Neurological issues, vision impairment and irritation from mites.

[The Backyard Bantams]

I'd put in some videos of her behavior, not sure how to insert. I can use instagram or my photos.

 

[The Backyard Bantams]

Sorry for the yucky images. No blood, her vent itself looks relatively normal. I believe almost all of the stuff doesn't go past her pelvic bones. She's been fussing and squirming, preening more than usual. I must go now- I'll give more info asap.

This is pixie, 11 month old silkie. Indoor chicken- i noticed her vision was impaired and she was in pain a few weeks ago. Vet doesn't know the source. Slightly cloudy in both eyes, little vision. She keeos them closed when her pain is bad. Tried doxy-t antibiotics to no effect. She's on around 1mg of meloxicam twice a day. Slight head tilt- my guess is it's a neurological issue. No paralysis, no respirotory issues. She is not too lethargic or listless. She has always been very docile and relaxed, she is alert but due to her lack of eyesight and possible pain, she rests most of the day. Eating well if i help her to find food. Started laying just a few months ago, very well for only a couple weeks. Short broody spell, a little while later i noticed she wasn't right. She had a little bit of lice a few weeks ago, haven't seen any since.

 

[The Backyard Bantams]

1) What type of bird, age and weight u (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.) Silkie bantam, hatched around the start of july 2020, adopted at 1 week old. Pixie's healthy rate is probably somewhat close to 1kg, hard to know, since she wasn't 100% fully grown before issues started. With her condition and a small broody spell a while ago, her weight dropped, she is around 700g, so not drastically thin

2) What is the behavior, exactly.
Slighty clouded eyes, bad vision. Due to lack of sight she was obviously not able to forage and eat as much, before i realised something was up. She is not lethargic but does spend most of the day resting. I take her out every day for supervised grass time. She will open her eyes and peck around for several minutes before sunbathing. Her pain and activity has fluctuated, her eyes are closed as a default. She will open them to eat, chat or look around. She has no respiratory symptoms and both eyes are identical. She has recently developed a more noticeable head tilt which leads me to think she has a neurological condition. Tonight as i was drying her after a bath, I noticed crusty residue around her vent area. They aren't actual scabs/scars and there is no blood. Her actual vent looks normal with no excess discharge.

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
I noticed she wasn't right maybe around mid april- we took her to the vet later that week. I had no idea what was wrong with her. The vet didn't know the cause. Since then she had been up and down, nothing too extreme though. I've noticed in the past few days her head tilt has worsened, she may have had some kind of stroke?? Other than the head movements, she is in good sprits.

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
I have 7 other large bantams, they are all totally fine. Recently i took home an adorable pullet from a close friend's flock. (maybe 5-6 months ish?) I did not quarantine her. I have noticed a very slight rasp in her voice I might put her on antibiotics if she gets any worse. The whole flock went through a long period of respirotory inflammation several months ago and recovered. I do not think Pixie's condition is any kind of contagious disease.

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
No sign of any physical trauma. No blood around the butt-crust-specimins. I found one that had pulled a tiny layer of skin, there was a speck of blood peekinh at the edge- I don't see that as related though.

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
No idea. Sicknesses are everywhere. Some kind of brain issue, stroke, malformation is a likely option to consider.

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
Pixie's appetite is normal. She is pecking away as I writw this! She eats mostly a free range poultry mix, the flock usually eats that mixed with high quality layer feed. Every day i give her fresh food of some kind- fruit, greens, oatmeal, meat, egg etc. She also eats some grass almost every day. She's drinking too. I have been giving her some extra supplements occasionally.

8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Nothing abnormal. Most of her poops are quite small. Sometimes they are a little runny, but everything looks good.

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
The vet prescribed us meloxicam. He gave us ten 1mg tablets- two a day. It was $40. It helped to clear her eyes and reduce her pain, she was a bit happier. After we had used them, we put her on the same amount of meloxicam but in tiny bits of the human version, mobic. They worked the same, however mobic is $7 for a 50 pack of 15mg tablets! We also gave her doxy-t. I don't thinkit did anything noticeable. I have stopped giving her antibiotics.

