Dead silkie chick, walking in circles

[NapoleanGoose]

My new white silkie chick just died and I don't know why. I'm not sure what, so I'm afraid it could be contagious to the rest of my chicks.

1) She is a silkie chick, about 4 days old
2) Her neck was twisted to the side as though broken but I could not find anything odd when I felt along her neck vertebra. I found her on her back with the other chicks stepping all over her. When picked up she insisted on turning and walking in circles, and cheeped very loudly non-stop. Her left eye would not operate right either.
4) No, she was not hurt in any way that I could tell.
5) I don't know, she was in with big birds but they had all been doing well I think they only trampled her when she fell.
6) Water and food I think but with 14 other chicks I don't think I'd know if she hadn't eaten or drank
7) I can't tell, too many chicks
8) She died within 5 minutes of us finding her this way
11) We used wood shavings


It seems very neurological to me, does this have to do with her being a silkie and having a vaulted skull? I have three other silkies in the same batch. All from a hatchery.

Thank you

 

[WriterofWords]

I don't know but I'm sorry it happened and hope it doesn't affect anyone else!

 

[Elite Silkies]

Sounds like she had wry neck.

 

[chickenzoo]

It sounds like she had Wry neck, or a twisting of the neck. It seems to be more common in Silkies and Top Knot breeds. It is often caused by a vitamin deficiency, no matter how good the feed.Sometimes it is from trauma to the head, due to the vault. Some things that help are giving a liquid poly-vi-sol childrens vitamin and also some vitamin E capsules squeezed into the beak or food. The neck can keep twisting and impair eating and drinking. Other problems can come with it. So sorry you lost her.

 

[Qi Chicken]

I don't know very much about chick diseases but did you look up wry neck? It sounds similar. I hope you get some good help.


From your post title I thought the dead silkie was walking in circles......

ETA I'm sorry that your chick died. You might want to put polyvisol in the drinking water for all of them as a preventative. I think that would be ok, but check to make sure.

 

[NapoleanGoose]

Thank you everyone. I went out and got some Emfmil infant formula for them. We'll see how that goes. I think from now on I'll try nd give them this or grow gel to start with every time, just in case.

 

[baltimoreharps]

Quote:
Do NOT get Enfamil!! It is Poly Vi Sol vitamins WITHOUT iron. It comes in a dropper bottle and is for infants, Enfamil will NOT help your silkies at all. Wal mart, CVS, Walgreens, etc carry it, please get that and do not give the Enfamil to your birds.

You need to click on the search option about wry neck, your silkie sounds like that this is the problem. I had one that had this problem at 6+ months, all it took was poly vi sol and vitamin E to help her after 3 weeks.

 

[kathyinmo]

PolyViSol liquid vitamins (withOUT iron) is what you want. NOT Enfamil formula.

Here is some information: (Most likely for a new chick, I would guess Thiamine deficiency)

Torticollis (wry neck) may occur in birds infected with Pasteurella bacterial infection, also known as Fowl Cholera.

A bird may be a chronic carrier, living with one or multiple symptoms; however, many birds that are infected with this bacteria progress rapidly with a high mortality rate.

Symptoms include (but not all need to be present): Lethargy, going off food/water, discharge from the mouth (often described as salivating or drooling), rapid breathing, fever (feet will be extremely warm), conjunctivitis (red, swollen, itchy eyes) and localized infections.

When the middle ear, cranial bones or meninges are infected, ‘wry neck’ (Torticollis) is seen.

Treatments include antibiotics such as Sulfonamides or in some cases, Penicillin. Be sure you have an experienced vet since Sulfas have toxic levels.

Other bacterial infections that may cause similar symptoms are:
Chlamydia, mycobacteria, salmonella, yersinia and others. Tests should include sampling (and culture) of the nares (nostrils), oral cavity , cloaca, etc., but if the vet isn’t knowledgeable about the normal flora in the bird species they are examining, the results may not mean much. Inexperienced vets will find that the culture grows something and often base their diagnosis on what they know of mammals.

Botulism is also known as "limberneck" because of the effect it might have a bird's neck. It can happen to one bird like this rather than the whole flock and is not a transmissable disease. Though it's far more frequent in waterfowl, if your chickens were allowed free grazing and this one ingested decaying vegetation or any number of other possibilities, it would account for at least part of the symptoms you're seeing.

Also ......
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) Deficiency
This condition occurs as a result of failure to add thiamine to vitamin premixes or occasionally as a result of excessive addition of the anticoccidial, amprolium (a Thiamine blocker), to diets. The principal sign of thiamine deficiency in 10 to 20 day old chicks comprises incoordination and an abnormal retraction of the head ("star gazing").

 

[mauigirl]

PolyViSol liquid vitamins (withOUT iron) is what you want. NOT Enfamil formula.

Here is some information: (Most likely for a new chick, I would guess Thiamine deficiency)

Torticollis (wry neck) may occur in birds infected with Pasteurella bacterial infection, also known as Fowl Cholera.

A bird may be a chronic carrier, living with one or multiple symptoms; however, many birds that are infected with this bacteria progress rapidly with a high mortality rate.

Symptoms include (but not all need to be present): Lethargy, going off food/water, discharge from the mouth (often described as salivating or drooling), rapid breathing, fever (feet will be extremely warm), conjunctivitis (red, swollen, itchy eyes) and localized infections.

When the middle ear, cranial bones or meninges are infected, ‘wry neck’ (Torticollis) is seen.

Treatments include antibiotics such as Sulfonamides or in some cases, Penicillin. Be sure you have an experienced vet since Sulfas have toxic levels.

Other bacterial infections that may cause similar symptoms are:
Chlamydia, mycobacteria, salmonella, yersinia and others. Tests should include sampling (and culture) of the nares (nostrils), oral cavity , cloaca, etc., but if the vet isn’t knowledgeable about the normal flora in the bird species they are examining, the results may not mean much. Inexperienced vets will find that the culture grows something and often base their diagnosis on what they know of mammals.

Botulism is also known as "limberneck" because of the effect it might have a bird's neck. It can happen to one bird like this rather than the whole flock and is not a transmissable disease. Though it's far more frequent in waterfowl, if your chickens were allowed free grazing and this one ingested decaying vegetation or any number of other possibilities, it would account for at least part of the symptoms you're seeing.

Also ......
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) Deficiency
This condition occurs as a result of failure to add thiamine to vitamin premixes or occasionally as a result of excessive addition of the anticoccidial, amprolium (a Thiamine blocker), to diets. The principal sign of thiamine deficiency in 10 to 20 day old chicks comprises incoordination and an abnormal retraction of the head ("star gazing").

regarding the b1 deficiency - i've read once they get thiamin its an instants cure- what happens if it goes on for weeks?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:

What symptoms are you seeing? What has happened for weeks?