hello im new from michigan

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alpacachicken

alpacachicken

Hatching
6 Years
Sep 8, 2013
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I have a 5 or 6 month old Silkie chick that got for my kids she is acting regarded. But sometimes normal what do I do
 
alpacachicken said:
I have a 5 or 6 month old Silkie chick that got for my kids she is acting regarded. But sometimes normal what do I do
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Do she act silly or really like something is wrong?
 
She will twist her neck upside down when you pick her up. She sleeps like that and then when you put her down she flips over backwards and stumbles around. She falls and tools a lot. She eats and drinks. Sometimes when she walks she acts like she can only see out of one eye with her head kind of cocked a little sideways. You do the test to check for blindness and she seems fine eye wise. Then sometimes she walks around the pen pecking at the ground and walks normal with her head up looking around
 
alpacachicken said:
She will twist her neck upside down when you pick her up. She sleeps like that and then when you put her down she flips over backwards and stumbles around. She falls and tools a lot. She eats and drinks. Sometimes when she walks she acts like she can only see out of one eye with her head kind of cocked a little sideways. You do the test to check for blindness and she seems fine eye wise. Then sometimes she walks around the pen pecking at the ground and walks normal with her head up looking around
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Has she always done this or is this new?
 
She has always did it since we got her. It I thought maybe it was a nervous thing because the lady said she had never seen her do it before. The lady is super nice and has offers us another chicken but kids absolutely love this one she is gorgeous. The weird thing is sometimes she looks normal. Every time you pick her up and set her back down though she does flips.
 
alpacachicken said:
She has always did it since we got her. It I thought maybe it was a nervous thing because the lady said she had never seen her do it before. The lady is super nice and has offers us another chicken but kids absolutely love this one she is gorgeous. The weird thing is sometimes she looks normal. Every time you pick her up and set her back down though she does flips.
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Is it possible she got a pinched nerve? It seems how you describe this it is a positional thing. Watch her and see if a certain movement causes the behavior. Did she get accidentally get slammed in a door or cage?
 
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Sounds like she has "silkie syndrome," it very common in silkies tho other breeds can manifest the same symptoms. Either it's a nutritional deficiency or due to a head injury.Either way is usually treated the same. Basically it is wry neck - which is why it twists around and they may walk backwards, or have the head drooping to the ground between their feet..

Get some polyvisol (NO Iron) infant drops available at Walmart or drug stores, or even in the babies department in some grocery stores. You don't need a prescription. Give her 2 drops 3 times per day just inside the beak - so she can decide if she wants to swallow or not. You don't want to make her choke. If she will eat some special treat, put the drops on that and feed it to her. You can also get vitamin e capsules and squeeze a couple drops onto her food.

I f she is bumping into things or other birds are bothering her, put her in a nice box where she can be undisturbed and safe. She should start doing better in a few days, if not, she may be one who will benefit from steroids from the vet. If her appetite is poor, you can coax her with plain yoqurt, finely mashed boiled egg yolk -moistening with some yoqurt, watermelon (which gives her some fluid too)

As far as her seeming retarded or blind, if she has a big crest(on head) and beard, it does obscure the vision. Some people carefully cut the feathers back and discover their birds are not dumb, they just couldn't see well. Silkies generally do not roost (they are not good flyers), so tend to pile up on the floor in a corner at night. It's not weird it's just silkies.

Some birds respond fairly soon others may take much longer - you should see some type of improvement after awhile. You can also gently massage her neck in the position it should be.
 
Thank you for the advice about the emergency section. I did not see that.

Thank toys as well for the tips on how often to do the vitamins. I had picked up some for a health food store with selenium because I read you also needed selenium and vitamin b that the polysivol didn't have. But I have only been giving that and vitamin e once a day. I have given egg as well. I did start massaging her neck a day ago. Is there anything else I can do for the neck or her. Is it typical for her to be better in the morning. Not 100% better just not as bad as night time. She is the worst when she sleeps because she twist her neck and then seems really off balance.
 

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