Is My Silkie Deaf?

[Frindizzle]

If she is running into trees, she may be blind in one eye. When you snap she may be trying to listen to what comes next and staying still to do so. See how she reacts (alone) to dropping treats from a distance, like 20 feet) slow,unsure? See how accurate she picks up feed on the ground right in front of her, does she miss? If you find all that to be ok, take her somewhere alone and bang two pots together from behind (not too close) and see if she reacts. That's all I can think of, I hope it helps.

It helps a lot! I will test tomorrow (It's dark right now), and I will tell you what happens. Thanks!

 

[peep peep peep]

If she is running into trees, she may be blind in one eye. When you snap she may be trying to listen to what comes next and staying still to do so. See how she reacts (alone) to dropping treats from a distance, like 20 feet) slow,unsure? See how accurate she picks up feed on the ground right in front of her, does she miss?  If you find all that to be ok, take her somewhere alone and bang two pots together from behind (not too close) and see if she reacts. That's all I can think of, I hope it helps.

I was thinking it was weird she ran into trees too.. Yeah, check those eyes.

Have you checked her ears? She could have an infection but that might be wrong.. Our rooster smelled TERRIBLE and he wouldn't react to sound so we checked him out and it was his ears.

Hm. So I should sniff her ears? 

Sniff at your own risk. XD We could smell Blossom (Yes, blossom. ) without even wanting to. Look behind her ear flap and see if it is blocked or infected. You might need to clean the opening. NEVER PUT A Q TIP FAR INTO THE EAR! YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO AT LEAST SEE IT. You get the point. Just don't go too far.

Try and separate her then screech. See if she will react then. If you keep her with the others to see her reaction she might just do what the others are doing so I would say to separate her for testing.

That's a great idea. I'll do it tomorrow, (Right now it is dark) and I'll tell you what happens.

Thanks. Yeah, she wouldn't react at night. None would actually. X3

 

[justplainbatty]

Have you checked her ears? She could have an infection but that might be wrong.. Our rooster smelled TERRIBLE and he wouldn't react to sound so we checked him out and it was his ears.

I suggested blindness cuz of the tree thing but what did you do for your roo? It would be good to know just in case. There's always something new to learn here, I love this site!

 

[Frindizzle]

Quote: Sniff at your own risk. XD We could smell Blossom (Yes, blossom. ) without even wanting to. Look behind her ear flap and see if it is blocked or infected. You might need to clean the opening. NEVER PUT A Q TIP FAR INTO THE EAR! YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO AT LEAST SEE IT. You get the point. Just don't go too far.

Quote: Thanks. Yeah, she wouldn't react at night. None would actually. X3

Yes, I will deffinately check those eyes.

Thanks for the tip about the Q Tip!

Yeah… chickens just stare at you when it's dark.

 

[peep peep peep]

Quote: We used warm water and triple antibiotic ointment for his ears. It seemed to work. (I'm not sure about using hydrogen peroxide because it might burn and I'm not sure if it would hurt sensitive ears but that might work too..) We basically had someone hold him still while we cleaned his ear flap and a little in his ear, then we put ointment around the opening on his ear to help the healing and to kind of keep the bacteria from walking around from becoming an issue. Basically warm water and keep it sterile.

Quote: Sniff at your own risk. XD We could smell Blossom (Yes, blossom. ) without even wanting to. Look behind her ear flap and see if it is blocked or infected. You might need to clean the opening. NEVER PUT A Q TIP FAR INTO THE EAR! YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO AT LEAST SEE IT. You get the point. Just don't go too far.

Quote: Thanks. Yeah, she wouldn't react at night. None would actually. X3

Yes, I will deffinately check those eyes.

Thanks for the tip about the Q Tip!

Yeah… chickens just stare at you when it's dark.
Lol, yep! Yes our chickens are all like "Go to bed!!" .

 

[Frindizzle]

Quote: We used warm water and triple antibiotic ointment for his ears. It seemed to work. (I'm not sure about using hydrogen peroxide because it might burn and I'm not sure if it would hurt sensitive ears but that might work too..) We basically had someone hold him still while we cleaned his ear flap and a little in his ear, then we put ointment around the opening on his ear to help the healing and to kind of keep the bacteria from walking around from becoming an issue. Basically warm water and keep it sterile.

Quote: Sniff at your own risk. XD We could smell Blossom (Yes, blossom. ) without even wanting to. Look behind her ear flap and see if it is blocked or infected. You might need to clean the opening. NEVER PUT A Q TIP FAR INTO THE EAR! YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO AT LEAST SEE IT. You get the point. Just don't go too far.

Quote: Thanks. Yeah, she wouldn't react at night. None would actually. X3

Yes, I will deffinately check those eyes.

Thanks for the tip about the Q Tip!

Yeah… chickens just stare at you when it's dark.
Lol, yep! Yes our chickens are all like "Go to bed!!" .

Hydrogen peroxide, your right, isn't the best thing to use.

 

[peep peep peep]

Yeah, I was thinking it would kill whatever is helping the infection grow though.. And watering it down won't work either..

 

[Frindizzle]

Yeah, I was thinking it would kill whatever is helping the infection grow though.. And watering it down won't work either..

Hm...

 

[SilkieGirl011]

I am starting to think my Silkie is deaf. I first want to say she is from Wilco and she has an extra toe and she keeps running into trees, so I'm thinking it is possible. Today I did a test. She was the only one who didn't react to me snapping by her ear. I tried with 6 other of my chickens, who all reacted. When I call, she is usually the last one to come running. Anyways, my question is, does anyone think she is deaf? Does anyone have ideas on how I can figure out if she is really deaf? Here is a picture I got of her a few days ago. Thanks for all replies!

I had a rooster silkie bantam who was white just like that and he kept running into me when I would feed him. I cut his bangs and he started to actually see. Bantams are typically mellow (even though I have a black feral one) and I could even pick up and hold him. He was a hit with kids. I would try trimming his fro and see if that helps.

 

[peep peep peep]

Yeah, that could be a prob too. Good thinking.