chickengr]

What are you using for bedding?

who? I have dirt floors. I also put some wood ash from time to time. sometimes pine needles when I have time to collect them.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

who? I have dirt floors. I also put some wood ash from time to time. sometimes pine needles when I have time to collect them.

I was wondering what @SilkieChickensLove uses for bedding in her coops.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Our other silkie rooster who is 16 months old and not walking is eating a bunch and seems heavy, alert and happy but he still cannot stand on his legs or walk. He can move his legs when you pick him up and he tries to walk if you hold him up.
He is getting the droppers of b vitamins several times a day- his poop is stinky and loose dark color- but I am guessing that might have to do with the overload of vitamins he is getting right now? I can take some photos if you would like.

Photos are always welcome.

It's still unclear whether there's a mite infestation on the bird(s) and in the coop or not.

Hard to know what's happening, it may be time you send a body to your state lab for necropsy/diagnostics, if you lose another. This will give the most information so you can determine what course of action and/or treatments you need to take.

I'd work on hydration, get him eating a nutritionally balanced feed. Vitamins daily (B-Complex 1/4 tablet and Vitamin E 400IU). If he's got lice or mites, get rid of them. Dust him with Permethrin.

Photos? Please? Can you please post Clear Well-Lit photos of the Silkies, their eyes, feet, poop and of them?
Thank You!