My Silkie is behaving strangely

[Anna loves chooks]

Thought id go back to the start to give you a clearer picture.
Last week silkie started feeding in a strange manner,furiously pecking but not reaching feed,like a coodination prob.(although drinking water normally)
Thought it may be a case of bullying and she was afraid to eat?
I took her away from the others(four reds and silkie cockrel) to see if she would eat normally,she didnt.
Took her to vet,who said keep her from others as could have been bullied and behaviour could indicate brain problem.
On her own she then started looking sick and not feeding and had red mucus in poo which also had strong smell.
Saw vet again with poo sample,she thinks not feeding caused the gut lining to shed,still thinks her brain is the problem.
I made a decision,hope i dont regret it,to return her to flock.
She perked up immediately,trying to feed with them,(still with difficulty),dust bathing,grazing and drinking.
she is being picked on a bit,but she seems so much better with them.
Shes roosting ,just checked her,.Can only wait and see how she is tomorrow.
Thankyou,advice from experienced poultry keepers is appreciated.

 

[threehorses]

Quote:
Wait - you found bloody mucus in the droppings and the vet wasn't concerned? Have you treated for coccidiosis? Bloody mucous poop is different than shedding intestinal wall, and when together with symtoms like these can point to coccidiosis. Treating for coccidiosis with Corid will not harm any other issue and I would highly recommend it. Coccidiosis must be ruled and and that doesn't necessarily happen with a microscopic exam as the cocci don't necessarily always shed nor do their oocysts.

Was that one dropping the *only* one that was all bloody or mucous or runny?
Have you tried the vitamins? Have you given her any yogurt for the bacterial support that it can give?

 

[threehorses]

Quote:
And a number of other things....

 

[robin416]

Quote:
Wait - you found bloody mucus in the droppings and the vet wasn't concerned? Have you treated for coccidiosis? Bloody mucous poop is different than shedding intestinal wall, and when together with symtoms like these can point to coccidiosis. Treating for coccidiosis with Corid will not harm any other issue and I would highly recommend it. Coccidiosis must be ruled and and that doesn't necessarily happen with a microscopic exam as the cocci don't necessarily always shed nor do their oocysts.

Was that one dropping the *only* one that was all bloody or mucous or runny?
Have you tried the vitamins? Have you given her any yogurt for the bacterial support that it can give?

Everybody gets too wrapped up with bloody droppings equals cocci. That is not always true. Capillaria can also cause bloody droppings. If the bird is down physically then cocci can be opportunistic and explode but that is not the case. And the vet checked a fecal sample for over loads of anything.

But it appears that she has also posted about this bird having loose, smelly droppings. That is a sign of an intestinal problem not related to cocci or other internal parasites.

 

[threehorses]

Actually in many of the species of coccidiosis, if you look in the disease texts, they more often mention diarrhea than bloody droppings.

I do agree with your post. I just would really like to see coccidiosis ruled out - at least considered. I would really suspect there's just something more than just a simple intestincal sloughing and am really surprised the vet didn't at least give the droppings more consideration. It seemed as if it was a "no big deal" when to me, paired with the other symptoms, I can't see how it isn't at least enough of a big deal to be ruled out. I should have included something about other bacteria needing to be ruled out, but instead I asked about yogurt in case she might be giving that - or consider it.

My point was that it seems that the droppings were just completely overlooked by the vet as nothing when I think they deserve more investigation.

 

[Anna loves chooks]

Penny the silkie has made a full recovery with vit e and live yog,im very pleased to say.the bullying doent seem to be a prob either .

 

[threehorses]

YAY for full recoveries!

That's wonderful news. Thanks for letting us know.

 

[dlhunicorn]

Borderline deficiencies of vit A and B are often present in such situations> I would also give three drops of Polyvisol enfamil (no extra iron) in beak once a day for a week then taper off the next.

 

[threehorses]

That sort of thing does take a little longer to fix, and it's nice to just continue to make sure that it really is taken care of, as dlhunicorn has suggested wisely.

 

[Anna loves chooks]

Ok will do thankyou