Silkie falling over

[seclusionfarms]

Speckle just started falling over to the left, it keeps trying to right it's self with it's wings. I looked over it's legs nothing looks wrong or hurt. It has been hot the past few days and because it's the youngest it's possible that the others were keeping it from the water. So I removed it from the coop and i've given it pedialyte and Avia Charge 2000 (for the stress). If it's not dehydration, what else could be wrong? I have Tylan and disolveable antibotics that I can add to the water, should I also give it some antibotics?

 

[Debstar1204]

Did you get any answers regarding this silkie? I have one doing the same thing? How did you treat it? And is it ok now?

 

[seclusionfarms]

No the best guess I came up with is Vit E deficiency aka wry neck so I'm trying giving it 200 IU vitamin e twice a day and 25 mcg selenium once a day he seems to be doing a little better, I did miss a day and he was way worse so I think it's working

 

[Debstar1204]

Thank you- is yours able to walk around/ eat on his own ? My girl is just sitting, eyes closed & head facing backwards I've been syringe feeding all through the day but im back at work tomorrow so won't be able to feed as much.. I feel awful watching her- as she flips over when she struggles I've since wrapped her in a towel to try to avoid this.. What is selenium? I ve been giving vit e but don't have the selenium.. Where do I get that from? Can you keep me posted about yours please... How long has yours been sick for? I'm going on 3 days tomorrow...

 

[Reurra]

I had this same problem with a silkie chick. I think it got pecked on the head hard or something because one day she would start screaming, one leg would go forward, the other back and she would fall over. I know some silkies have an open skull, so it might have been caused by her big brother...who isnt here any more.

If your treatment works, I would love to know! Might come in useful in the future.

I think you can get selenium at a feed store. I know horses need it and some feeds have it in it. Its a mineral I think.

 

[Debstar1204]

THank you Reurra ill check tomorrow at feed store. So it's not a human med??

 

[Reurra]

No I dont think people can have selenium.

Here is the wikipedia article.


Biological role

Main article: Selenium in biology

NFPA 704​

0​

2​

0​

​

​

Fire diamond for elemental selenium​

Although it is toxic in large doses, selenium is an essential micronutrient for animals. In plants, it occurs as a bystander mineral, sometimes in toxic proportions in forage (some plants may accumulate selenium as a defense against being eaten by animals, but other plants such as locoweed require selenium, and their growth indicates the presence of selenium in soil). See more on plant nutrition below.
Selenium is a component of the unusual amino acids selenocysteine and selenomethionine. In humans, selenium is a trace element nutrient that functions as cofactor for reductionof antioxidant enzymes, such as glutathione peroxidases and certain forms of thioredoxin reductase found in animals and some plants (this enzyme occurs in all living organisms, but not all forms of it in plants require selenium).
The glutathione peroxidase family of enzymes (GSH-Px) catalyze certain reactions that remove reactive oxygen species such as hydrogen peroxide and organic hydroperoxides:
2 GSH + H2O2----GSH-Px → GSSG + 2 H2O
Selenium also plays a role in the functioning of the thyroid gland and in every cell that uses thyroid hormone, by participating as a cofactor for the three of the four known types ofthyroid hormone deiodinases, which activate and then deactivate various thyroid hormones and their metabolites: the iodothyronine deiodinases are the subfamily of deiodinase enzymes that use selenium as the otherwise rare amino acid selenocysteine. (Only the deiodinase iodotyrosine deiodinase, which works on the last break-down products of thyroid hormone, does not use selenium).
Selenium may inhibit Hashimoto's disease, in which the body's own thyroid cells are attacked as alien. A reduction of 21% on TPO antibodies was reported with the dietary intake of 0.2 mg of selenium.
Increased dietary selenium intakes reduce the effects of mercury toxicity and it is now recognized that the molecular mechanism of mercury toxicity involves irreversible inhibition of selenoenzymes that are required to prevent and reverse oxidative damage in brain and endocrine tissues.

 

[seclusionfarms]

Thank you- is yours able to walk around/ eat on his own ? My girl is just sitting, eyes closed & head facing backwards

I've been syringe feeding all through the day but im back at work tomorrow so won't be able to feed as much.. I feel awful watching her- as she flips over when she struggles

I've since wrapped her in a towel to try to avoid this.. What is selenium? I ve been giving vit e but don't have the selenium.. Where do I get that from? Can you keep me posted about yours please... How long has yours been sick for? I'm going on 3 days tomorrow...

I got the selenium CVS by the calcium in tablet form so I can crush it I found that another one I had was because of head injury because after a little RR and keeping him seperated from the others he is just fine. I tried that at first with this one but when it didn't work this time I did some searching around on here. He gets up to eat and drink but still leans to the left, but when he relaxes he still flops on his side. After the waiting I tried only doing the vit e once a day which didn't seem to have an effect. I found someone else who said they did twice a day and I tried it, it seems to be helping. I got worried about him resting on his side because of pneumonia so I now have him in a small dog halter suspended so he keeps his feet under him, when he gets tired he just relaxes into the halter and goes to sleep and when he's awake he puts his feet down. I have him next to his food and water so he doesn't go without. I found that as soon as I put him in the halter yesterday that he at least began resting with his head on his back instead of under him. I'll take anything I can get at this point.

 

[seclusionfarms]

Here is one of the threads I found the Vit e and selenium info on. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/97121/lets-talk-wry-neck-crook-neck.

I'm considering trying fish oil, it seems to have worked for some people so I may pick some up tonight

 

[Debstar1204]

Thank you- so where is the best place to buy the seleuim? I have fish oil ill try that too. My girls head is still on her back- beak facing tail.. So theirs still hope I suppose.