Hello everyone, I am in serious need of help. This month has been absolutely chaotic, and I can't find anything that helps me so I came here to see if anyone knows anything.
So, at the beginning of the month, my buff silkie hen named Gabby began to act very strange.
This began with her devoting her time to sitting on eggs, I refused to let her sit as I know most of my flocks weights aren't what they need for committed mamas. When I tried to get her to stop and eat she wouldn't eat. She absolutely refused to eat and drink in my company. I forced her to eat some kibble and electrolyte water (and Gatorade) to keep her alive. She simply got more and more thin and dropped dead inevitably. Upon opening her up I found lots of fat deposits along the throat, inner thighs(where legs meet body), all around the gizzard and lots around the cloaca/tail base. Before I opened her up I was expecting leukosis; however there was no tumors of the liver, spleen or bursa. The most unusual thing was the chewy tobacco and stone look of the ovaries. I've opened up quite a few birds in the past and none have had ovaries like this.
Soon after this, my favorite bird began to get sick. She is a buff silkie hen, around a year old. Her name is Ellie, and she is very special to me. She has a mental issue that made her slower than the rest of the flock for her entire life. She sometimes wobbled, ran into walls, and was easily frightened. Her face was also deformed, she had scissor beak and her nasal and maxilla region was bent to the side. This blocked off her nostrils and made it difficult to breath out of her nose. I debated euthanizing her, but she was a very happy bird and still made her way around well. Ellie was always on the thinner side, but she ate enough and she was never thin enough to be too concerning. But, as I said, soon after Gabby passed Ellie's condition began to deteriorate. But unlike Gabby, Ellie's physical behavior was almost completely normal. Although she didn't have her normally confident and spunky posture, she didn't seem too lethargic and was more than happy to eat and drink. Despite this, her weight began to drop rapidly. And even though I would see her try to eat, her crop was always empty. I thought she might've been struggling to eat because of her beak, so I cooked chicken food "pancakes" to break into little pieces and place into her mouth. I didn't have to force her to swallow, she would swallow it once it was in her beak. I would fill her crop 3 times a day, and I thought I was making progress with her. But, she died unexpectedly about a week after she began losing weight. I decided to also open her up, and she had no body fat on her like Gabby did. There was barely any muscle on her, either. All of her organs looked perfect except for her ovaries, which were very similar to Gabby's.
It is important to note that Gabby and Ellie were kept in separate parts of the yard in different flocks. They have never seen or interacted with one another, nor are they related. And now I'm going to talk about my white silkie named Khaleesi, who is in the same flock Ellie was in. A few days after Ellie died, Khaleesi began to lose weight as well. Khaleesi is a white silkie hen, a few months younger than Ellie. Khaleesi was Ellie's best friend, so I originally thought the change in behavior may have been depression. She began to sit in corners a lot, and didn't want to interact with the other birds. She does eat a lot, though. I always see her eating, and her crop is very full all the time. But, she is losing weight rapidly. Khaleesi also jerks her head in a strange way from time to time, but I don't know if that is related. Khaleesi is my highest quality silkie hen, and I am very afraid that I'm going to lose her as well.
I suspect that Gabby and Ellie suffered from ovarian cancer, but I could be wrong. My biggest questions are what is causing this? Is there any way I can cure or prevent this? Is this even ovarian cancer? I know hens can get ovarian cancer, it just happens. But I had two very young birds pass because of it in the span of a few weeks, and it is frustrating. If anyone has any advice or has any idea what this is/how to fix it, please let me know. I greatly appreciate it.
Top picture: Ellie
Bottom picture: Gabby
The area circled in blue is their damaged ovaries.
So, at the beginning of the month, my buff silkie hen named Gabby began to act very strange.
This began with her devoting her time to sitting on eggs, I refused to let her sit as I know most of my flocks weights aren't what they need for committed mamas. When I tried to get her to stop and eat she wouldn't eat. She absolutely refused to eat and drink in my company. I forced her to eat some kibble and electrolyte water (and Gatorade) to keep her alive. She simply got more and more thin and dropped dead inevitably. Upon opening her up I found lots of fat deposits along the throat, inner thighs(where legs meet body), all around the gizzard and lots around the cloaca/tail base. Before I opened her up I was expecting leukosis; however there was no tumors of the liver, spleen or bursa. The most unusual thing was the chewy tobacco and stone look of the ovaries. I've opened up quite a few birds in the past and none have had ovaries like this.
Soon after this, my favorite bird began to get sick. She is a buff silkie hen, around a year old. Her name is Ellie, and she is very special to me. She has a mental issue that made her slower than the rest of the flock for her entire life. She sometimes wobbled, ran into walls, and was easily frightened. Her face was also deformed, she had scissor beak and her nasal and maxilla region was bent to the side. This blocked off her nostrils and made it difficult to breath out of her nose. I debated euthanizing her, but she was a very happy bird and still made her way around well. Ellie was always on the thinner side, but she ate enough and she was never thin enough to be too concerning. But, as I said, soon after Gabby passed Ellie's condition began to deteriorate. But unlike Gabby, Ellie's physical behavior was almost completely normal. Although she didn't have her normally confident and spunky posture, she didn't seem too lethargic and was more than happy to eat and drink. Despite this, her weight began to drop rapidly. And even though I would see her try to eat, her crop was always empty. I thought she might've been struggling to eat because of her beak, so I cooked chicken food "pancakes" to break into little pieces and place into her mouth. I didn't have to force her to swallow, she would swallow it once it was in her beak. I would fill her crop 3 times a day, and I thought I was making progress with her. But, she died unexpectedly about a week after she began losing weight. I decided to also open her up, and she had no body fat on her like Gabby did. There was barely any muscle on her, either. All of her organs looked perfect except for her ovaries, which were very similar to Gabby's.
It is important to note that Gabby and Ellie were kept in separate parts of the yard in different flocks. They have never seen or interacted with one another, nor are they related. And now I'm going to talk about my white silkie named Khaleesi, who is in the same flock Ellie was in. A few days after Ellie died, Khaleesi began to lose weight as well. Khaleesi is a white silkie hen, a few months younger than Ellie. Khaleesi was Ellie's best friend, so I originally thought the change in behavior may have been depression. She began to sit in corners a lot, and didn't want to interact with the other birds. She does eat a lot, though. I always see her eating, and her crop is very full all the time. But, she is losing weight rapidly. Khaleesi also jerks her head in a strange way from time to time, but I don't know if that is related. Khaleesi is my highest quality silkie hen, and I am very afraid that I'm going to lose her as well.
I suspect that Gabby and Ellie suffered from ovarian cancer, but I could be wrong. My biggest questions are what is causing this? Is there any way I can cure or prevent this? Is this even ovarian cancer? I know hens can get ovarian cancer, it just happens. But I had two very young birds pass because of it in the span of a few weeks, and it is frustrating. If anyone has any advice or has any idea what this is/how to fix it, please let me know. I greatly appreciate it.
Top picture: Ellie
Bottom picture: Gabby
The area circled in blue is their damaged ovaries.
