Warning for Silkies and medicated feed!

[agilitymonkey]

I know it has been posted before in threads that silkies can be very sensitive to the drug “Amprolium”. This is a drug that is used in medicated chick starter to prevent coccidia. I was unaware that silkies could have a sensitivity to this drug even though we have, over the years, nursed several silkies for symptoms of rye neck or stargazing (We have never used the medicated feed until this particular incident).

I just wanted people to be aware that they should never give their silkies this drug. My daughter has a flock of 3 1/2 month old mixed bantams. One of those bantams is a silky hen. One of her little Millie Fleur roosters was acting droopy and sick so we thought we might just try the medicated feed to see if it helped. I did not get a diagnosis of coccidia from the vet and he did not appear to have a loose stool (my bad, I know).
Sometime between 24 and 36 hours from the time we first offered the medicated feed The silky hen went from acting completely normal to completely incapacitated. My daughter found her upside down behind the coop. She could move her legs but appeared to be so dizzy and uncoordinated that she was unable to stand. Her eyes were closed and her head was twitching and twisted upside down and backwards. She is the worst case of rye neck we have seen so far. Unlike the other silkies we’ve seen this affliction in this, came on so quickly. It prompted me to look up the medicated feed and I saw some posts that it could block thiamine absorption therefore silky should never be given this feed.
We force-fed her eggs, sunflower seeds, and cooked salmon. Along with water. For 36 hours she remained completely incapacitated and did not poop at all (i’ve never seen a chicken go so long without pooping) after 48 hours we started seeing an improvement and she started pooping again. One week later I am happy to report that she has made a full recovery. We plan to always supplement our silkies with sunflower seeds (very high in thiamine and selenium) from now on, but we really wanted to warn other Silkie owners to be very careful if you ever consider this type of medicated feed. Also, if you see these sorts of symptoms in a Silkie don’t automatically assume that the chicken is in “goner“ (we’ve had two recover and one succumb, though I suspect the one that eventually succumbed to the illness aspirated some of the feed we were trying to force feed him).

 

[nuthatched]

Poor dearie, I'm glad she's better . Next time, use 400 i.u vitamin e and b complex vitamins, Sunflower seeds are high in fat and are known for causing costipation. That's why your bird wasn't pooping.
Silkies appear to be sensitive to amprolium because they are highly prone to neurological issues and need b vitamins to combat this, there are other medications can kill off coccidiosis that don't deplete vitamin b that are better for silkies.

 

[agilitymonkey]

Thank you so much for that information! Where do you get the 400 i.e. vitamin e and b complex?

 

[RememberTheWay]

What are these other medications

Poor dearie, I'm glad she's better . Next time, use 400 i.u vitamin e and b complex vitamins, Sunflower seeds are high in fat and are known for causing costipation. That's why your bird wasn't pooping.
Silkies appear to be sensitive to amprolium because they are highly prone to neurological issues and need b vitamins to combat this, there are other medications can kill off coccidiosis that don't deplete vitamin b that are better for silkies.?