Wobbly, Off-balance Silkie

[Wyorp Rock]

If her leg is a little swollen, limiting activity for a few days may help.
1/4 tablet B-Complex daily would be good to give.

 

[krissyweso]

Hello!

So, my baby girl still is not doing well. She is still eating and drinking and even laying eggs, but her walking has gotten worse.

I have been giving her a vitamin b complex, vitamin d, and calcium for about 5 days.

If it is a leg injury and not something like Marek's, how long does it typically take to see improvements?

I'm taking her to my vet tomorrow afternoon and will update with his prognosis.

I'll also add a couple more videos that I took of her yesterday afternoon as soon as they're done uploading into youtube.

 

[krissyweso]

Here are a couple of videos.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The puppy pads are too slick for her. Try a rubber mat instead.

It very well could be Marek's. I would start adding in 400IU Vitamin E as well.
Silkies seem to be their own kind of special, they can suffer from a number of issues, Marek's is one of them unfortunately. Even if that's the case, then vitamin therapy is usually what most apply since there's really no treatment/remedies.

Hopefully your vet can give some insight and make some suggestions. Let us know what you find out.

 

[krissyweso]

The puppy pads are too slick for her. Try a rubber mat instead.

It very well could be Marek's. I would start adding in 400IU Vitamin E as well.
Silkies seem to be their own kind of special, they can suffer from a number of issues, Marek's is one of them unfortunately. Even if that's the case, then vitamin therapy is usually what most apply since there's really no treatment/remedies.

Hopefully your vet can give some insight and make some suggestions. Let us know what you find out.

She's sliding on pretty much everything right now, including the rubber floor mat we have and the carpet. But, you're right. I'm going to hit the hardware store after work to see if there's something really grippy that would be good for her.

Any idea when I would be seeing improvement if it is a hurt leg or vitamin deficiency?

 

[PastyButtsMom]

Hoping for a good and correct verdict from the vet! Please let us know

 

[krissyweso]

So, we have an update (as well as some general, helpful info)!!

Verdict: Spinal Trauma

So I took my girl to her vet (whom I really trust. There are a lot of closer, more convenient aviary vets I could go to, but I drive far and go out of my way to go to this vet.), and, right away, he thought it was a back injury. He does not think it's Marek's or a vitamin deficiency.

He believes strongly that it is spinal trauma because of the way her legs go out to the sides, not front and back as he says is nearly ubiquitous for Marek's. Also, her legs are strong where they would be paralyzed if it were Marek's.

He also does not think it is a vitamin deficiency because, if it was a vitamin deficiency, it would only have taken a couple days for her to improve.

We did x-rays, and there is no fracture.

He says he sees the same signs and symptoms often in female ducks who often experience spinal trauma from mating. This would also make sense for my Sneaky, as she is the favorite girl and is ridden hard and often. That coupled with fighting with the new girls is a recipe for a bad back.

One other tidbit of info he gave me is that chickens can very easily overdose on vitamin D. We should never give them much or it could cause a harmful over build-up of calcium. He also mentioned that it would be difficult or impossible for them to overdose on vitamins B, E, and calcium, but we shouldn't need to give them more than a couple doses to get them caught up on anything they are missing.

So, Sneak will be living in the house for the near future, as there is really no telling how long it will take to heal. But she now has anti-inflammatory medication along with a mom and dad who love her very much, so I am sure she will be better soon enough!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm glad you were able to see the vet!
I hope she starts to improve.
Thank you for the update

 

[krissyweso]

Update:

In the beginning, Sneaker wasn't eating well... hardly at all, really. I think she was in a lot of pain. Just a little bit of corn on the cob or a little feed, but I was getting really worried, so I was going to tube feed her. I got ready to do it, but, before I did, I mixed the Harrison's Recovery Formula (made into a paste) with some of her feed crumbles, made little balls out of them, AND SHE GOBBLED THEM UP!! She's been eating great ever since.

Her walking has not improved much in the last two weeks, but she is definitely trying more than before.

She is also still happily spending time in her chickie chair, which the vet said was fine for her to use.

 

[krissyweso]

Update:

Unfortunately, Sneak has just gotten worse and worse. She still hasn't made any progress on standing, and she seems to also have gone blind now.

She was eating if I made little balls of wetted down feed (I called them "chicken meat balls") and hand-fed them to her, and she would drink if I put her dish up to her beak, but she will no longer do either.

Her quality of life has diminished, so I am, unfortunately, taking her to be put down.

Thank you, everyone, for your support! Send Sneak all the good vibes.