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[brownsilk]

I have a 6 month old silkie who got pecked by the other chickens about 3 weeks ago. I found her she was just lying in her side but could walk but was wobbly. I took her inside and to let her heal. After about 3 days she quit walking. 2 and a half weeks have gone by. I have been moving her legs and wings a couple times a day. She eats and drinks well. I've been giving her vitamin water and a mix of eggs yogurt, honey and oats. I thought she may be getting better but now I don't think so. She won't move her wings and has some gross motor movement in her right leg. What should I do? I can't keep her in a cage forever and I can't put her out in the pen.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. Do you know if she was vaccinated against Mareks disease? That sounds like a possibility. She also could have suffered an injury. You might start some vitamins and electrolytes in the water just in case, and make sure that she is drinking well. Dehydration cn also look like this. Here is some reading about the disease:
https://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000791_Rep813.pdf
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

 

[chickenchick12]

I had a few pullets with similar problems. They lost movement in their legs and we had to put them down. I cried a ton, but it was for the best. I don't know if she will get better, so you should consider culling her. I still have no idea what the disease was but it might have been Mareks. I hope that your girl gets better. Are there any other signs of disease? I will pray for her tonight

~chickenchick

 

[000]

This happened to me too. Silkies have a vaulted scull so if they get pecked at on the head their brain is easily damaged. Today she is alive but is high mantnice. She spends her day staring at the same fence post that she does everyday. I carry her to food and water so I know that she is getting enough. She then walks back over to the fence post and admires it. At night I carry her back inside but she does not know how to perch so she sits on the ground. She can walk, but she chooses not to.

howfunckyisurchicken told me this:
"Silkies, especially those with vaulted skulls, are prone to brain injuries and neurological problems. I've had a couple go wonky from taking a peck to the head or from hitting their heads on something in the coop or run. For that reason, I don't keep mine with other breeds. You might try treating her with vitamin E and selenium, or Poly-vi-sol (without iron) which can be found in the baby section of most grocery stores. I'm not sure how much it would help since it seems she's been dealing with her condition for a while, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to try. Theres a Silkie thread in the Breeds, Genetics and Showing section of the forum, theres a lot of wonderful people, info and pictures in that thread (if you haven't found it already)

"

You can PM her about this. We are having a conversation in another thread and I can give her a link to this thread. She is very expirienced with silkies and is answering all of my questions about incubating gladly. I'm sure she will help.

Your silkie seems to have suffered more damage than mine, but I did not treat her at all. If you treat yours she can probably get to the point where mine is.

Good luck and welcome to Backyard Chickens!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

This happened to me too. Silkies have a vaulted scull so if they get pecked at on the head their brain is easily damaged. Today she is alive but is high mantnice. She spends her day staring at the same fence post that she does everyday. I carry her to food and water so I know that she is getting enough. She then walks back over to the fence post and admires it. At night I carry her back inside but she does not know how to perch so she sits on the ground. She can walk, but she chooses not to. howfunckyisurchicken told me this: [COLOR=333333]"Silkies, especially those with vaulted skulls, are prone to brain injuries and neurological problems. I've had a couple go wonky from taking a peck to the head or from hitting their heads on something in the coop or run. For that reason, I don't keep mine with other breeds. You might try treating her with vitamin E and selenium, or Poly-vi-sol (without iron) which can be found in the baby section of most grocery stores. I'm not sure how much it would help since it seems she's been dealing with her condition for a while, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to try. Theres a Silkie thread in the Breeds, Genetics and Showing section of the forum, theres a lot of wonderful people, info and pictures in that thread (if you haven't found it already) [/COLOR]

" You can PM her about this. We are having a conversation in another thread and I can give her a link to this thread. She is very expirienced with silkies and is answering all of my questions about incubating gladly. I'm sure she will help. Your silkie seems to have suffered more damage than mine, but I did not treat her at all. If you treat yours she can probably get to the point where mine is. Good luck and welcome to Backyard Chickens!

agreed, also had the same experience

 

[000]

It is actually pretty common. I gave howfunkyisurhen the link, so she will help soon.

 

[000]

I gave howfunkyisurchicken this link, so she will help soon. It is a very common problem, most rebound well.

 

[000]

Sorry, my computer glitched and it made me retype the post then both came up.... so confused.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Not sure theres much more I can offer, you pretty much covered it chickens102403 OP, if you'd like to send me a PM, please feel free to do so. I'll help as much as I can, I probably wont be awake much longer, but I'll check BYC first thing in the morning just in case. You could also do a search for the Silkie thread. There was another member posting fairly recently about a Silkie with a neurological/wry neck issue. They explained in great detail about how they went about treatment and tube feeding theirs (hopefully yours isn't to the point of needing tube feeding though).

 

[chickenchick12]

When some of my bird's legs started freezing up, none of them were Silkies. We don't keep Silkies anymore because they seem to taste especially good to dogs.