chick running in circles

[leonie.dysart]

Hi,
my name is Leonie, so glad I found this site. I bought 4 silkie chicks yesterday and today one of them is spinning in circles, shacking its head and leaning against the side of the cage. He seems to be eating and drinking OK, but when he is away from the wall he just spins to the right. They are 5 days old, have fresh water, chick starter and heat. Have had lots of chickens before but never seen this. First time with silkies.
More details:
noticed this behavior this morning, no sign of trauma or injury. Have been handled very carefully. They are on hay and shavings.
Thank You for taking the time.

 

[SmittenChicken]

Hi, and welcome!
The only thing that occurs to me is that if the chick has a lot of fluff around its face, maybe it has trouble seeing out of one eye? I'm fairly new to chickens and have never had silkies, but I'm sure some of the more experienced members will chime in soon.
I hope it's something obvious and easily fixed - good luck!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=298482

Here's an older thread similar to yours. Any chance your silkie was pecked on the head by an older chicken before you had them? Silkies have a soft spot on their heads like a baby. They are vulnerable to neurological damage.

I don't know the answer- I hope someone answers your question. If his or her little neck starts bending in a weird way, do a search for wry neck or crookneck on here- there is a vitamin treatment for it.

 

[Rozzie]

It may not solve the problem, but I'd try giving electrolytes (unflavored Pedialyte from the drugstore -- meant for infants & young children) and vitamins. YOu can use infant vitamins WITHOUT IRON or get bird vitamins at Petco. The infant vitamins have a wider variety. The bird vitamins at Petco (at least the ones I have) are mostly A, Bs, and D.

I had a button quail chick with wacky symptoms -- running in circles nonstop, hyper, neck bent down, losing balance. This saved it & it's now a healthy bird getting near adult age.

May not be the same issue, but shouldn't hurt your chick to try this. Again, remove water & give the electrolytes in its place. Put the vitamins in the electrolytes.

Oh, I also fed mashed boiled egg with a bit of vitamin dripped into that, too. I did this in case it had a protein absorption problem.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
I agree giving the vitamins might just save it! That's what I would do.