10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
I do not remotely expect her to recover- i just want to keep her comfortable for as long as she's with us. With the condition she is right now, she needs extra support to be comfortable. I am more than willing to do supportive care. After a quick re-checkup a few days after we started neds, we have not returned to the vet. I am doubtful we can heal her, and I'm not in a position to spend unknown amounts of money on treatments that are so unlikely to help her. However if my whole flock needs help, or one special hen in particular, i might book an appointment.

11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
I will post pictures tomorrow.

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
Pixie lives in my room in a 70L tub. I always use hemp bedding, it is extremely absorbent and dust-free. I clean out only the soiled bedding, 1-2 times a day. She is warm and cosy, and gets plenty of fresh air. I take her outside for some supervised pecking once or twice a day. She usually eats breakfast in our kitchen. We spend hours every day cuddling and she sits on my lap while I study or sew.

 

[Eggcessive]

Could you post pictures of the eyes, so that we could see them clearly? There are several types of Mareks disease that can cause skin lesions, eye manifestations, and torticolis (wry neck,) as well as nerve involvement or tumors. Was she vaccinated for Mareks? Being an indoor chicken she might have crusty skin lesions from not dust bathing. You could consider bathing her or soaking her to help remove the crusts. Then later, try providing a dust bathing area outside for regular dusting. You may have to her assist her in doing it.

 

[The Backyard Bantams]

Could you post pictures of the eyes, so that we could see them clearly? There are several types of Mareks disease that can cause skin lesions, eye manifestations, and torticolis (wry neck,) as well as nerve involvement or tumors. Was she vaccinated for Mareks? Being an indoor chicken she might have crusty skin lesions from not dust bathing. You could consider bathing her or soaking her to help remove the crusts. Then later, try providing a dust bathing area outside for regular dusting. You may have to her assist her in doing it.

She is vaccinated. I do not think this is mareks. Thank you for the suggestion! After chatting with some of my Instagram chicken friends, I believe the scabby stuff is dead, irritated skin and waste from when she had some lice. I will apply some gentle ointment to soothe it.

 

[The Backyard Bantams]

Could you post pictures of the eyes, so that we could see them clearly? There are several types of Mareks disease that can cause skin lesions, eye manifestations, and torticolis (wry neck,) as well as nerve involvement or tumors. Was she vaccinated for Mareks? Being an indoor chicken she might have crusty skin lesions from not dust bathing. You could consider bathing her or soaking her to help remove the crusts. Then later, try providing a dust bathing area outside for regular dusting. You may have to her assist her in doing it.

I do bathe her sometimes, to keep her clean and fluffy. I don't do it overly frequently though, or i might strip her oils. I tend to use a tiny amount of tear-free baby shampoo. Tomorrow I'll try to encourage her to have a dirt bathe, she may not be interested though. She will peck at the dirt, but i haven't seen her shuffle and scratch in a while.

Should i dust her with some derris, just to make sure the lice are gone?

Here she is. Isn't she precious?

 

[The Backyard Bantams]

Could you post pictures of the eyes, so that we could see them clearly? There are several types of Mareks disease that can cause skin lesions, eye manifestations, and torticolis (wry neck,) as well as nerve involvement or tumors. Was she vaccinated for Mareks? Being an indoor chicken she might have crusty skin lesions from not dust bathing. You could consider bathing her or soaking her to help remove the crusts. Then later, try providing a dust bathing area outside for regular dusting. You may have to her assist her in doing it.

Here are her eyes. They are very dark and look different in different lighting.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

If you upload the video to YouTube and then link it here, that's the best and easiest way to share a video here

 

[The Backyard Bantams]

Her head tilt is getting worse, and I'm worried she's going downhill... She's very special to me, preparing to lose her is hard....any idea what I can do?

Her appetite is massive, she's fat and happy.... I've given her some egg, chickweed, brown rice and mini pellets, along with some avi-vital... She's always preening, I'm wondering if she's trying to get some extra protein from her own floof.