Head twitching, difficulty swallowing water

[Tammys kevin]

One of my 5 day old silkies is twitching her head involuntarily, when I put water in front of her she tried to drink it but the twitching made it difficult, and she put her whole face in the water instead of just her beak, she takes a few sips then sits with her head tilted up and swallows like she's having trouble doing it, then splutters and shakes her head and wipes her beak and scratches at the sides of her mouth.

Her poops are normal and her vent clean, eyes and nose look fine, she has been eating fine, and she seems to be alert and energetic, the chicks stay inside and bedding is changed regularly, I can't figure out what it might be

 

[stoopid]

Silkies are very prone to brain injuries because of the way their skull is.
Is there any way she got bumped on the head?

Were the chicks vaccinated for Mareks disease?

 

[Tammys kevin]

I'm not sure about the vaccination, I'll call the feed store in the morning and find out, havent seen any other signs of mareks so far, as for bumps on the head, I have a 5 week old Silkie cross roo that pecks her on the head every chance he gets, I've separated him from the rest of the chicks but could that have done it?

 

[stoopid]

Yes. I recently sold a beautiful paint pullet that was killed by a broody hen from a blow to the head.
Keep them separated, put the baby in a warm, dark place. There isn't much you can do for a brain injury.
Vitamins, probiotics, and I always keep vitamin E with selenium on hand for times like this. It might help.
Prednisone may help it, but should be prescribed by a vet, which is very hard to come by one that knows chickens.
Good luck with her! You are welcome to PM me if you have any questions, Roberta.

 

[stoopid]

Oh, and bantams are usually not vaccinated at the hatcheries, but if it was specified when ordered.
Probably not...

 

[Tammys kevin]

They weren't vaccinated, today she is eating, drinking and walking fine, no sign of leg or wing paralysis, poops are fine, still a bit of head twitching but it's not as bad as yesterday, I put vitamins and apple cider vinegar in the chicks water, as for a trip to the vet, I try to avoid that unless absolutely necessary, last time I took a chick to the vet the bill was $150 higher than I expected, I couldn't pay the whole bill so they kept my chick and charged me $40 a day until I could pay it off, ended up paying almost $400 for a mild respiratory infection

 

[Tammys kevin]

Her head seems to twitch more when she tries to sleep, she's having trouble getting any rest

 

[ten chicks]

Her head seems to twitch more when she tries to sleep, she's having trouble getting any rest

Check and see if she has something irritating her eyes/nostrils. Silkies do head twitching when older as a result of feathers in their face,i just trim feathers around eyes. Also possible that brooder bedding is irritating her in some way.

 

[Tammys kevin]

I checked her eyes and they look ok, she is not quite a week old so doesn't have any feathers long enough to get in her eyes yet, I put pasture hay in the brooder which is changed every second day, have never had any trouble with it before. It really seems like the twitch is uncontrollable, like a tic, or muscle spasm

 

[Tammys kevin]

She's 1 month old now and the head twitching hasn't changed, but she has no difficulty drinking anymore, and is growing just as fast as the others