Found Silkie hen upside down in hole in run, lethargic, won't stand...

[acooper7989]

I went into the chicken enclosure last night to close the door to the coop and when I did a head count I noticed my little black silkie hen was missing. I found her over by the pond upside down in a small hole, as if she were trying to take a dirt bath and got stuck.

I picked her up and tried to put her on her feet and she fell over instantly. I brought her into the garage last night in a box with some food and water. She's been pecking at the seed, haven't seen her drink yet. 

Checked on her this morning and she's rolling over to her right side if I put her on her feet. 

She's a little less than a year old (will be one in the spring). She's picking at the seed right now as I type. Any idea what's going on or what I should do?

poo this morning

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Possibly Mareks?

 

[MrsBachbach]

How long do you think she may have been stuck in the hole? More than a day? I'd give her a little time to recover from her experiance. Some liquid vitamins like Poultry Drench might perk her up. If you don't notice any recovery in a couple of days, then it very well could be Mareks in which case, just make her comfortable because she won't have long.

 

[acooper7989]

The longest she would have been there would be since the afternoon so maybe...8 hours max.
I'm hoping that she was just a tad dehydrated and weak or something, I'd be devastated if it were Mareks.
I'm unfamiliar with it, I read up on wikipedia right now but is my flock at risk as well?
They're completely separated as of last night. What else can I do? I'm sort of new to owning chickens and I'm vegetarian so they're strictly for pets.

 

[acooper7989]

I just checked her eyes, they're still her beautiful brown and her pupils are normal. She's responsive and is always looking around she just can't stand well. She just sits in the hay and picks at the seed.

 

[acooper7989]

 

[realsis]

How is her neck? Is it normal or is it twisting in any unusual directions? I ask this because I raise silkies myself and they are prone to wry neck. When my birds would just be getting wry neck come on they would flip over and we're not able to walk. I've had four cases in my flock and was able to completely cure three of the four cases with a regiment of vitamin E small amount of selenium and vitamin B and liquid children's vitamin called polyvisol without iron. The worst cases I also added prednisone. I've not seen your birds behavior so I can't say for certain but if you notice her twisting her neck or her head in a strange position then it could possibly be wry neck. Mine all began flipping over not able to walk then came the head or neck twisting.it wouldn't hurt to try some vitamins on her to rule that out.if she does not improve (it took about a month for my silkies to improve fully) I would suspect it's something much more serious such as Mareks disease. But it certainly won't hurt to try the vitamins.silkies are prone to vitamin defiencies for some reason. You might want to give the vitamins A try just in case. Was She vaccinated for Mareks? If it is Mareks it can live on the land for years. It does not mean your other birds will develop the symptoms of Mareks but it does mean that if it is Mareks your other birds are now likely carriers and can infect other birds with the virus.its recommend to vaccinate any new poultry brought in and keep them from exposure exposure is the outside and Adult birds for at the very least 14 days to give their bodies time to develop antibodies and immunity. If the time is not given they can catch the virus before their antibodies kick in.the vaccine is not 100 percent but that and breeding for resistance is all we have as of now in the lines of defense. If it is Mareks knowledge is power so study as much as possible about the disease.there is a really great thread on this form called " not a emergency Mareks in my flock" and there are many folks that are dealing with Mareks on their now. They are very educated about Mareks and can answer your questions and lead you in a positive direction in dealing with Mareks. I highly recommend you go to that thread to get your Mareks questions answered. They also can help with keeping her comfortable. It's a great thread. I do hope this has been helpful and I wish you the best.

 

[acooper7989]

Her neck is fine and has full mobility. I had to wash her butt a few days ago because she had some poo stuck in her feathers but I think that's because her butt is really fluffy. Her poos are normal looking. I just put her on her feet and she's not flipping over anymore but she wont put any weight on the left leg. She didn't seem interested in water but when I put her beak in it she will drink. I'm going to the feed store today to get some vitamins for her. My flock has not be vaccinated for Mareks or anything that I know of, I bought them last spring from the LA Hearne Co. in Prunedale (my local feed store) and they've all been healthy without any problems so far. I'll go look at the Mareks thread now and see if it is Mareks or not. I checked her iris and pupils and they're both normal. Thank you for your reply!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

There are several forms of Marek's.
Neural form (progressive paralysis).
Ocular form (graying iris and irregular pupil).
Visceral form (tumors).
Cutaneous form (enlarged feather follicles).

I'm not an expert but I think if it is the neural form, there won't be any affect on the eyes.

 

[acooper7989]

She's definitley more perky than she was last night when I found her. I just got done washing her butt, she had a little bit of poo stuck. I think because she can't really stand it's getting stuck in her feathers. I put her back in the box and she pecked at her seed a bit. I'm not seeing her drink but she'll drink if I put her beak down in some water. I took out the 1 gal. waterer and put some water in a small glass pyrex bowl to give her more room in her box.